Kelly Robertson
Yes, everyone is using Amazon, and there is nothing wrong with that. Still, some people — myself included — like visiting physical bookstores and that’s Barnes & Noble’s turf. The bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States has created its dedicated following before and despite Amazon, with its stores still managing to gather students, book lovers and other folks who like the feeling of browsing through book shelves. Or having a coffee in one of B&N’s cafes.
For those folks, we have prepared the list of ways how they could save at their local Barnes & Noble or on its website. Here are…
9 Money-Saving Tips for Barnes & Noble
As mentioned, most of these will work for just about anyone…
1. Become a Barnes & Noble member
The membership costs $25 per year and it’s easily paid off — in about a week, you’ll get an email with $50 in coupons. Also, it gets you 40 percent off hardcover bestsellers and 10 percent off almost everything else, plus free express shipping with no minimums of any kind. And let’s not forget about access to special savings throughout the year.
2. Check out the sales page on B&N’s website
Even without a membership, you can score some amazing deals at Barnes & Noble. For that, you will have to visit the Sales page on B&N’s website, where you can find many titles with savings of up to 75 percent. Something similar is also available in select B&N stores — you will just have to search for price marks.
3. Sign up for the Barnes & Noble Kids’ Club
This is a must for every parent who wants his/her child to read — and they also happen to prefer B&N over, say, Amazon. With the Barnes & Noble Kids’ Club, you’re entitled to purchase one book or toy for your child at 30 percent off the list price. Moreover, you get a $5 reward for every $100 you spend on kids’ merchandise, with a limit of four rewards per year. Plus, on your child’s birthday, he/she gets a free cupcake from the Barnes & Noble cafe. A sweet touch.
4. Consider a Barnes & Noble credit card
Issued by Barclaycard, the Barnes & Noble Mastercard® comes with a sign-up bonus in the form of a $25 B&N gift card that you earn after the first purchase. Also, it offers 5% back on all in-store and online Barnes & Noble purchases, 2x points for every $1 spent at restaurants, and 1x points for every $1 spent on everything else. In addition, if you spend more than $7,500 per year with the card, you are entitled to a free year of Barnes & Noble Membership. APR is variable, either 14.74% or 25.74%, based on your creditworthiness.
5. Buy pre-owned Barnes & Noble gift cards
Use a service like Gift Card Granny or Raise to buy a pre-owned gift card for less and save 7 percent or so. Perhaps you could save even more, but at the time of writing this article those were the available savings for Barnes & Noble gift cards. (Related: 7 Gift Card Hacks to Help You Save Money)
6. Clip the coupons
Coupons.com is your friend here but you can also find Barnes & Noble coupons on other sites. At the time of writing this article, we have found a dozen different coupons, offering things like $5 – $10 off certain purchases, buy 1 – get 1 at 50% off, 40% off fiction bestsellers, up to 75% off limited edition collector’s items, and more. Additionally, you may want to check out the Coupons & Deals page at B&N’s website.
7. Use a cash-back site
Ebates is the number one website for getting cash-back on many of your purchases. Right now, it is offering 3 percent cash-back on select purchases at Barnes & Noble. Also, the site lists few B&N deals so you may want to check it out. Generally speaking, you should use Ebates for just about anything you buy.
8. Sign-up for B&N’s newsletter
And get “savings, news, updates” delivered to your mailbox. Since this article is about helping you save money, we care about the first part the most; but nothing stops you from learning about and then attending events the company is organizing in your neighborhood’s B&N bookstore.
9. Follow Barnes & Noble on social media
This is where you can scoop additional deals and coupons. B&N is present on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Make sure to follow, like and subscribe to their stuff to be among the first ones to know when the deal is on. Also, this will let you keep up with all the events B&N is organizing throughout the country.
Conclusion
While Amazon keeps growing, Barnes & Noble still has its following. And I personally relate with those folks despite buying stuff on Amazon on a regular basis. It is truly hard, if not impossible, to replicate the physical store’s look and feel. I love browsing through book shelves and reading a few paragraphs before selecting the book I want.
That being said, with these tips I also get to save and, in some cases, learn what’s cooking at a local B&N store. Try them [tips] out and do let me/us know which have worked for you. Or if you have some other tip to share, feel free to add it below. Thanks. 😉
