Barnes & Noble sells books, gifts, toys, and digital content through its retail stores and online. The company was acquired by Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited in 2019 and is privately held. Barnes & Noble also manufactures NOOK e-readers and operates a café program, a membership program, and a self-publishing platform called B&N Press.
Usually 1 to 30 minutes. Availability: Phone support is available every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern time.
Email support
Barnes & Noble generally responds to email inquiries within 1 to 5 business days.Availability: Email support is available every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern time.
Live chat support
Barnes & Noble generally responds within minutes.Availability: Live chat support is available every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern time.
Response times can range from a few hours to several days depending on the platform and the inquiry's complexity.
Help center/FAQ
Barnes & Noble help center/FAQ provides quick answers to common questions regarding orders, accounts, gift cards and payments, shipping and returns, membership, store pickup, Nook support and B&N audiobooks.
To create a bn.com account, visit the Barnes & Noble account creation page and enter your name, email address, and a password. Having an account lets you track orders, manage your membership, and save payment and shipping information.
Barnes & Noble customer service policies
Barnes & Noble's privacy principles describe its approach to collecting, storing, using, and disclosing personal information gathered through stores, websites, devices, applications, and the membership program. The company states it does not sell or rent personal information and follows security standards designed to protect customer data. The full privacy policy addresses data collection, use, sharing, protection, children's data, customer rights, and U.S. state and international disclosures.
Rewards Membership is a free, stamps-based program. Members earn one virtual stamp for every $10 spent in a single transaction at Barnes & Noble or Paper Source stores and online. For every 10 stamps collected, a $5 reward is issued to the account.
Premium Membership costs $39.99 per year and includes all Rewards benefits plus a 10% everyday member discount in stores and online, free shipping with no minimum purchase, a free Barnes & Noble tote bag each paid year, free café drink size upgrades, birthday offers, and early access to promotions.
Frequently asked questions about Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble's quoted shipping windows begin at the ship date, not the date you place your order. Processing time — which can add several days — is separate and not included in the advertised estimate. Multiple recent reviews report that even paid expedited shipping can take five or more business days in practice. If your order hasn't shipped within a reasonable window, contact customer service at (800) 843-2665 or via chat. If you paid for expedited shipping and it arrives late, request a refund of the shipping fee; B&N has issued these refunds in some cases when raised via BBB or the executive contacts above.
Barnes & Noble ships pre-ordered physical books on or around the release date, but delays and silent cancellations happen, particularly on high-demand titles. The company can cancel a pre-order if it cannot source the title, and in some cases customers report receiving only a brief email with no adequate explanation or next steps. If your pre-order is delayed or cancelled, call (800) 843-2665 immediately and ask for a full refund including any shipping paid; B&N cannot reimburse bank overdraft fees caused by a hold placed at time of order. If the book is still what you want, ask whether it is available in-store for pick-up.
Auto-renewal fires approximately one month before your membership expiration date. To stop it, log in to bn.com, go to My Account > Membership > Manage Membership, and select Auto-Renewal Opt-Out — or call Member Services at (866) 238-7323. You are entitled to a full refund of the $39.99 fee only if you cancel within 30 days of being charged and have not used any member discount or benefit during that term; after 30 days no refund is available. If cancellation on the website is not working (a reported issue — try a different browser or incognito mode), call Member Services and ask for a written confirmation. Legacy membership holders whose cards are not linked to an online account must call rather than cancel online.
Yes — as of the November 2025 terms update, collectible trading cards, sports cards, and trading card games are explicitly excluded from the 10% everyday member discount. If you were told by a store associate that the discount applied to these items and were charged the full price, contact customer service to request an adjustment and document what you were told. B&N's official policy allows terms to change "at any time without notice," but in-store misrepresentation is a grounds for escalation.
It is not broken, but the purchase flow requires leaving the app. As of June 2025, Barnes & Noble updated the NOOK iOS app to include a "Buy on BN.com" button next to each title; tapping it opens your default browser and takes you to the product page on the website to complete the purchase. After checkout, the ebook automatically syncs to your NOOK app and any linked NOOK devices. This workaround exists because Apple's App Store guidelines historically barred in-app purchases that bypassed Apple's payment system; a court order in 2025 finally allowed external purchase links. For Android users, the NOOK app also requires purchasing on the website in a browser rather than within the app itself.
There is no glitch; this is a known, unresolved limitation. As of early 2026, Barnes & Noble's Premium Membership discount does not apply to purchases made at papersource.com, even though Paper Source is part of Barnes & Noble. The in-store Paper Source discount does work with your membership card. B&N's own help center notes they are "working on making this possible" for the website but has not given a timeline. In the meantime, if you want to use your membership discount on Paper Source items, buy them in a Barnes & Noble store location that carries Paper Source merchandise, or call Member Services to confirm whether any workaround exists.
B&N Press (Barnes & Noble's self-publishing platform) does not offer live phone support; all escalations go through the email-based support.
Disclaimer: Contact information is believed reliable but not guaranteed. Executives change contact details frequently. If an email bounces or a number is wrong, report it immediately. Published February 23, 2024. Updated May 7, 2026.