Buy ebooks with a giftcard

[jeff_spicoli]

kind of speechless over this one. A BN gift card is bought, who cares if you buy a book, paper, a pen, a calendar a CD or... heaven forbid... an eBook..

I get several GC a year for gifts and at holidays. The whole point is ot buy books. The whole point of the reader is to read "books" on the reader. But, you cannot pay for said "books" with a GC. crazy talk.

this whole deal - overly expensive eBook prices and the inability to pay for them with a GC - has FAIL written all over it.

who knew that putting a simple "e" in front of "Book" would make it soooo difficult to want to get on board.

[polkster]

I've been looking at ereaders for a while now, and was finally excited about the newly offered Nook.

But going through all these posts today, I'm very hesitant. I hope that B&N adjusts the current policy about ebook purchases with gift cards (credit card registration is no problem, but iTunes and Amazon deal with giving credit for gift cards). This seems to be a simple thing for B&N to address, but please do it soon, as it would be a deal breaker for me. I also thought that public library access was going to be there (as it is with the Sony), but from what I am reading, apparently not.....that's also too bad.

[dreamcatcherSM]

Just one more reason not to buy a nook.  Really so many people get gift cards for Christmas, birthdays and other special occasions.  Other online sites let you purchase with gift cards and when someone buys a gift card for another person the vendor still is getting the money.  Wake up B&N many people use gift cards. 

[Slammer]

I just pre-ordered a nook for my wife at my local BN store and the store personnel actually talked me into buying a gift card for my wife to use for buying her eBooks. So now she has a fully loaded gift card that won't work for buying the eBooks? How can I fix this situation? 

[snskuce]

I'm definitely not buying a Nook now. 

Kevin and crew, you need to impress upon The People That Make Things Happen, that they have to make giftcards work for eBooks, and that BN memberships should get you a discount on eBooks (especially with your generally higher eBook prices).  Not having these simple things is already driving people to the Kindle.

My prediction?  You're going to have a blockbuster first holiday season, because the general public that doesn't haunt these forums won't have a clue about these issues, but as soon as they find these limitations, they are going to return the Nook or just put it back in the box and never use it.

[ps56k]

It would appear to me, that the entire Nook support world has been created as an adjunct to the existing BN world, and therefore the two systems don't talk to each other.....

pretty dumb from the onset.... pistol ready, how many toes left ?

[athenagwis]

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stirwise wrote:

You can still use your CC# to unlock the book even if you use a gift card to purchase it. eReader.com (which set up the whole DRM scheme in the first place) has been doing it for years, since back when they were Peanut Press. You buy a "gift card" (which is virtual) and it applies the credit to your account. It still uses your account's credit card number as the unlock code for the book, but it uses your store credit first when making a purchase. Any overage goes onto the credit card. It should be fairly straightforward for BN to add this functionality. It's not a dealbreaker to me not to have this, but I do hope they come to their senses and add it down the road.

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Is ereader.com somehow associated with B&N?  If so, maybe they can help resolve this issue for the b&N programmers.  I guess I can see the problem with gift cards if you need the credit card # to unlock the book, but if there are sites that get around this, it seems a little silly that a huge corporation like B&N can't figure it out.

[guenevol]

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DemonicDuck wrote:

guess who DOES support gift cards for purchasing ebooks...you just register them to your account and when you buy a book it decucts from gift cards before going to your default credit card.

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Fictionwise.com, which sells nook-compatible ebooks, has gift certificates. You can also "gift" ebooks to others or give them the gift of membership.

[Starearedkid]

I do think Barnes and Noble is doing a disservice by not having gift cards used on e-books, especially with the holiday season around the corner. Being a school librarian, I get a lot of gift cards to Barnes and Nobles--from fellow teachers, parents, and family members. I am getting a nook this year; and truthfully, most of the books I tend to read are classics; which are free. However, I would like to add a bunch of books to the Nook and it would be a shame if I couldn't use the gift cards.

I think that will turn a lot of people away from the Nook, especially if that policy isn't changed or revised when the Nook is released. 

As for me--although it would be a disappointment; most of the time I use gift cards anyway to buy children's books for my classroom/library. So, I would still do that anyway. But I would love to use them on e-books. 

[BlessedMama]

I think that by not allowing ebook purchases with gift cards, B&N is losing a ton of sales......especially at the holidays and with the new Nook coming out. My children and I get tons of gift cards from B&N at Christmas. If I get myself or my children a Nook, I would like to be able to tell grandparents and such that they could get gift cards for us so that we can buy ebooks for our new Nooks.

[LabRatSB]

I'm sorry, WHAT?!?!?!  So let me get this straight, no gift card usage for ebooks?!?!  B&N just put the final nail in the coffin as far as my decision for an ereader goes.  The Kindle is looking better and better to me.  There are too many cons for the Nook right now.  Higher prices on ebooks, less ebooks, and no gift cards....no sale!!  My bday is coming up in 3 weeks, B&N has until then to lower their prices, and add gift cards usage for ebooks for me to even CONSIDER a nook.  Unbelievable!

[stirwise]

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athenagwis wrote:

Is ereader.com somehow associated with B&N?  If so, maybe they can help resolve this issue for the b&N programmers.  I guess I can see the problem with gift cards if you need the credit card # to unlock the book, but if there are sites that get around this, it seems a little silly that a huge corporation like B&N can't figure it out.

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Not just associated, eReader.com and Fictionwise are both owned by B&N. They were bought out last year, IIRC.  I don't know why they haven't already absorbed all the eReader and Fictionwise books, accounts and technology, since it would really behoove them to do so.

[ps56k]

for ADMINs - Phil K - and Kevin -

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It is always hard to gauge the knowledge level of your audience when answering questions.

I would strongly suggest that your future answers be enhanced with the WHY -

ie -

I've checked with our Gift Cards team, and they've confirmed that at the present time, Gift Cards and Gift Certificates cannot be used to purchase eBooks, though they can be used for every other product line on the site. This may change at some future date as we move forward with our eBooks offerings, but there don't appear to be any immediate plans to make it happen. Sorry I can't provide better news.

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As it turns out - from reading on the MobileReader forum - it appears that B&N is using DRM that has a "credit card" as the user's key... which seems to cause problems with how to handle a gift card.  Not exactly sure how/why, if the gift card merely adds money to the user's B&N account ?  But if the Nook "info" and the B&N account info are separate computer systems, and not integrated at this time - then it's like working with two totally different businesses...

If you would offer more background info in your answers, vs dumbed down Yes/No answer,

then some of these threads would go away.... and not have the same questions asked over and over,

with the same resulting dumbed down vague answers.

Some people here might have trouble getting started with a Nook, but a lot of others may have been around from the first Kindle or other eReaders... and have the technical knowledge to understand more detailed answers...

[srjrmom]

I'll add my voice here also.  I decided on asking for a Nook for Christmas because of the lending feature mainly but thought I could use gift cards that I get from family.  I'm a big reader and get many gift cards from BN during the holidays.  It just seems tacky to ask for cash because gift cards won't work.  I hope the admins are reading these posts and are taking note that they are loosing potential customers because of this issue.  I love books and love BN, that is another reason I am wanting the Nook.  I guess I could ask for the gift cards and buy the Nook after the holidays.  Please BN, please fix this issue.

[LookingCloser]

I think eventually we will see gift certificate use on the Nook. I would have designed it it for such before announcing the Nook however I still am proud to be the future owner of a Nook. Several family members asked if I want B&N gift certificated for Christmas to go with my Nook, I have to admit I wish I could have said yes, but instead I asked them for a generic Visa use anywhere gift card. A nice runaround however just to sing the tune again, I would like to see B&N Gift certificates available for use.

God Protect King Nook!

[modo_hoc]

From the Online Gift Certificate page ( a bit ironc ) ...

About Online Gift Certificates:

• Barnes & Noble.com Online Gift Certificates are delivered instantly via email.
• Barnes & Noble.com Online Gift Certificates have no expiration dates and no hidden fees.
• Barnes & Noble.com Online Gift Certificates can be used to purchase anything on bn.com except for the purchase of eBooks.
• Barnes & Noble.com Online Gift Certificates may only be redeemed online at bn.com.
• Terms & Conditions

Someone is not thinking through the strategic message.

[ps56k]

I am learning a lot reading thru the various threads on this forum.... unfortunately for B&N, they have not done their homework and thought out the entire process and all the ramifications of their design choices.

I believe that the Digital Rights Management (DRM) scheme deployed by B&N involves locking an ebook purchase to the CC number used to buy the ebook.   The CC number is the lock & key to open the ebook.  Upon downloading the ebook, the first time you open it, you must manually supply the CC number used to purchase it.  If the internal CC and the supplied CC match, the DRM says ok - and opens the book for that specific device....  Can someone verify this is the detailed way the Nook DRM will work ?

This DRM concept may allow more devices owned/shared by the user to actually open the ebook since it it tied to the CC number vs a single electronic serial number (PID) - but in doing so has created other problems within the financial payment and B&N account... ie the gift card snafu.

Since the use of a gift card would throw a monkey wrench into the DRM scheme used by B&N for ebooks, they have chosen to not allow gift cards....

SO - it comes down to the DRM issue, and how it appears to be implemented using the CC number as a locking key... to potentially allow the user more flex with devices to open the ebook, but at the cost of not being able to support gift cards.

If this is true.... I wish the Admins would just explain it this way - and let everyone gain the knowledge and move on - for now....

[joeypore]

I'm pretty sure they will change this whole "no gift card" thing.

And that issue can be resolved easily. You can be required to have a credit card on file, but we can still have the ability to use gift cards to PAY for them. That would be fine with me, and it's probably how they will implement it.

Also, on the Nook itself, it will be registered to your account, so your books won't need to be "unlocked" on the device.

This is referring to unlocking them on computers, etc.

[Slammer]

And here is the official B&N response to my email about this. I'm very frustrated that I put a large amount of money on a gift card for my wife to use, and now she can't use it for its intended purpose.

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Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Barnes & Noble regarding our payment options for eBook orders.

Barnes & Noble accepts American Express, MasterCard, Discover, Visa, Diners Club and JCB.  We also accept debit cards that have a Visa or MasterCard logo.

At this time, we do not accept PayPal, Barnes & Noble Gift Cards or online gift certificates, checks, money orders, or Barnes & Noble retail store credits as payment for eBooks.  Additionally, we do not accept prepaid credit cards, randomly generated credit card numbers or gift cards issued by major credit card companies for eBook purchases.  We regret that the Pay By Phone option is not available for eBook orders.

We use the latest encryption technology to keep your personal information safe.  We hope you find this information helpful and look forward to your next visit.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenient this may have caused.

Sincerely,

Weber

Customer Service Representative

Barnes and Noble.

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[LabRatSB]

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Slammer wrote:

And here is the official B&N response to my email about this. I'm very frustrated that I put a large amount of money on a gift card for my wife to use, and now she can't use it for its intended purpose.

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Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Barnes & Noble regarding our payment options for eBook orders.

Barnes & Noble accepts American Express, MasterCard, Discover, Visa, Diners Club and JCB.  We also accept debit cards that have a Visa or MasterCard logo.

At this time, we do not accept PayPal, Barnes & Noble Gift Cards or online gift certificates, checks, money orders, or Barnes & Noble retail store credits as payment for eBooks.  Additionally, we do not accept prepaid credit cards, randomly generated credit card numbers or gift cards issued by major credit card companies for eBook purchases.  We regret that the Pay By Phone option is not available for eBook orders.

We use the latest encryption technology to keep your personal information safe.  We hope you find this information helpful and look forward to your next visit.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenient this may have caused.

Sincerely,

Weber

Customer Service Representative

Barnes and Noble.

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Wow!!  So we can't even use a Visa gift card?!  That's crazy!