Off-Campus Books

Really expensive. Unfortunately some of the professors printed up their books special so this was the only place where I could buy them. It was like $ 30 for a loosely bound notebook. Because as a college student attending a school where tuition increases quarterly, I totally had money to spare Riiiiight.

Where do I even start with this place?
First off, definitely search amazon, ebay

etc and come here with your comparisons because I can pretty much guarantee you won’t be saving much here.
Sometimes, it’s even cheaper at the bookstore!
Staff here is extremely rude.
I understand the need for a «no bags» policy. But they will legitimately SCREAM at you if you walk past the little cubbies with your bag. You can’t even stand in the paddle area with it.
Also, they don’t have anyone guarding your stuff. Someone can come back and just jack your bag and no one would be the wiser.
The best part about this place were the paddles and letters. My go to place to get all things Greek. One time I got the largest paddle with an assortment of sizes for letters (probably about 100 – 150 pieces) and it was under $ 100.
Other than that, you’re better off elsewhere.

Although cheaper than the campus bookstore, the rudeness of the staff makes this place extremely unpleasant to go to. You’re forced to leave your backpack/​purse in cubbies right near the entrance to the store where anybody walking along the street can see them. Once you finally find the book you need and go to pay, it’s even more of a nightmare. They don’t take Discover (the one credit card that UC Davis will accept to pay tuition online). After both of my credit card gift cards had been denied, though they had plenty of money, the cashier began to get extremely frustrated. When I finally gave him my debit card to my personal bank account, he asked me in a very rude manner, «Are you sure you have enough, because we’re charged each time we run a card.» (Never mind the fact that they’re getting $ 25 for some pieces of paper that are spiral bound) The debit card worked, at which point he told me «You should have used that the first time.» Overall, there is absolutely no customer service, and I don’t recommended this store to anyone. It’s worth it to pay a few extra dollars.

Honestly, unlike other Unilocalers, I love this place. Of course the owners are just tryna make money off you, but I saved quite a bit of money buying many of my textbooks here. You just need to do your research beforehand to see whether or not you’re getting the best deals. It’s conveniently located near the UC Davis on campus bookstore too :)
Sometimes I call them to check the price and stock. Make sure you bring cash to avoid long lines.
Warning: Don’t come here to sell back your books. Heard its a rip off. Only purchase books at your own expense.

*Sellers Beware* I wanted to sell my math16 series math book (hard cover). They wanted to buy it for 5 dollars and 1 dollar for the solution manual because it was an «old edition». However, they were selling the «old editions» for $ 70 and $ 45(sol) dollars a piece. I rather burn my books than sell it to these people.
FYI-​sold it on
instead.

I really dislike this store’s policies and some of the staff are very rude; however, the prices are usually pretty good (for purchasing I’m not sure about selling your textbooks here). Overall I’d rather patronize a different business. I feel like it’s worth it to pay a few extra bucks or just go elsewhere to be treated with a little respect.

UGH! I hate you! You’re frustrating! You’re rude! You give me $ 1 for books for classes that aren’t being offered; are you calling me cheap? You never have the books I need, and your store is cluttered, messy, dusty, and it smells.
you suck…

Got a good deal a few times but now you can do Amazon…

Totally forgot about this place. As a student, any amount of dollars off texts is a deal. Probably why I always kept all of my books in good condition so that if they weren’t obsoleted (damn publishers) I would sell back the book to someone else and only lose a bit of money in the process. OCB does this in mass and it’s a grab bag whether you’ll get a good deal or not. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. Like used records/​cds. I never really found a great deal so I guess you could try your luck but keep your expectations accordingly.

Extremely shady! I bought a textbook from them and there’s nothing that said that there’s a WHOLE CHAPTER missing from it. I went back to try to exchange (since I still needed the book) or have a partial refund. All they said was that since the books are used, you should expect it to happen and since they’re cheaper than the UCD bookstore, I shouldn’t complain about it. Please!
In addition, they don’t trust patrons and require you to leave your backpack & bags in their cubby holes. They also have workers follow you around at times like you’re going to steal something. DON’T deal with them! They are consistently rude unless you buy from them. BEWARE!
My tip: Go to Culpepper Used Books. They have a price match deal and gives you a 10% discount from the matching price. So go in and get their prices and go straight to Culpepper!