Barnes & Noble return policy for records.

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by mooseman, Sep 25, 2016.

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  1. mooseman

    mooseman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I recently returned a new record back to Barnes & Noble. I was told they don't do returns, only for the same album if they have it in stock. You can't just exchange for something else or money back. I was kind of bummed by this. This is at locations in NYC.
     
  2. uzn007

    uzn007 Pack Rat

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Good to know. It's like they're trying to give Amazon their business.
     
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  3. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    thats their policy on almost any item in the store
     
  4. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Completely reasonable, IMO. You should only be able to return a defective record, of course. Anything else isn't acceptable.
     
  5. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia

    even defective items they want you to get the same thing
     
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  6. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Of course. You don't get to replace defective with another artist. That ain't right.
     
  7. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Right. That's how it's been for a very long time for records, even back in the old days when vinyl was still the common currency of the realm.

    They aren't running a lending library, and they take a beating on any vinyl record return (which are sold one way). So they're not going to be generous. Want to return it? You get another copy of the same thing.
     
  8. Vinyl Addict

    Vinyl Addict Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA


    What else would you expect to get?
    Barnes & Noble isn't Blockbuster.
     
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  9. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I'd give a call to their customer service line and see if they'll work with you. However, I've never attempted to return an LP for anything other than another copy of the same LP, so that may be the limit of what they will do.
     
  10. mooseman

    mooseman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    The manager at the store was giving me a hard time when I told her the record has a lot of surface noise. She didn't think that constituted a return. Also, they didn't have the same record there and told me to wait until they could order another. I didn't want to wait, that could be weeks dealing with B&N, so I just took it back home. I remember back in the day my old record store, J&R music world here New York City would exchange for something else if they didn't have another copy, even Tower Records did this also.
     
  11. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    These are the bad new days of vinyl. All sold 100% unreturnable from the label to the distributor to the retailer. In the very old days, before CDs, stores got an allowance of about 20% for returns. That took care of defects (and usually other returns as well). When CDs took off, with their extremely low defect rates, the labels used that opportunity to change the policies to one way no returns for vinyl. (They also wanted to phase out vinyl as fast as possible, and making the policy more onerous helped that).

    So if a retailer takes back your vinyl LP, they just ate the wholesale cost. This is why many retailers charge large markups and why they are very reluctant to take returns.

    If they said they'd have the replacement copy within a day or two, then it seems reasonable. If they said they didn't know when the replacement copy would be in stock, then they should take the return and refund your money (assuming your return was within their return window). However, per the B&N return policy, shrinkwrapped items must be unopened for a return. So while they should allow you to return a defect, it isn't covered by their stated return policy. And, yes, you can make a cogent argument that not accepting returns of opened merchandise means you can't know if it's defective until it's not returnable.
     
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  12. Opeth

    Opeth Forum Resident

    Location:
    NH
    I ordered something from BN online and walked into my local store and returned it because they sent me the wrong item. They would only do store credit ...
     
  13. mooseman

    mooseman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    The manager kept repeating the copy infringement act to me. Very annoying lady. To all NYC record buyers, I would avoid Barnes & Noble on Greenwich Street near the World Trade Center.
     
  14. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    that happened to me. i got a johnny winter cd boxset. special order. disc 4 was defective. luckily they had a cd player in the store and after i told them where the defect was the checked it and sure enough it skipped there too. guess what. only store credit because they said 3-4 weeks to get in another one.

    a different time they tried giving me hard time because i returned a bugsy dvd that was clearly opened and then resealed. the rear insert and inside booklet listed it as a "2 DVD SPECIAL EDITION" but it only had 1 dvd inside and they kept making excuses saying "well maybe the 2 dvd version is no longer made"
     
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  15. profholt82

    profholt82 Resident Blowhard

    Location:
    West Michigan
    I've returned a warped LP and a book to my local B&N within the past 6 months. Both times they issued me a gift card with the credit on it. There was no talk of exchanging it for the same item or anything like that.
     
  16. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    I've returned defective records to Barnes & Noble a few times at the Union Square location. No problems.

    There was one time when thee 5th Avenue location on 46th Street had a weird tizzy when I tried to return a Criterion Collection blu-ray (brand new/sealed) because a particular code on the B&N label did not match their store's code. I had brought a couple of the same titles for gifts and changed my mind on own. I explained I must have got it from another B&N store and didn't realize (and why would I) that the labels MUST match the receipt. Dear Lord, after a long debate they finally gave in and made an exception for me. Sigh..... :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2016
  17. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Not my experience in Denver. I just returned a defective Roxy Music box set and they offered me a refund or store credit.
     
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  18. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    In that case, I would have just sent it back to B&N online. They cover the shipping.
     
    mooseman likes this.
  19. mooseman

    mooseman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Update, I went to another location here in New York in midtown, they had another copy of the record I wanted to exchange. The location downtown that I mentioned has a nasty manager running the store. I would still avoid them.
     
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  20. sjmin209

    sjmin209 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Davis, CA
    I've returned defective LPs to B&N for a refund (not an exchange). I had to call the 800 number; I also had to ask them to email me a return label (which they pay for). THe refund was processed quickly.
     
  21. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    In any store,in any business,it's the local manager... that's the key. If you have a nasty woman as in your experience then you are doing the right thing for other customers and the chain in general by bringing up her poor attitude towards customers at least per vinyl return policy.
     
  22. Vinyl Addict

    Vinyl Addict Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA

    He didn't want to return it, he wanted to exchange it for a different album.
    That's no different than trying to exchange a CD or video game at a store. They won't let you do it once it is opened. Who's to say you didn't play it and just don't like the songs/game.
     
  23. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    I'm just sayin...per his posts #10 & 13...I'd have an issue with a store manager like that. They shouldn't be selling vinyl if they're not versed in it. It's a cash grab...duh...I think we all know that. The man, or woman in this case, representing "The Man" taking us for idiots once again. The store manager can recite return policies and copyright law all day long but probably doesn't know a thing about surface noise,warping,non-fill,etc.. You need to know your customers and respect what they know not just treat them like another number cause when you do that everybody looses. I've only bought 2 LP's from B&N and one was off center which they didn't want to deal with so,I don't deal with them anymore...ba-da-bing...that's the name of that tune :shtiphat:
     
  24. Vinyl Addict

    Vinyl Addict Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA


    I agree with what you are getting at, but the clerk offered to let him return it for a new copy, and he refused. He didn't want to wait for the copy to come back in stock. :shrug:
    I wouldn't expect them to bend the rules just for me because I didn't want to wait for a replacement. It doesn't matter bow anyway, he got a new one!:righton:
     
  25. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    I understand that,it was the OP's particular situation. I just have an issue with the B&N return poilcy when the majority of their sales staff and management know nothing about the intricacies of vinyl and that's really where the needle meets the groove so to speak. I like the idea that they are selling vinyl and they do have some cool exclusives. It seems they wanted to jump on the vinyl bandwagon without weighing the cost of potential downsides that can be prevalent in vinyl pressing and consumer playback and satisfaction. They're going to tick off some customers unless they have a few educated staff at each store to deal with these issues. Otherwise,the customer should be given the benefit of the doubt and treated to a full cash refund or whatever makes their life easier in getting satisfaction with the merchandise from their purchase. It costs time and money to go back to the store for a replacement so I can understand the buyers frustration. That should be on the store...you don't have another copy of this in stock then give the money back or replacement of other record of equal value.

    I was about to buy an armload of LP's this summer at a B&N (2 hour drive from me) with a 20% off sale but I asked about the return policy (warning,warning,danger,danger ) and ended up buying only one LP because it didn't sit well with me. The 2 store employees I talked with never heard of records being off center or having surface noise,non-fill. "You mean that's a flaw", one asked me. Plus, I asked the one guy if they had a turntable hooked up so I could check to see if the LP was flat,as the cover looked like it had the bends. He says....no,you'd have to open it and then we couldn't treat it as new merchandise. I said...not even if I stand right here,open it in front of you and then if it was warped I couldn't get my money back? He says...that's right. How do you deal with that kind of insanity? Any store that sells vinyl should have a turntable hooked up. In fact, that's one of my first questions if I'm at an antique store or used merch store where they are asking a premium over yard sale prices. You want my money,you better be able to back up the quality of what you're selling and here's how were going to find out.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
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