I purchased my membership back before COVID and saved a bunch of money when I bought my wife the entire Harry Potter series. Definitely saved money for the membership just from that purchase.
Chic-fil-a & Barnes & Noble gift cards, my man! I had the membership too, unfortunately I feel like I didn’t quite make the most out of it as it turned out I lived far off from any B&N locations & didn’t have a car available, I still think it’s worth it though, went a few times & the year went by!
I spend around $2,000 a year on books . . . for myself (as an author who needs to research, and also for leisure reading), family members, and sometimes for the business. So off the top (10% discount), that's about a $200 savings. I have also (since mid-2023) redeemed $285 in rewards. (I like to take my wife into the store and let her use it.) So, for a relatively big buyer like me, the Premium membership is definitely worth it! The return on my investment is about 10 times!
I think the only other variable to consider is comparing having purchased all the same books through Amazon (or some other retailer), which tends to have lower prices than Barnes and Noble.
First off, thanks for teaching, Jonathan. I'm a retired teacher myself, so know that your work is appreciated! :) Okay, so based on your video, to "break even" a person would need to spend $400 at B&N. I'm not sure if you're up to it, but I'd be curious if you listed all your books and calculated how much you would have spent on Amazon. Because you really spent $440 at B&N, yes? $400 for the books and $40 for the membership. Would those books cost $440 on Amazon? That would be an interesting study. Thanks again for the video! It's always good to hear other people's perspectives! :)
Entirely depends on how often you shop there. In addition to books, I also purchase a lot of board games, so the membership paid for itself quickly. And don't forget to use the benefits offered in the cafe! ☕ 👍
I probably broke about even. Though I basically only buy Lego w/ giftcards from Capital One Shopping so a bit tricky to track. Also got a decent tote which is worth something.
Do you also have the B&N mastercard? I'd imagine using that in conjunction with the premium membership maximizes your rewards potential with the store.
Considering the discount applies throughout the store to include other items than books it has definitely been worth it. The free e book a month has been a nice bonus as well.
Unfortunately I don't think it saved me any money. I've had their membership a couple times before. Back when it was only $25.00 I think I did actually make my money back in savings. The 10% off purchases, even if it's just coffee and a cookie can add up. Unfortunately I now live almost 30 minutes away from our local B&N and I don't go into the store as frequently and even though they do offer free shipping to Premium Members online they often do not have as good of discounts as you can find in their stores. You really have to watch their sales closely in order for it to be worth it. Combine that with the fact that I have moved almost entirely to purchasing ebooks now the convenience and selection for the Kindle is way better than B&N's Nook. Consequently I do not think when my renewal comes up in November that I will be renewing.
Have you heard the news about Howard Andrew Jones being diagnosed with brain cancer? Devastating. Maybe it would be worth it doing a celebration of his work in a video?
It’s worth it for me because on top of books, I also get physical media like criterions and comics. So averaging $40 a visit if I buy something… it’s absolutely worth it for me
I'm sorry, but you are not "saving money." BN is selling books at MSRP or with the standard discount. A membership is you paying them for what they really wanted: you exclusively shop from them (and not Amazon) to get the most out of the membership. They should have just been giving it away. Honestly, paying full price on $20 books, even with some discount and/or stamps attached, is like burning money. You're not saving if you can buy the same book in the same condition for a small fraction of the price from Amazon, Thriftbooks, etc., and I think most people would use library checkouts, buying used and ebooks (especially daily and monthly deals) to save even more. People shouldn't pay for a membership out of some misplaced brand loyalty. They are a company, not your friend. And for those talking about DVDs from BN: seriously!? I think the rest of your family would be relieved if you stopped burning money so carelessly. Those are all highly marked up (over literally every place else) high-profit margin sales for them. Nobody else in their right mind pays BN price for a DVD. I also have another problem which is that BN is not even competitive with any place else. They take 2+ weeks to deliver online orders. You don't even need to use Amazon; just use BAM, and you'll receive it in 2 to 4 days. Just order Blackwell's, which ships FROM THE UK, and you will receive your order within the week. BN's terrible, terrible, slow shipping combined with their terrible prices makes it a no-go. I still like occasionally browsing and buying from BN, but common sense, please.
Well, I do like to spread out my buying as possible (still buy a lot through Amazon and other vendors), but all of the books I bought were because they were in store and I didn’t need to ship it or to wait on it. It’s really the convenience that was appealing, and the membership does bring it down by about 20%, at least for me. So it was worth it in the end.
I obtained a $100 mastercard as part of my work appreciation week. I am most definitely going to obtain a premium membership for $35 and then use the remaining $65 along with the 10% discount on a few nice copies of some books that bring me joy and would go nicely in my collection. I am going to wait for a double or triple stamp promo since it is close to the holidays, and when I go to the store with my wife and kid one upcoming weekend because it is a place we just like to meander around and spend time together, I am really going to enjoy buying them a coffee or dessert with the discount. I could spend the gift card on groceries or I could even spend it on books from Amazon, but that does not seem like it would be as fun or rewarding.
I purchased my membership back before COVID and saved a bunch of money when I bought my wife the entire Harry Potter series. Definitely saved money for the membership just from that purchase.
Not only do I buy books from B&N, I also buy DVDs and CDs. They have incredible discounts on DVDS and CDs, that the premium makes it even better.
Chic-fil-a & Barnes & Noble gift cards, my man! I had the membership too, unfortunately I feel like I didn’t quite make the most out of it as it turned out I lived far off from any B&N locations & didn’t have a car available, I still think it’s worth it though, went a few times & the year went by!
I spend around $2,000 a year on books . . . for myself (as an author who needs to research, and also for leisure reading), family members, and sometimes for the business. So off the top (10% discount), that's about a $200 savings. I have also (since mid-2023) redeemed $285 in rewards. (I like to take my wife into the store and let her use it.) So, for a relatively big buyer like me, the Premium membership is definitely worth it! The return on my investment is about 10 times!
It’s been very worth it for me. And I use my bag all the time too!
I think the only other variable to consider is comparing having purchased all the same books through Amazon (or some other retailer), which tends to have lower prices than Barnes and Noble.
They have also been doing 25% off preorders multiple times this year, plus an additional 10% off that.
I just finished Runelords book 1 from your recommendation. And I have so many thoughts. 😂❤
First off, thanks for teaching, Jonathan. I'm a retired teacher myself, so know that your work is appreciated! :)
Okay, so based on your video, to "break even" a person would need to spend $400 at B&N.
I'm not sure if you're up to it, but I'd be curious if you listed all your books and calculated how much you would have spent on Amazon.
Because you really spent $440 at B&N, yes? $400 for the books and $40 for the membership.
Would those books cost $440 on Amazon?
That would be an interesting study.
Thanks again for the video! It's always good to hear other people's perspectives! :)
Entirely depends on how often you shop there. In addition to books, I also purchase a lot of board games, so the membership paid for itself quickly. And don't forget to use the benefits offered in the cafe! ☕ 👍
Thanks for this, really helpful!
I probably broke about even. Though I basically only buy Lego w/ giftcards from Capital One Shopping so a bit tricky to track. Also got a decent tote which is worth something.
Do you also have the B&N mastercard? I'd imagine using that in conjunction with the premium membership maximizes your rewards potential with the store.
I do not have a credit card, but I still get a lot of rewards from the membership card.
Considering the discount applies throughout the store to include other items than books it has definitely been worth it. The free e book a month has been a nice bonus as well.
working part time at walmart
bagging groceries
while i go to school
for my weave degree
Unfortunately I don't think it saved me any money. I've had their membership a couple times before. Back when it was only $25.00 I think I did actually make my money back in savings. The 10% off purchases, even if it's just coffee and a cookie can add up. Unfortunately I now live almost 30 minutes away from our local B&N and I don't go into the store as frequently and even though they do offer free shipping to Premium Members online they often do not have as good of discounts as you can find in their stores. You really have to watch their sales closely in order for it to be worth it. Combine that with the fact that I have moved almost entirely to purchasing ebooks now the convenience and selection for the Kindle is way better than B&N's Nook. Consequently I do not think when my renewal comes up in November that I will be renewing.
I love this video! I think I need to do a deep dive video into my membership. Plus, the coffee perk too! - MJ
Have you heard the news about Howard Andrew Jones being diagnosed with brain cancer? Devastating. Maybe it would be worth it doing a celebration of his work in a video?
I had heard that and was devastated. I am planning such a video to release eventually, maybe around book 3’s release.
It’s worth it for me because on top of books, I also get physical media like criterions and comics. So averaging $40 a visit if I buy something… it’s absolutely worth it for me
I'm sorry, but you are not "saving money." BN is selling books at MSRP or with the standard discount. A membership is you paying them for what they really wanted: you exclusively shop from them (and not Amazon) to get the most out of the membership. They should have just been giving it away.
Honestly, paying full price on $20 books, even with some discount and/or stamps attached, is like burning money. You're not saving if you can buy the same book in the same condition for a small fraction of the price from Amazon, Thriftbooks, etc., and I think most people would use library checkouts, buying used and ebooks (especially daily and monthly deals) to save even more.
People shouldn't pay for a membership out of some misplaced brand loyalty. They are a company, not your friend.
And for those talking about DVDs from BN: seriously!? I think the rest of your family would be relieved if you stopped burning money so carelessly. Those are all highly marked up (over literally every place else) high-profit margin sales for them. Nobody else in their right mind pays BN price for a DVD.
I also have another problem which is that BN is not even competitive with any place else. They take 2+ weeks to deliver online orders. You don't even need to use Amazon; just use BAM, and you'll receive it in 2 to 4 days. Just order Blackwell's, which ships FROM THE UK, and you will receive your order within the week. BN's terrible, terrible, slow shipping combined with their terrible prices makes it a no-go.
I still like occasionally browsing and buying from BN, but common sense, please.
Well, I do like to spread out my buying as possible (still buy a lot through Amazon and other vendors), but all of the books I bought were because they were in store and I didn’t need to ship it or to wait on it. It’s really the convenience that was appealing, and the membership does bring it down by about 20%, at least for me. So it was worth it in the end.
I obtained a $100 mastercard as part of my work appreciation week. I am most definitely going to obtain a premium membership for $35 and then use the remaining $65 along with the 10% discount on a few nice copies of some books that bring me joy and would go nicely in my collection. I am going to wait for a double or triple stamp promo since it is close to the holidays, and when I go to the store with my wife and kid one upcoming weekend because it is a place we just like to meander around and spend time together, I am really going to enjoy buying them a coffee or dessert with the discount. I could spend the gift card on groceries or I could even spend it on books from Amazon, but that does not seem like it would be as fun or rewarding.