Barnes & Noble Premium Membership: Is It Worth It?

[@tinabauerle2794]

In my younger life I was a Barnes & Noble user/ purchaser and lived close to one. In my later life as I came close to retirement, I became a Library user and now in retirement more than ever. I Moved to Texas almost 2 years ago now and I'm fortunate the library is 9 miles from me and I still have a car and drive..

[@KAZHE63]

Hi, Peg! I have the new B&N Premium and love it, too! I’ve used it tons for grandkids’ books and fiction. Also, my husband and I do a puzzle a month from Oct-Feb and I’ve been getting those, too. My B&N had the hunter green tote bags !🥰

[@nildamager1649]

I own a Nook because when traveling I can have many “books” with no extra weight. My husband bought me the ‘First nook many, many when I was traveling on business. Today the Nooks are much smaller

[@elizabethmurphy3931]

LOVE my B&N! I use the premium card. Since I have MS, it is not always possible for me to get out whenever I like. That free shipping has been a true savings for me. Also, those stamps add up pretty quickly, so I already have $15 in rewards to use. I also love the extra % off of new books as well as sales, and sometimes they give a 30% off for pre orders. Your blue tote is beautiful. I was only able to get the black and gold, which is very nice. It is a very sturdy tote! Overall, I find the premium card well worth the cost. I am so glad you have done a video about this. As usual, you have been informative and given me more ideas for new reading. Thank you!

[@TheHistoryShelf]

Yay, Elizabeth! I'm so glad you liked the video and also that you're getting your money's worth with the Preem, as I call it. I do love it...as long as they keep it at $39.99 a year for awhile, I'll be renewing! I'll probably get the black and gold tote next. 😁

[@carbonbiker]

Looks like a great deal for people that love to read and give books as gifts. It shouldn’t take long to break even.

[@readingbytheriver5752]

Interesting and informative - I will do some research. Thank you - I find I always learn new things from your videos. I'm doing a no buy - read what I own challenge. So if I do join it won't be until at least the summer. A couple books you showed I added to my list for my read around the world project. Please continue to keep us posted on the bargains and sales you learn about. I look forward to the PUP sale. Didn't shop this year because of the challenge. I also have one big book left from 2023. Thank you again.

[@Lu.G.]

I'm with ya, it'd be worth it just for the free shipping (seriously, I have "issues" when it comes to shipping fees)! 😆 We've only got 2 B&N stores left in my city and they're farther than I want to drive. 🤷🏼‍♀ And yay for the sweet tote bag! 👏🏻

[@auntdeesbooks3072]

I remember years ago they had a membership you had to pay for. (Think it was $15 then went up to $25) When I worked and lived by several it was great. Then they stopped carrying or stocking nonfiction books and magazines in my area. Then between their closing stores and the emergence of online stuff, kinda forgot about them. Might have to look at them again for online as no stores are convenient to me anymore.

[@BlueToast97]

I love my Premium membership. I live near a B&N, but I can't get over there too often - still, free shipping alone is a big plus.

[@christinaalvarez332]

Great tote Peg! I would be over the moon too! 🥰

[@skeller61]

I, too, am trying the B&N premium membership. I got it mostly to collect the premium “leather” books (bonded leather, not Easton Press quality, but nice editions nonetheless). The tote bag is nice, but I definitely would never pay $20 for a tote bag! I have not and probably won’t ever use it. Now for the disappointments: In the exclusions from discounts - “The Everyday Member Discount is not available on products featured in certain designated promotions or sales”. Unfortunately, this means that the discount is not available for most of the books that are not too high priced to begin with. In fact, I have not been able to find books outside of the “leather bound classics” that are not cheaper from Amazon (yes, I’m a Prime member, too). I don’t know if it was worth it, but if it weren’t for the B&N leather bound editions, the membership would definitely not be worth it. I also had an issue where I bought (online) a lot of blu ray discs during a sale there, but they were never shipped to me. I won’t go through the whole story, but after two levels of support, I finally had to write an email to their VP of customer service. She went back and listened to my service calls to find that what I told them I was promised was true and finally got my order for the price I ordered them for…but only after several hours of hassle on the phone. I hardly felt like a “premium” member during that experience. Overall, if you have a particular reason for that year, as I did, it may be worth it, but I will definitely not be renewing at the end of the year.

[@BigBearBloo]

Thanks! I’m a big Amazon user but I’ve had it with them! Last 3 books from Amazon were shipped in flimsy plastic envelopes. One was torn, another bent, a third torn and bent! I returned each. Does BN ship a book with decent protection? Either in a box or with a stiff cardboard piece?

[@TheHistoryShelf]

Absolutely! I can attest to the very sound packaging from BN. If ordering one book, you can bet on a very sturdy wraparound cardboard packaging...no bending with these. And if you order more than a few things, you'll get a sturdy BOX with appropriate air bags or paper stuffing. I have never had a damaged BN book mailed to me before.

[@ToddsBookTube91]

Nice idea for a video Peg! It's not worth it if you only buy two books a year! But I love to support Barnes & Noble it would sad to see them go. I enjoy earning stamps. I plan to renew my membership in the future.

[@TheHistoryShelf]

Right, so you have to be sure to buy more than two books a year. Lol! I'm glad you'll be renewing. Even though it's a chain, we still need to have brick and mortar store alternatives to Amazon. I don't have a lot of independent book stores where I live, so it's either B&N or Amazon for me.

[@dqan7372]

Back when I was loading up on Criterion Collection films, it was fairly easy to justify paying $25 for 10% off. But now i have most of the classics. These days I'm facing a significant unhaul, so can't justify making concurrent hauls. Unless, they include Nook ebook purchases. I still get those on occasion.

[@TheHistoryShelf]

They do include Nook ebook discounts!

[@dqan7372]

Whelp! There goes my resolve.@@TheHistoryShelf

[@MEDOBOLT]

im not in the US but i love reading specially hardcover books which i have to order online, is the membership worth it as an international?

[@Read2live]

I have the new premium membership, and I think it's only worth it if you buy many books a year. For me, it's worth it and I ended up paying on several books less than I would have paid for these books at Amazon. Their 50% sale is great and the points add up. The only thing I don't like is that the points have to be $10 (pre-tax) to get the points. If the order is $9.99 you get no stamps. If the order is 19.99, you only get 1 stamp. For me, it's still worth it because I check prices and I buy them together to make the maximum points. I buy from both, Amazon and B&N, whichever is cheaper at that time. If a book is the same price or only a few cents cheaper at Amazon, it's better to get them from B&N because I get 10% off and stamps. I think it depends one's needs. I buy a lots of books a year from all kinds of sources, so for me it's worth it. Also, I buy coffee and books and pay them all together at the cafe cashier. This way, I get 10% off on everything, the upgrade on my drink that goes with the membership (if I get a grande, I pay for tall, for venti, I pay for grande), plus the stamps.

[@TheHistoryShelf]

Yes! I like how you think...I also factor in the stamps earned versus only saving a few more pennies at Amazon. When that's the case, I always go with B&N. Great minds think alike! And yes, if you like buying stuff from the cafe, the automatic size upgrade on coffee/tea is just ANOTHER great perk (pun intended). 😆

[@Read2live]

@@TheHistoryShelf 😁