PreOrdering Policy rediculous

[Painterroy]

They way B&N handles sales of new nooks is silly. You go into the store sign your name on a list and that's it. You're not pre-paying. So my B&N has a bunch of new nooks in the store, but if you didn't sign your name up and just walk into the store like I did, they won't sell you one. They said they have to hold them for the people who signed in advance. Now even if you signed up, there is no guarantee that these people will show up to buy them. I was there with money in hand and they wouldn't sell me one. They should not take in names unless people are actually paying in advance. They should just sell them 1st come first serve. I checked again today & they still have a bunch but people have yet to come in & pick them up. As a person in retail, I would sell it to the 1st person with money ready.

[keriflur]

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Painterroy wrote:

They way B&N handles sales of new nooks is silly. You go into the store sign your name on a list and that's it. You're not pre-paying. So my B&N has a bunch of new nooks in the store, but if you didn't sign your name up and just walk into the store like I did, they won't sell you one. They said they have to hold them for the people who signed in advance. Now even if you signed up, there is no guarantee that these people will show up to buy them. I was there with money in hand and they wouldn't sell me one. They should not take in names unless people are actually paying in advance. They should just sell them 1st come first serve. I checked again today & they still have a bunch but people have yet to come in & pick them up. As a person in retail, I would sell it to the 1st person with money ready.

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If you'd put yourself on the list you'd likely be singing a different tune.

[JohnnyB54]

I am on the wait list and I did try to prepay but they would not let me. Next time instead of going with cash show up early and preorder.

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

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Painterroy wrote:

They way B&N handles sales of new nooks is silly. You go into the store sign your name on a list and that's it. You're not pre-paying. So my B&N has a bunch of new nooks in the store, but if you didn't sign your name up and just walk into the store like I did, they won't sell you one. They said they have to hold them for the people who signed in advance. Now even if you signed up, there is no guarantee that these people will show up to buy them. I was there with money in hand and they wouldn't sell me one. They should not take in names unless people are actually paying in advance. They should just sell them 1st come first serve. I checked again today & they still have a bunch but people have yet to come in & pick them up. As a person in retail, I would sell it to the 1st person with money ready.

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If a store takes names (whether or not they take pre-pay) they are obliged in my opinion to honor that list.  Personally I think what B&N does is a good policy and it's how I got my N2E.  If you want to be guaranteed a device then pre-order it.  B&N will take your money then.

[Coaxial_Creatu…]

It's actually not as silly as it sounds.   By holding them for people who pre-ordered, they assure that they'll get units that people are likely to purchase.   Not only that, if they don't come in, they can free up the device and sell it to someone else.

If someone had pre-paid, we couldn't get devices in for those who do walk in, at all.  The process is actually a reservation, not a pre-pay.   And the stores were trying to get as many reservations as possible to get the devices in the store physically and if someone tries one of the demons and goes, 'eh, I don't want it', no return, no fuss, no muss, the device can be sold to another customer.

Or look at it this way.   If there hadn't been reservations, the NST with glowlight wouldn't have even been sent to that store.   Due to the high demand for a new device, the store would have been left waiting until they got reservations or the warehouses got another shipment that would allow them to send loads of boxes to every single store across the USA, plus the reserves they keep for the online orders. So... if they didn't keep the reservations, they would have had none instead of some to sell to those who had the good sense to reserve ahead of time, and crossing fingers, maybe some for walk-ins.  

Oh, also, if you had reserved a device and they said, 'well, we took your name, but some other customer had money in hand, so we have to re-order it,', would you ever set foot in that store again?

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Painterroy wrote:

They way B&N handles sales of new nooks is silly. You go into the store sign your name on a list and that's it. You're not pre-paying. So my B&N has a bunch of new nooks in the store, but if you didn't sign your name up and just walk into the store like I did, they won't sell you one. They said they have to hold them for the people who signed in advance. Now even if you signed up, there is no guarantee that these people will show up to buy them. I was there with money in hand and they wouldn't sell me one. They should not take in names unless people are actually paying in advance. They should just sell them 1st come first serve. I checked again today & they still have a bunch but people have yet to come in & pick them up. As a person in retail, I would sell it to the 1st person with money ready.

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[Coaxial_Creatu…]

Demos not demons.   I may have screwed up and told spell check to correct that.

I really hate that I can't edit

[moose_tracker]

You can edit for a small window of time throught the option drop down. I think the window is 1 hour after you create the message, but not sure.

edited: (I have added this line after the original post)

[Coaxial_Creatu…]

Ah, then, I hate that I missed that window on my previous post.   Thanks for the info!

[Painterroy]

It is silly because it was originally announced that the nooks wouldn't be available till May 7.  Saying i didn't have the good sense to sign up, well, I didn't even realize you could sign up for it in advance. I went into the store to ask when they would be available (bearing in mind this was Thursday April 26 a full 11 days before it was supposed to be available), and was told by the salesperson "Oh we got some in." When I asked if I could purchase one she told me"Sorry but they're for the people who signed up for them". So now it's Sunday, 4 days later & they still have a lot of them that haven't been picked up yet. So all these people who just signed their name to a piece of paper, have not yet paid for anything, still have not picked up all these nooks 4 days later, and meawhile, I have my moneyy ready & can not get a nook yet. Seems silly to me. plus now B&N are risking losing my money should Target or Walmart get these in before B&N. If I'm running a business I want the person with the money in hand. I maintain they should get in their supply of Nooks and just sell first come first serve.

[keriflur]

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Painterroy wrote:

It is silly because it was originally announced that the nooks wouldn't be available till May 7.  Saying i didn't have the good sense to sign up, well, I didn't even realize you could sign up for it in advance. I went into the store to ask when they would be available (bearing in mind this was Thursday April 26 a full 11 days before it was supposed to be available), and was told by the salesperson "Oh we got some in." When I asked if I could purchase one she told me"Sorry but they're for the people who signed up for them". So now it's Sunday, 4 days later & they still have a lot of them that haven't been picked up yet. So all these people who just signed their name to a piece of paper, have not yet paid for anything, still have not picked up all these nooks 4 days later, and meawhile, I have my moneyy ready & can not get a nook yet. Seems silly to me. plus now B&N are risking losing my money should Target or Walmart get these in before B&N. If I'm running a business I want the person with the money in hand. I maintain they should get in their supply of Nooks and just sell first come first serve.

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B&N will still get your money even if you buy at Target or Walmart.

Since you weren't expecting to have one until May 7, what's the big deal?

[northlite]

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Painterroy wrote:

They way B&N handles sales of new nooks is silly. You go into the store sign your name on a list and that's it. You're not pre-paying. So my B&N has a bunch of new nooks in the store, but if you didn't sign your name up and just walk into the store like I did, they won't sell you one. They said they have to hold them for the people who signed in advance. Now even if you signed up, there is no guarantee that these people will show up to buy them. I was there with money in hand and they wouldn't sell me one. They should not take in names unless people are actually paying in advance. They should just sell them 1st come first serve. I checked again today & they still have a bunch but people have yet to come in & pick them up. As a person in retail, I would sell it to the 1st person with money ready.

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I signed up for one and can't get one either. I have tried FOUR stores...one here in the smaller town 20 miles from me (where I signed up for one the day they were announced) and three stores 90 miles away in the city. All of them claim they do not have ANYTHING but the demos. One guy (the last store I called) practically called me a liar. He got very snotty and said that he checked and they don't even show any in the warehouse anywhere in the US with any to ship, and no store in the country has gotten them yet, and if anyone on any Nook forums is saying they have one, they're "pulling my leg" because no one ANYWHERE has gotten one. He was downright rude. After that I stopped calling stores to try to find one.

So now I am just waiting to see when my local B&N calls to tell me they're in.

[Coaxial_Creatu…]

Okay, seriously, that's the way that you'd run the business, and while I can understand that you're miffed about not getting one *now*, they have to hold  it for those people who reserved them.   Again, if you had reserved it, and the salesperson blew you off with, 'well, we sold it to someone else,' would you be okay with that?

Reservations on this product actually makes a lot of sense.   It enables the store to gauge interest, and futhermore to get in a product they know will be popular without having someone be forced to purchase the item.   If they don't, it goes to someone else.  

And again, if there had be no reservations, your store wouldn't have had any.   Period.   I'm sorry that you had what sounds like a misleading experience with a bookseller, but I don't buy you're argument.   It sounds more like a temper tantrum than an argument, to be honest.

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Painterroy wrote:

They way B&N handles sales of new nooks is silly. You go into the store sign your name on a list and that's it. You're not pre-paying. So my B&N has a bunch of new nooks in the store, but if you didn't sign your name up and just walk into the store like I did, they won't sell you one. They said they have to hold them for the people who signed in advance. Now even if you signed up, there is no guarantee that these people will show up to buy them. I was there with money in hand and they wouldn't sell me one. They should not take in names unless people are actually paying in advance. They should just sell them 1st come first serve. I checked again today & they still have a bunch but people have yet to come in & pick them up. As a person in retail, I would sell it to the 1st person with money ready.

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[Coaxial_Creatu…]

Actually, this might be true.  Not about anyone anywhere having one, but because stores that didn't get a lot of reservations didn't get the earlier shipments, as far as I know.   If your district hasn't gotten a lot of reservations, stores around your area may not have any in.   Sorry

And wow, a seller like that?   I'd talk to a manager.   And I bet I'd get fired for that up here.  

But again, I know stores around our area were fairly aggressive about reservations.  Not pushy, but we would ask everyone, at info, at music, at Nook, at cashwrap, on the phone, and our DM had implemented that in all her stores.   Because of this, lots of reservations, so our stores got NSTG earlier than other places.  Even so, someone went to a store nearby and they hadn't gotten the demos in by the time we had a couple to sell.   So it was kind of hit and miss.

Good luck on getting your NTSG.

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I signed up for one and can't get one either. I have tried FOUR stores...one here in the smaller town 20 miles from me (where I signed up for one the day they were announced) and three stores 90 miles away in the city. All of them claim they do not have ANYTHING but the demos. One guy (the last store I called) practically called me a liar. He got very snotty and said that he checked and they don't even show any in the warehouse anywhere in the US with any to ship, and no store in the country has gotten them yet, and if anyone on any Nook forums is saying they have one, they're "pulling my leg" because no one ANYWHERE has gotten one. He was downright rude. After that I stopped calling stores to try to find one.

So now I am just waiting to see when my local B&N calls to tell me they're in.

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[northlite]

He was very aggressive about preordering and this was Minneapolis...I find it hard to believe a city that size didn't have a lot of preorders. He told me preordering was the only way I was going to get one. (Which I don't believe either!) But it is possible they had a lot less preorders than larger cities...and there's a lot of stores in the Twin Cities metro area to spread the preorders out. My local store where I do have a preorder is in a town of 38000 so it's very likely they didn't have a lot of preorders and would be far down on the totem pole. Ever since they moved to the Mall and removed all the reading chairs and tables you can practically shoot a cannon through there and not worry about hitting anybody. It's unfortunate. We used to go there every Friday evening after we went out to eat and always bought a couple books. After Nooks came we'd just go sit and read. I've bought a few books I started reading in store on it too. Now we rarely go in. I'm just antsy. It is my anniversary gift from my hubby and that was Friday so, like Veruca Salt, I want it NOW! I mean, it's not like I don't have anything to read on...I've got an N1E I never use, an NST, and a Nook tablet, not to mention an android tablet and iPad with Nook apps. I'm just impatient!

[Ya_Ya]

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Painterroy wrote:

...You go into the store sign your name on a list and that's it. You're not pre-paying. So my B&N has a bunch of new nooks in the store, but if you didn't sign your name up and just walk into the store like I did, they won't sell you one. They said they have to hold them for the people who signed in advance. Now even if you signed up, there is no guarantee that these people will show up to buy them. I was there with money in hand and they wouldn't sell me one. 

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This is called making a reservation.  Just like you can't eat at 7PM on Saturday without one (but can at 10PM) you can't get a NOOK on Day 1 without one, but can two weeks later.  

Lesson learned.  Make reservations.

[Byteguy]

I remember it being the same way with one of the Harry Potter books; "we're very sorry, but if you're not on the list you can't have one of this BIG pile of books."

However, it IS nice to hear that the response to the NSTG has been a bit of a feeding-frenzy.  I like to see e-Ink get some attention for once.

[Coaxial_Creatu…]

Sorry to hear that the reservation hasn't come in yet.   Hopefully soon since they are shipping out, but again, it depends on which store gets them first, and where in line he was on the reservations.   The people who reserved first will get the notifications first.

[techiegirl]

I put my name down within a few days of announcement.  When I read here that some people had picked up their GlowLights from the store, I called the store and was told that they did have it available.  I went to pick it up the same day. That was Friday. 

It's now Tuesday and I still haven't received a call that the one I actually reserved is available for me.

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

Just wondering why you haven't taken your name off the reserved list so maybe someone else walking into the store could get a Nook Glow if they want one?  Not criticizing just wondering...

[techiegirl]

We are thinking of getting one as a gift to my son's teacher.