Barnes & Noble Booksellers

Fortunately, Barnes & Noble does not have the air of desperation I expected of a brick-​and-​mortar bookstore in 2015.
I really only shop here for a few things:
Travel guides when I need it ASAP to start planning travel,
Coloring books so you can browse through them (which is usually not allowed online)
Clearance
I used to love the bookstore as a kid. I’m glad there is still a place where younger ones can come to browse.

My favorite place to go in all of Austin. Bring your own book, or head down aisles upon aisles of journals, books, magazines, comics, mangas, whatever you’re looking for to scope out.
Occasionally when I come here on the weekend, there is a frequent book signing or some sort of Children’s read along event happening. The staff here are very helpful and fun when looking for something to purchase or insight for whatever you may need more details about.
Though they have starbucks coffee, they do not take Starbucks gift card credits, so head yourself over to the Starbucks on great hills or Target for a drink if you’re fiending for your star rewards. Though, if you have a B&N membership card, you’re entitled to a discount rate.
Finally, you’d be surprised what a BOOK store actually sells now, I really enjoy the flux of puzzles, 3D puzzles, lego models, toys, cat piano (my favorite), stuffed animals, pop figures, abundance of calendars, music vinyls and CDs, tote bags and SO much Harry Potter stuffs, along with Laptop trays and cute bookmarks and pop-​up cards. I only buy my holiday gift cards from B&N and if you wait long enough, Christmas cards on clearance for an amazing discount!
Comfy chairs, relaxing environment, I could just stay here all day. Free wifi, can’t be beat!

Four stars sums up this Barnes and Nobles. Why not five? Well, it’s just as good as any other B&N however If there was something exceptional than I would warrant the five stars. Clean, organized etc.

As an avid book reader I could go crazy here. The place is friendly and cashiers friendly. I bought a book for disfranchised children so that the cashier could give it to them. Cashier had no idea what I was talking about though I told him twice that this was for needy children. Every child should have a Peter rabbit book.

Barnes & Noble changes over time, but thank goodness they’re still here! They earned another feather in their cap last night. When I visited, there was a reading circle upstairs. Several young people were working with Down Syndrome kids, patiently reading «Stuart Little». I was thrilled to find young people so contrary to the stereotype this generation earns in social media and the headlines.
Thanks B&N for supporting their good work! –BTW, one of the youth pointed me to the Down Syndrome website where you can volunteer and watch for events:

Love teaching Spanish here, lattes are good and their spinach pretzel and quiche is very good.

Coming here is always a nice little getaway from reality. A little escape if you will. It is peaceful back in the coffee bar area. A few plugs for your laptop/​phone charging needs. Wifi that hasn’t failed me yet. There is also a nice sitting area upstairs if you want it even quieter. I have only ever found one plug, though. Anyhow. Aside from being able to come in here on a work day when I need to get away and set up my laptop and take care of business… I suppose my favorites would include, the children’s section. They have a lovely section for the kiddos. A train table. A nature stage for story time and small events… also a place where your little can explore and pretend. It is very inviting and the kids love it. I also appreciate their Harry Potter section, though smaller, I still gawk over it every time I walk in. My kids thoroughly enjoy that section as well. Sometimes they have HP events, which are wonderful as well.
It is a great place to find a quick present… chances are you will be the only one at the party with the gift you bought from here… and the kids will LOVE it. Who says educational toys aren’t fun? They are the best. And they aren’t all educational. but still many of them are of a different variety and class than you would find at a department store.
The staff has always been friendly and helpful, including when I had to return a book light that decided it did not want to shut off. Uh-​oh.

Came in for coffee and a quick bite. No salads or protein boxes. Do not order any of their pizzas. The pizzas are DISGUSTING and a complete waste of money. If you’re gonna splurge, get a cupcake.

They won’t take returns, even for store credit, unless you have a receipt or pay them a $ 25 membership fee. The manager here just accused me of bringing my merchandise from some other retailer, as if I were trying to game the system with my ten dollars worth of books. In front of everyone.

where do I even start with this place. I have never been a fan of this place but today’s «service» just proved my point that this place is a stuck up over rated store with rude employees. I went to take back a gift my five year old daughter received that she already had. we were not given a receipt but it has never been open. i told the cashier this then the manager and was told I had to have the receipt they do not provide any kind of store credit. I said okay and was going to leave when this manager felt the need to remind me I need the receipt and if I looked at the back I would see it says so. I reminded her it was a gift with no receipt, apparently she thinks im a liar or that pinched look on her face was just plain constipation. I will never purches a single item from any form of this chain again. with 3 years personal experience as a customer service manager I am shocked that in 2015 this store has no form of return options or real customer service. and after telling severial of my friends about this experience I got severial what else were you expecting and or course they suck. good job barns & nobles for being branded as rude and over rated.

This is an ok place to study and get coffee. Just don’t run in and ask for help near closing time and not expect to get major attitude.
I’m sorry that I asked for help and would have quickly purchased said book and been out of your store in under 3 min flat. I’m sorry that paying customers annoy you. I’ll gladly order from Amazon and have it here in 2 days, sans attitude.

This B&N location is in the Arboretum, which gives it a certain uptown vibe. Between the giant book selection and the coffee shop, it’s a great place to hang out and even to spend a family night or weekend afternoon, especially when it’s really hot or cold and rainy outside.
When my kids were small, I used to take them here to explore the kids’ section. It looks like a kid-​lure fairyland straight out of a storybook. When they reached the tween and «young adult» age, they preferred to slink down the youth chapter book and teen aisles and spent their allowances on the latest Harry Potter or Hunger Games series book or any number of animé or random seductive titles.
Now that they’re older and busy elsewhere, I find myself checking B&N online for their dreaded required texts. You can actually find out if they’re available and put the book on hold remotely from your computer or smart-​phone, and then pick it up later that same day. This has come in handy on many evenings, when they’ll realize that they need a particular book for English class TOMORROW.
This is not to say that I don’t read or buy anything at B&N. I do. It’s just that taking your kids there is a good excuse to grab a book for yourself. Or three. And there’s something nostalgic and slightly romantic about sitting in the coffee shop reading across from the guy that you used to study with back in college. Call me a nerd, and I’ll answer.

I’ve enjoyed coming here for years mostly to browse or pick up gifts and have always had good luck finding what I need. They’ve got one of the largest selections for a physical bookstore around, a good amount of kids stuff, a solid collection of jigsaw puzzles, games, etc… and music/​movies upstairs as well as a video game shop that is attached next door. I’m not sure if the game store is part of Barnes and Noble or not, but you don’t have to leave the bookstore to access it which is nice. There’s also a little café with desserts and sandwiches, coffee, tea, etc… to grab a quick bite while you read. The magazine selection is fantastic as well.
Employees are friendly and there are ample cashiers and lines move quickly if there is one. The place is nicely laid out, clean and a great spot to browse and one I enjoy coming back to from time to time just to see what new things are out.

I’ve visited this location a few times for various products and always enjoy taking a few hours to browse. Considering all of the other places you can purchase books nowadays, as well as the fact that most people use electronic devices to read books, I think the Barnes and Noble still offers a great selection of tangible books. I love the look of the store and it is always well organized, with the books being very neat and where they should be on the shelves. I’ve looked at fiction books and hobby oriented books (crochet and watercolor). You could spend hours looking through all the fiction they have and there are also a ton of various hobby related books — both educational and instructional. I actually like that the store has a wide variety of products including magazines, puzzles, toys, activity packets etc. It would be a great place to get educational, yet fun, activities for kids.
The staff has always been very helpful when I’ve approached them with a question — even leaving the customer service area to physically take me to where the book is, instead of just pointing in the general direction of where I need to go. It would be helpful if they did have more staff, simply because the store is so large, but then again, I’m not sure how productive that would be for staff members to just be roaming around in the aisles. You can always find someone at the customer service/​help desk area.
The prices are a bit higher than you find in online stores, but there is something nice about going to the bookstore and being able to handle the books. There are some discounts available if you are a member with the store, sometimes up to 30% off (that I’ve seen).

Wait, they still physically SELL books somewhere? OMG 5 stars.
Holddddd up, this book selection is turrrrrible. I can’t find anything I actually want to read outside of Oprah’s book club recommendations (which I won’t deny I may have read some, cuz Oprah’s the shit).
Half the store is now taken up by games. Because everyone knows all gamers get mad game and all the fine ladies they want — said no one ever.
There are now more magazines in this store than I ever believed existed, full of gossip. At least sell some naked body mags or something that I’d want to look at.
A massive children’s playground now engulfs the majority of the back of the store, complete with one of those colorful plastic balls pool, to which I was promptly escorted out of for being over the maximum height.
In conclusion, this is still a large bookstore, with a whole lot less books than I remember seeing when I was a giant chicken legged 8^th grader. However, since no one reads anymore they’ve reduced themselves into more of a gamer/​geekathon/​bible loving/​screaming babies/starbork’s type of place that really can only mean one thing: THEY STILL HAD THE ONE BOOK I WAS LOOKING FOR! It only cost me $ 18 for a paperback that was first printed 15 years ago! Oh joyous miracle, when the interwebs couldn’t possibly ship me a book in time before I left the country for a week, B&N still had my back.

They don’t even answer the phone here. But you do get a recording advising you of their electronic e-​book reader offering, and then silence. I just ordered from Amazon instead.

I think one of the main criteria for working in a bookstore must be social awkwardness and the inability to maintain eye contact for any amount of time. Now, I’m not saying the staff isn’t…but when they are more awkward than I am, that makes for a really bizarre experience.
I miss the days when bookstores mainly carried books. Now, you’ll find games, toys, video games, cd’s, dvd’s, magazines, coffee drinks, and pastries.
I rarely find any books I need in stock. Sadly, if I were looking specifically for the latest vampire witch teenage alien love story… I’d be in luck. Unfortunately, I am usually looking for real books. When I ask, 98% of the time I am answered with «I can order it.» Well, I can order it, too. The point of wanting to get my hands on it is in order to see if I actually want to spend the money on it.
But hey… if you’re in the market for the latest and most popular books and magazines, or maybe just a nonfatchaisoyskinnymacciatolatteccino, this may just be the place for you.

Though they have a pretty strong collection of books among other things it’s a little bit too much on the pricy side for me. I’ve seen better deals on books than this place. Music pricing here is a lil bit better than most places, but still… your going to burn a hole in your wallet if you buy too many books here. Would not recommend.

This particular book store to me is like a Cracker Barrel breakfast, comforting, full of good stuff and makes me happy. Could they do better on prices? Definitely. Maybe hire some more helpful people, that you could find, or even acknowledge you’re there? Yes, please. I would love to see some lounge chairs downstairs, make it more comfy, maybe buying a book would be easier if you could examine it better. I believe they would sell more books if they were a little more competitive, especially with Amazon.

Not a bad location… Employees make a lot of racket with carts, etc. not exactly a «peaceful» place to read. However, I need a place to get away from my office to study each week, and this place is great for that. Coffee service is top-​notch, and the baristas are both friendly and make great coffee!