John Smith & Son Glasgow

the textbook prices may appear a bit steep, but there’s no other local competition around. If you are in the area it is handy for the other essentials; stationery, greeting cards, confectionery, non academic books, umbrellas, university branded items, gift vouchers… as it’s a bit of a walk to the nearest shops.

As the University of Strathclyde’s very own book store, you can normally rely on John Smith to stock all the books you need for your upcoming semester.
However, I would have expected this wee shop to be much more competitive when it comes to pricing, and to be honest, I would rather look further afield or even on-​line to pick up books for cheaper rather than give this store the money.
The set texts for classes are so expensive, perhaps because they know first year students will be panicking incase they can’t get these all important textbooks anywhere else. Even the paper and pens are extortionate, and I have seen myself going in here for a couple of pens, highlighter and a pad of paper and came out a tenner lighter. Disgraceful.
Look elsewhere unless you are really desperate or in a hurry for a text.

I’m not quite leaning towards fully-​fleged conspiracy theory style proposals here, but there is no need for the books in here to be as expensive as they are which my warped mind suggests mean there is something else going on.
Basically, virtually all core texts are in here and sometimes you can only buy them from in here which is a nightmare. Forking out £40 for a book, sometimes even more (there are medical ones that are £100+) you cant help but think what else you could do with that money.
Aside from this, the books are really good and the shop has a nice tidy layout, though not as nice as the Caledonian University cousin up the road.
The staff are cool and have given me bags before when I didn’t make a purchase which was nice given how sturdy their bags are and the sort of attitude supermarkets have lately when they wont even give you a bag when you’ve just bought a weeks worth of shopping.
If only the books weren’t so dear.
Tip: take a pic of the books and chase up the authors names on Amazon later on to get them for half the price.

The staff in here are always very helpful, and can’t do enough to help when you’re looking for a particular book.
Despite this, the prices in here are steep. Anything in here, you can find onlin for less, although good deals on A4 paper can sometimes be found in John Smith’s.
There is a range of stationary and also a small snack selection, both of which I would avoid unless you urgently need them of have you student loan burning in your pocket!