I believe this is due to certain people out there who buy books from other stores cheaply and return them to B&N for a refund with a small bit of cash. Then again this may seem like a hassle so its most likely that the corporation is just trying to cut losses. If I am right I believe WALMART is next.

Dear scammy little assholes who like to game return systems,

Thanks for fucking it up for the rest of us who are, you know, honest.

-Beavis88

@beavis88: Game return systems?

I have no doubt that this policy change is a response to massive fraud perpetrated by customers. This is what kills most "super-friendly policies".

A guy I work with searches yard sales and flea markets for used Craftsman hand tools. He intentionally breaks them if they work and exchanges them for new tools at Sears. This guy hasn't worked on his own car for years, he doesn't even need tools. This is just his greedy little hobby.

There are many people like this that make it difficult for businesses to introduce truly customer friendly policies.

No problem. The UPS guy already calls me "that lady who gets all the Amazon packages." There are two B&Ns within a mile of me right now and I only go there when I need a last-minute gift. Well, that just dried up; I'm not going to give a gift book that the recipient cannot return within a reasonable time.

@beavis88: MY bad...I get it...Spanish

I think this is all a ploy to get people to buy gift cards for Christmas. If you get the book 2 weeks before Christmas and give it on Xmas day only to find out that they already have that book? Oh well! Should have gotten them a gift card!

I'm currently in the process of re-gifting a George Foreman grill for this very reason.

@SkittleKicks: I don't know what B&N's plan is, but most stores extend their return policy over Christmas. Where I used to work, it went from 30 days Jan-October to anything purchased after Halloween could be returned before Jan 15. Still would catch people on b-days though, but I don't think people shop as far ahead for b-days.

@K-Bo: B&N did extend their return policy last year, but who knows what they'll do this year. And who cares.

Just another restriction put on everyone because of the crappy behavior of certain people. I'm willing to change my behavior if it means losers will quit trying to scam every customer friendly business out there.

Target started a local policy on toy returns because a bunch of people were buying all of certain collectibles and then taking them to comic book conventions to sell at a higher price then returning what didn't sell for a refund.

Jezebel had a comment last week from someone who worked at Nordstrom. Some woman picked up a bottle of perfume off the counter and tried to return it. According to their policy she had to do it.

As long as the return policies are clear and fairly reasonable I don't have a problem providing proof I actually bought the item or getting a gift receipt.

Don't forget, Toys R Us has this policy as well.

While the 14 days seems a little short, I absolutely don't see the issue with requiring a receipt. Your receipt is pretty much the only way you have proof the item was purchased at a particular place. Keep it until you're sure you won't be returning the item. It's pretty simple, really.

... Excuse me if this is no longer correct, but wouldn't they just destroy the returned book and send in the cover to the publisher for a full refund anyways? Maybe that is the reason for the receipt, maybe the publisher started getting covers that weren't distributed to Barnes & Noble and refused to pay.

I used to work at a Borders bookstore, and we would have people bring in books from B&N, peel off the sticker (right in front of us!) and then try to return it. Also they would try to return books we didn't carry in our store, or books that were horribly dogeared. As per our policy, we would refuse, and then they would call a manager and pitch a fit until they were allowed the return. It was completely ridiculous. I would say that only half the returns were legitimate.

Why is there any reason to think this is anything but an opportunity to be more profitable?

I've seen and been burned by the "receipt only" return policy in the recent past, and it's annoying as hell...

14 days is still enough time to read a book so if you were skeezy you could utilize B&N as a library I guess.

Dear Consumerist...please remain ignorant as you are. "First Target...", really? Seems like if I walk into any major retail store's guest service there is a huge sign and/or printed declaration on the wall that states a receipt is required. Guess what?! They have been there forever! Oh no! Can this be true? Yes... and thanks for your generalization that all Target stores have become the devil's advocate and won't accept anything without a receipt, which obviously isn't true. Due to the shoddy, amateur blog on Target you posted in the past, I must take the news about Barnes and Noble with a grain of salt. I advise other readers to actually check with the store of their choice to see what their return policy currently is.

I never thought to do this to Barnes and Noble. I guess i'm just an honest person but really whats to stop me from using B&N as a library meaning buy a book, read it in 4 or 5 days and then return it and get a new one. What kind of excuse can you use? Sorry, the book wasn't very good so i'd like to return it.

Their policy sounds reasonable. I'm surprised there are still vendors who will accept a return without a receipt. Those giving BN books as gifts just need to shop within that 14 day window.

Now, if only their prices would come down to planet Earth.

Well, there's still Borders. They generally have a better selection than my local B&N anyhow.

If you have used books you want to trade, I do recommend PaperbackSwap.com. It's inexpensive and you can get some good reading out of it.

It's a logical measure. When you have no receipt policies, bad people tend to abuse it...

@Bravo369 "What kind of excuse can you use? Sorry, the book wasn't very good so i'd like to return it."

I don't think the cashier gives 2 hoots *why* you are returning the book, they just want to keep the line moving.

@Wimpkins: Uh, no...English.

Well, it's not like it's hard to keep a receipt.

At the B&N in The Bronx, NYC, their return policy has always been 7 days. I wonder if this "increase" applies to this store now.

I have no beef with the no-receipt no-returns (period!) policy-- at any store-- but the length is just wrong. 14 days is ridiculously short.

For gift-givers that actually plan their purchases ahead of time, and gift-receivers that procrastinate (I have some books from Xmas that I probably won't open until Memorial day, if not later), 2 weeks is bullshit.

Books aren't sashimi-grade tuna; they're not going to 'go bad' after a couple of weeks. 90 days seems appropriate here.

@speedwell: Agree, that takes B&N off my list for gift buying. Their policy means you have to wait until the last possible second to buy it, and then your giftee better be on the ball to return it. No thanks. I like to do my shopping farther in advance.

Are they owned by Target or something?

I used to work at BN and there was a lot of returns and fraud. The bulk of their profit comes from membership and they aren't selling like they use to.

I don't get the whole returns thing.

I make it a point to:

A. Not buy anything that I don't intent to keep
B. Not buy gifts unless I'm certain the recipient wants it/doesn't have it already.

In the past five or so years I've made maybe 1 return, and that was just because I bought something of the wrong size. Even then I felt like I should have just bought the right one, doing the return made me feel like a fool. But that's just me.

get a gift receipt?

They've never allowed me to return a book, because they know I do all of my reading in the bathroom....

And if Seinfeld has taught us anything, and it hasn't, its if the book has ever been in the bathroom then you're totally SOL even with your receipt.

Not here nor there, I'm a Border's guy

I think Target and BN had to change their policy because of fraud. I don't blame them. However, can they look up purchases via a debit/credit card the way Target can?

If not, maybe they could put stickers on the items (ala Nordstrom's or Macy's cosmetics) so the store knows for sure it was purchased at BN?

I work at a B&N (I'm reasonably sure I'm going to be late because I stopped to read this article =P) and though I haven't heard this at my store yet from being off a few days, this is the best news I've heard in some time.

People "return" things they pull off the shelves ALL THE TIME. Books that are in used, nasty shape, travel books that have obviously been travelled with, books from Borders and books that are obviously bargain books with the sticker removed are all things we have to take back without a receipt...for the next what, 2 weeks? weeee!

While I agree this does ruin it for the every day, honest customer, it's just maddening to let anything pass by me. Though I'm sure when the first customer pitches a fit over the new policy, the managers will roll over just as quickly as before >_<

Everywhere I go people want some piece of personal information before I check-out. Why can't they just look up my information in their computer thingy in lieu of a receipt...paper is so 1980.

If I do purchase a book at a brick and mortar store, I'm a Borders guy myself.

Saying goes that you should support the home team... Yeah right! B&N may be a New York City company and it's CEO might be an alumni (and part of the Board of Directors in our school's powerful alumni association) of my high school, but I always disliked B&N's policies.

First, the 14 day return policy (compared to Border's 30 days), their membership program (I have to pay up front such an amount to get a piddly discount? Please! Borders will give it to me for free if I sign up for a limited marketing newsletter) and I dealt with one too many rude staff member at different B&N locations throughout the city to swear off any future business there.

@beavis88: The worst thing is that these people don't get to see any of the bad effects of their games.

What a novel concept...returning an item requiring a receipt?? oh the inhumanity...oh c'mon people, how hard is it to retain a receipt for a book...if you can't return it, maybe you should think about reading the book then for a sense of satisfaction.

This is a good thing. I worked for B&N for three years way back when, and the amount of return abuse I personally saw was pretty crazy. Fortunately, most of the managers didn't take shit from anyone, so that helped curb it somewhat.

The problem is not the receipt but the 14 day return policy; what if it's a gift?

B&N are overpriced, I never understood who buys media directly at their stores (20$ for a DVD/CD before the "member discount?")

If you have to shop at B&N, make sure to go for the 15-25$ coupons on fatwallet or similar sites, that actually makes it a good deal in some cases.

Even as a former employee who now hates the BN chain, I have to admit this is a reasonable policy change. We saw all kinds of abuse of the liberal return policy, from people using it as a library -- buying a book and then returning or exchanging it when they were done, to Borders price stickers to very obviously used travel guides. Since BN is all about catering to customers' every whim, our manager would take them all back with very little fight and we'd be stuck with unsaleable merchandise.

beavis88 pretty much nailed it. The scope of imagination for return fraud was just stunning.

@azntg: The Borders "reward" program has to be free - it's worthless. I get a coupon with a very small window of oppurtunity to use and a laundry list of restrictions attached to it. Any coupon I get fron B&N can be used on ANYTHING, even if it's on sale and even if I use my discount card, and I usually have a few weeks to use it. I think I ended up getting Stephen Colbert's book for more than half off from all the combined discounts. As far as I'm concerned, my $25 a year get's paid for in two visits (and I visit many times throughout the year). Also, Borders seemed to want to send me junk e-mail almost every other day. And, oh boy, if I spend $150 in a month at Borders, I get a $5 credit to use in the store the NEXT month only! Woo!

As far as the employees thing, I guess it all depends what store you hit. Any Borders I've been in, the employees just did not seem to care or really know what they were talking about. B&N alos just feels more...I dunno "cozy", to me.

@jmschn: It's not the requiring of a receipt that I disagree with. It's the meager timeslot in which things are returnable. If I buy a textbook, say, and find out midway through the semester that ten pages are missing, I'm out of luck if I bought the book from B&N, receipt or no.

Har de har... I guess B&N realized that they've got to rip off their customers even more by imposing a limit on returns.
That's why I shop at Borders, 'cause I don't have to pay an annual fee just to get coupons.

Anyone who has problems with the need to provider a receipt is a full-on scammer.
14 days? Maybe a bit short, but I'm guessing it;s there to catch those people who use B&N as a free library for new books

they just finally wised up. i never did it myself (honestly!), but i used to tell people that the easiest way to steal from barnes and noble was just to walk into the store, grab a book off the shelf, and then walk up to the register to say you got the book as a gift and ask for store credit so you can make an exchange. when i worked there, there was no way to know that the book you were scanning as a return hadn't actually been sold. the 14 day limit does seem pretty draconian, but making sure you have a receipt is a good call.

What can go wrong with a book? Pages are missing? The binding fails? B&N isn't a library where you can read the book and then return it.

You can thank everyone who abused the system.

Now they just need to get rid of the slacker hipsters who sit there for hours a day with a coffee, reading a book on the floor and never buying it.