Giving NOOKbooks as gifts

[SpeedVX]

Just got my NOOKColor (love it!) and now I'm wondering about the upcoming holiday season.  My brother is a dedicated book gift-giver (I'm not sure that I've ever gotten another type of gift from him).  But he's also a dedicated environmentalist (an environmental lawyer in fact) and I'm sure he'd love to give books that don't require trees.  I've poked around the BN site and haven't yet found what looks like an easy way to give a NOOKbook as a gift (ie he picks it out and pays for it, but it ends up on my NOOK). 

I realize he could just get me a gift card, but part of the fun is having him pick out the book -- he always chooses books that I wouldn't pick for myself and they're (almost) always good.

Also, I'd like to be able to give NOOKbooks as gifts, but everytime I go to purchase one, it wants to put it in my library.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Rob

[bklvr896]

Right at the moment, there is no way to gift a Nookbook.  Amazon and Kobo recently announced this feature, so perhaps BN isn't going to be far behind.

[PhreaQ]

Find a way for the target to be parted from their Nook, buy the item through it, and return the unit to the target.

My Mother-In-Law stated she wanted to buy mine, but is not tech-savvy.  To gift it, I'll have to get Nook for PC downloaded and have her distracted while I buy a copy and load it up. 

Sounds to me like the only way to surprise someone right now.

-MJ Holmes-

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[Ozman69]

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bklvr896 wrote:

Right at the moment, there is no way to gift a Nookbook.  Amazon and Kobo recently announced this feature, so perhaps BN isn't going to be far behind.

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I suspect B&N might get around to it just in time for... Arbor Day?  

[pughugs]

For now, your brother or anyone else for that matter, would have to get you a gift card.  Then you apply the gift card to your account. 

[Andromeda208]

Give your bro your nook and with the gift card add the book.  This way he chooses it and you get (hopefully) a great book!

[TheoGPS]

I called customer (no) service to see if I could gift a nookbook through them.  After an anoying wait on hold for 30 minutes the answer was NO.   There a probably a lot of sales lost because of this.  The only option cust service said was to give a gift card with the message to spend it on a specific book.  But I wanted to surprise the person with the book itself.  Oh well, B&N, another sale lost.

[jeanniepep]

If I wanted to get someone a specific eBook, this is what I would do:

1) Get a recycled-paper greeting card with trees (or other environmentalist theme) on the front.

2) Print out a photo of the book cover for whatever book I was planning to buy as the gift, approximately the same size as a gift card or slightly larger.

3) Cut out the book-cover photo with an extra little flap on the left (spine) side and fold along the left edge of the book. Paste the flap inside the greeting card so that the book cover opens, like a book.

4) Tape the gift card underneath the book cover, so that when the recipient opens the "book" they will see the card!  Voila!  It's cute and there's no doubt as to what book you're buying them, and you're driving home the environmental point about eBooks.

Gift cards feel like a boring gift to give, even if that's what the recipient really wants, so it's all about the presentation! YES we all wish that we were getting better customer service, but don't let the lack of it mess up your holiday.

[Colleen_Rose]

Great idea Jeannie!

[mister-j]

@Jeanniepep,

Thank you for your clever, cute idea.  I now know how to dress up several gift cards that were going to be boring, naked gifts.

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

I'm laughing here because I just received a $40 B&N gift card.  It was given to me in the original plain envelope.  I got home, opened the envelope, put the $40 on my account and threw the card away.  I guess I'm not too picky about gift wrapping.

[tricia36]

I was just about to suggest this!

My friend just got her nook, and the books I rave about CANNOT be lended (What a joke!).

So, I am printing outt he bookcovers of three of my fav books and including a giftcard.

My friend is ethical enough to actually purchase those books.... not take the gift card and purchase others.

Barnes and Noble missed the boat on this one! Especially with holiday season upon us!

[RHWright]

I like the various GC presentation ideas. Shows a little more thought than just, "here's a gift card, I know you like those book thingies."

But honestly, even if the option was available, I wouldn't want people giving me eBooks as gifts. Why? They're non-returnable. With a DTB, if it's not a book I'm interested in (no matter how much a friend recommends it), I can exchange it for something else. With an eBook you are stuck.

Sorry, I don't fall into that camp of exchanging gifts only if they're the wrong size. If it's not something I want or may be interested in, I have no problem exchanging it. For me the point of a gift is for the recipient to enjoy it. Not for the giver to feel affirmed that their taste in gifts was spot-on (even when it might not be).

Exceptions may be made for young children or elderly relatives, but that's about it.

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

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RHWright wrote:
Sorry, I don't fall into that camp of exchanging gifts only if they're the wrong size. If it's not something I want or may be interested in, I have no problem exchanging it.

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It's people like you who are wrecking the economy. Every American — heck, every Westerner — is culturally obligated to collect all available material objects, whether useful or not, and to buy a home large enough to store them all.

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RHWright wrote:
Exceptions may be made for young children or elderly relatives

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Hey, I'm elderly and I don't want anyone else picking my reading material for me. Especially not a younger relative.

[TXAnnie]

Giving a gift card to readers of nook books for any reason, is much appreciated by most people.   My daughter has an nook tablet coming due to a cracked bezel and warranty with a credit card.  She was excited as her 20 month old baby loves books and will love the kids books.  My daughter just gave birth on the 15th and I sent her an ebook gift card instead of flowers.  She was thrilled and I put on the gift card that the card was her "flowers" and the the ebooks will outlast the flowers.  I wouldn't presume to pick out books for her or my granddaughter.  However, I could recommend some books, but ultimately allow her to make the decision.

[Stas2012]

What's more, now you can send e-cards to your loved ones Nooks. Just did a quick search on BN site and there is a lot of Valentine's Day cards there:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/holiday-e-card?keyword=holiday+e-card&store=ebook