Buy ebooks with a giftcard

[missacarissa]

I have a gift card and I'm looking to purchase a eBook. I can't find anywhere to change the option from a direct link to my credit card. It isn't worth it to me to by the hardback and if  I can't use the gift card I won't be purchasing at all.

[Phil_K · Accepted solution]

Dear missacarissa:

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.

[pattibb]

It makes no sense that we can't use the gift cards with ebooks. Like missacarrissa, I have a gift card I wanted just for this purpose. It never crossed my mind that I couldn't use it. I'll be looking at Border's from now on.

[RHWright]

This is immensely disappointing and should be addressed ASAP. The holiday season is tops for buying and receiving gift cards. I was going to buy my own nook, but use the GCs I traditionally receive as gifts to load it up with plenty of content.

Unlike some who see the slightest thing as a "dealbreaker" for them, I am not ready to pack up my toys a go home.

The B&N should take a hard look at improving this before it becomes a huge issue during the holiday and post-holiday season.

Maybe a way to "credit" and hold the full balance of a gift card on our online account?

[athenagwis]

This is very dissapointing to me.  Since I assume my mother (or anyone else) couldn't just buy an eBook for me under her account and have it  work on my devices, then basically I will never be able to get the gift of eBooks from family or friends.  I think of all the things on your website that should allow gift cards it should be the eBooks since because of DRM, they really can't be bought and given to someone like a physical product could be.  I really hope this is reconsidered and soon.

Thanks

[DemonicDuck]

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.

[Xyxox]

Yep, the more I explore, the more I'm leaning to a Kindle. I love the look and the features of the Nook, but two factors make it a no sale for me, cost of eBooks and now the fact that nobody can gift me eBooks.

Besides, book gift cards from Amazon usually add up to over $300 for me every year. My entire extended family knows how much I love to read.If it was going to be a Nook for me this year, I would ahve informed everybody that I shop exlusively at Barnes and Noble, but now it's looking more and more like I won't have to do that.

IMO, the Nook is the best eReader from a purely technological standpoint, but cost and the fact that you cannot use gift cards are both deal breakers by themselves. Put them together and the Nook looks like it's on the way to becoming the Betamax of eReaders.

[01halostang]

I think it is extremely important that B&N make it possible to purchase eBooks using gift cards.  Apple made it possible with iTunes and iTunes cards (aka gift cards).  B&N should be able to do the same!

Although this will not keep me from buying the Nook over the Kindle.  The fact that the Nook has an expandable memory card slot, and a replaceable battery are really important to me.

[ScottFreelanci…]

Honestly, that is one of the dumbest things I've heard about this yet. No gift cards? I ask for gift cards a lot. And one of my credit cards allows me to redeem my points in gift cards and I ALWAYS choose B&N. If I were to get the nook, they'd be useless. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The more I read about all of the shortcomings that are popping up, the less I want to buy it. So many of these things could have been easily avoided. I am really disappointed.

[AuntJoanie]

B&N needs to address this issue immediately!!!  I have pre-ordered the Nook as a Christmas gift from my boyfriend and have told people gift cards are a great idea.  How hard can it be to apply a gift card to your order (no matter what the item) on checkout?  They also need to address the fact that some of the eBooks cost more than the paperback version of the book.  I intend to keep my library card!!!

[McWarren]

Maybe, once you're physically in the store (on the wifi instead of 3G,) gift cards would be able to be used?

[joeypore]

Yeah, this is something that definitely needs fixing.

[gilgomez]

Last night I slammed the brakes at the check out cashier desk when I found out (after a 20 minute or so wait because the store associates weren't clear....they had to check around with others and the manager):

B&N will NOT allow gift cards to purchase ebooks so that scratched out a gift for my son who is in the Navy and stationed overseas but with internet access.

B&N will NOT allow membership discounts be used to purchase gift cards.  Duhhhh, dumb.

B&N will NOT allow membership discounts be used to purchase the Nook, or Nook accessories.

B&N will NOT allow membership discounts be used to purchase ebooks for the Nook or any other reader for that matter.

So, B&N will sell the lovely Nook but loose a tremendous amount of loyal members and customers.  They will loose lots of $25 memberships which obviously don't get us much after all.  And, B&N will loose ebook sales to other online sources which are less expensive and more creative in their marketing to build a loyal customer base.

Shame to B&N for not treating their customers more fairly and not returning the loyalty of years of memberships sold.  And for not allowing customers the ability to send loved ones serving in the armed forces overseas gift cards to be used for ebooks.  Shame!

[pipersline]

WHAT!!!??? I was going to purchase a nook for myself and now I'm sad I ordered one for my dad!!!

I can't believe you can't use a gift card!!!!  What's the point!!!!???

[gjrice]

I agree with everyone that it is unfortunate that we can't use gift cards to purchase ebooks. My understanding is that you need to use the credit card number used in the purchase of the book to unlock it on the nook (makes sense) if this is the case than I can understand why they can't use gift certificates currently. Perhaps they could add an obligatory $.01 charge to books being bought with gifts cards in the future to allow us to use gift cards while still having the security feature of a credit card number attached.

As for not giving discounts on the gift cards, that also makes sense. At most places you get discounts when you purchase the product not a gift card for a future product. If they discounted the gift cards than they would have issues with some people wanting discounts on what they purchase with the gift cards as well. You can't get the discounts twice,  this just makes it simpler.  As for wanting to send gift cards, how about one of those reloadable VISA cards you can get from banks? That might solve the problem for the navy boy's mom.

Not allowing discounts on the nook and accessories sucks, but it is their choice. Isn't the nook already at a really good price point?

I have never had an ereader, but I have been wanting one since the original kindle came out. I am asking for gift cards for Christmas to purchase the nook, but have no problem buying the books with my credit card. As for the prices, I think that B&N must realize that in order to be competitive they are going to have to bring their price points a little closer to Amazon's I am just curious to see how long it takes them to implement the changes.

[stirwise]

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.

[RHWright]

---

gilgomez wrote:

B&N will NOT allow membership discounts be used to purchase gift cards.  Duhhhh, dumb.

---

Duh. Why would any retailer give you a discount on a gift card? It is a cash equivalent, not a product. It would be like walking into my bank and expecting them to deduct $45 dollars from my account and hand me a $50 bill.

The only situation I've seen discounts on gift cards for has been when (usually) corporate customers are making bulk purchases, say $1000s of dollars.

I strongly agree, however, that b&n needs to get the GC situation as it applies to using them to make purchases of eBooks straightened out before launch.

[Waterloo_Joe]

That doesn't make sense about not being able to use a gift card because you need a credit card.  Apple has the same setup for itunes, but if you get a gift card they just let you credit your account and charge the difference to your credit card once you've gone over the gift card limit.

Its not rocket science, and Barnes and Noble has this feature when buying books online.

My guess is that, unless they are clueless, this issue will be addressed and fixed to allow gift cards before the holiday shopping season starts on Black Friday.  If they don't fix this, I would be one of many who would end up going with the Kindle instead.  I'm guessing that they are getting the pub out early so word has time to get around in time for Nov-Dec.  They are probably still adding a lot of the features up until the first generation of Nooks ship out.

In the meantime, if I was Amazon, I would have this issue blaring front and center on the Kindle's main page for those who are checking out each product's website to get information before deciding which one to go with.

[AquitaineSC]

I still have my Nook on pre-order, but this inability to use gift cards given to me to buy ebooks, along with the price differences I'm reading a lot about, may just be the deal breaker.......I still have a couple of weeks to cancel or buy, but the gift card issue is HUGE, HUGE, HUGE!!!!!! 

PLEASE RECONSIDER QUICKLY BARNES & NOBLE!!!!!

[LindaN66]

That is too bad.  I LOVE B&N and have for many years.  But you can use gifts cards from Amazon to buy books for the Kindle.