When I had problems with my Nook, I called Customer Support and they were super nice. I had a replacement Nook within 3 days and they paid for shipping back the old one. Also, they sent me a brand new Nook, not a refurbished one.
All Nooks come with a 1 year warranty so you shouldn't have any problems exchanging during the first year.

This has been a problem brought up on another board. One theory (although not confirmed) is that the first run of them with the black chassis (look around the power inlet and the speakers) cracked easier than the newer chassis (grey that matches the back cover). Curious, do you remember which your old nook was?

Elisha: I suspect that customer support would have responded properly. But, when she bought the Nook, she was told that if there was any problem in the first couple of months, the store would gladly replace it. Apparently, not all of the sales people are aware of the policy. You would think that the guy manning the Nook booth on Saturdays would know that, however.

Frank - interesting. I can't say what color the old one was, but the new one is gray in the area you mentioned. It also appears that the area where the face plate meets the back plate is slightly different in construction than the old, but can't be positive about that. Hopefully they've fixed any shortcomings in the design of that mechanism and I won't see the cracking again.

I'm glad I came here. I just noticed my nook was cracked in the exact same spot while I was reading yesterday. I got mine through the mail, so I called customer service. I was told that I could not return it in the store, but they would expedite one to me within 3 business days (with a credit card number on file), and that I would have 14 days to return the old one. Mine is the black, so hopefully the new one will be better. What is funny is that I baby this thing like you would not believe--I have it in a case and still keep it all in the box the case came in. The gal at B&N laughs at me whenever I come in to read because I have to take it out of the box (and I've had it since January).

I hope the replacement is good. I was a little bummed that I couldn't just return it at the store, but since it was obtained through the mail I have to return it that way. I guess if I had gone to the store first and really gave them a hard time they would have done it, but at least I won't be without a nook while I wait for the new one.