Barnes & Noble Booksellers

I kind of want to hate B&N. Many years ago when I was a student at the school formerly known as Trenton State College, we had a little independent bookstore on campus where we could get textbooks and candy bars and TSC sweatshirts, and the like. And our textbooks. It was fine. And then B&N moved in, and jacked the prices, and many of us – pre-​internet, pre-​eBay — went up to Rutgers to buy books at their cool bookstore which sold the same books we needed at a lower price than our B&N, and also offered used books.
A few years later, Borders came along — oh, how I loved that place, even though it was one of the reasons the independent shops were struggling. I didn’t have an independent bookstore near me at the time. I continued to hold onto my grudge against B&N and didn’t shop there. Years went back, and I only visited them under duress. And then, the unthinkable: we lost Borders. And it seems Barnes and Noble could be next. I felt terrible, actually — I am a huge fan of the internet and know it’s possible to get a feel for a book based on reviews and recommendations, but it is so nice to really take your time and FEEL a book, to take in the smell of a new one. So I don’t want anything to happen to that place.
All these years later though, I always think about how the corporation came in and screwed over a bunch of college kids, and how lame that was. Their prices are still quite high compared to other shops (I now have an independent bookseller not too far) and internet booksellers. But the employees I’ve encountered are pleasant enough, and they have a great selection, and will order books, and while I’m not a huge fan of Starbucks, it’s nice that you can sit down with a cup of coffee and read for awhile. It would be nicer if they had more seating throughout the store, like I’ve seen in other bookstores — there isn’t enough at this location. But otherwise, this store is pretty decent for sure.

Nice large store but not enough seating.

Terrible customer service. I personally do not like shopping at B&N to begin with, but I had a gift card and used it to purchase a book. Once I got home I realized the book wasn’t what I thought it was. I went back to exchange it and told them I’d just like the cash back instead of forcing myself to buy something there in order to spend the gift card. I don’t like B&N. Cashier told me they don’t return cash for gift cards. She seemed confused so I asked to speak to the manager. The manager’s attitude was passive-​aggressive and just unprofessional. So I am stuck with a book that I don’t really want. My takeaway: this store has terrible customer service. And I would NEVER give someone a gift card for B&N, the policy is unfair.

Barnes and Noble is a chain book store… and I still love it. Comfy chairs, rewards program, lattes, magazines and books galore. I do enjoy reading an actual page book over my Kindle so every so often I stop by B & N for a book. Staff is wonderful here and always helpful. Only a few are actually knowledgeable about books so they cannot compete with the small book stores owned by book lovers. Like I said… I love ‘em anyways.

I have always liked this bookstore, this one is closer to my house but I like the Princeton store better. The layout there makes more sense. The Hamilton store is nice enough and convenient, however I always have trouble finding things. Especially in the kids’ section – the layout is so confusing! And the café is a little small. But I like the stationary section and the bargain section. Also they are willing to help organizations fundraise – a definite plus. I would keep coming here but mainly because of the location and it’s a great place to get a cute hostess gift for someone.