I have removed the really old reviews (like 2008 and 2009)
Shakespeare & Company
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939 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10021 Upper East Side
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“This bookstore was great.”In 7 reviews -
“Great selection of foreign language books downstairs.”In 5 reviews -
“I love independent bookstores.”In 4 reviews
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- Broke-Ass Stuart S.
- San Francisco, CA
- 609 friends
- 67 reviews
When I asked the girl working at this independent bookstore if it was related to the famous Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, she replied, "No. They just stole the name." And you know what? I can appreciate that. This was originally supposed to be Broke-Ass Spencer's Guide to Living Cheaply in New York but I stole the manuscript and buried Spencer somewhere in the desert 45 minutes outside of Marfa, Texas.
The shitty part is that my partner in crime was a guy named Dan Brown and though we both got to take one of Spencer's two unpublished books Dan got something called The Da Vinci Code while I got stuck with this piece of crap. See what happens when you try to determine all your important life decisions by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors? Apparently there are few of these book stores throughout the city and because of this particular location, they focus on books for old rich women and students, but mostly old rich women. Fabio sells tons of his romance novels here. -
I pass by Shakespeare & Co pretty much every day on my way to work. Finally I decided to wander in. After all, being a total bookworm... bookstores just naturally call to me. I am always window browsing their new books. You'll see a lot of students from Hunter and MMC shopping here. There is usually a sale section with discounted books too, which is great. It's a bit pricey here, but its a nice place for browsing.
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- Alex K.
- Rego Park, Queens, NY
- 0 friends
- 19 reviews
Excellent and knowledgeable staff. -
Sigh when my professors don't order books through Shakespeare & Co. I love coming here because it's so organized and professional. You just give the assistant your syllabus and they look for every book on there, books I didn't even know where on the list!
They also had things that I couldn't find anywhere else, especially the crappy Hunter bookstore. The lines are long the first few days, but it's worth it. I appreciate them looking for the used version before handing out the new version. They have a good selection of supplies as well. -
- Lorraine R.
- Brooklyn, NY
- 1 friend
- 9 reviews
As a Hunter college student, I've been here multiply. Five times, this semester alone. The books here are not that well-priced, they're much cheaper( not all though) than the books at the Hunter book store. I've had a large book list for this semester thus I go here when I'm unable to get something cheaper online as it wouldn't arrive on time. So you get my point, it's convenient b/c it's near the college.
The employees will fetch you the used version of the book you're seeking which is great; it'd be annoying to always have to request it, but they're not stupid, they know most would want a cheaper copy, ie the used one.
The employees are pretty amiable, but, one time, I bought a book and the cashier didn't even give me a bag- rude!!!! She never asked if I wanted one, she just said "next" and dismissed a bagless me. Come to think of it, I feel like they have some kind of problem with giving people a shopping bag, even though we're the customers! In fact, now, the cashiers, always ask if you NEED a bag instead of wanting one- it's like they want you to feel bad to say yes since most people have backpacks/handbags with them. But I always say yes. I don't understand why they're being so cheap- a bag is provided pretty much everywhere when a product is bought.
They can't justify this so-called "frugality" because they make big profits from the multitude of students that shop there. Also, they'll buy back your $12 book for $2 dollars!!! They are profiting VERY highly- and unfairly in that regard. Thank goodness I checked online how much they'd pay me to buy back a book I bought THERE. It'd be wholly embarrassing to have actually gone there to sell a book and refuse it from the shock of being told you'll only be paid a measly 2 bucks. Catch my drift? Do not, at any costs sell your books there. Do it on amazon. -
I hated when my professors would order books from Shakespeare. B/c of the store's layout, it cannot hold a large number of students. To ease the stores traffic (b/c Marymount also orders their books from Shakespeare) we'd have to stand outside in the longest, slowest moving line ever. THEN, they'd let us in one at a time to stand in line downstairs. THEN, you'd have to give your class list to a person behind a counter and they get your books... but I do have to say that they go out of their way to get you the best used copy they have. The people who work there are nice and stuff but I hate waiting in line.
What I would do is go on a Saturday morning to avoid the lines. Or I would go the week after classes start, all those over acheivers and type A personalities have already gotten their books, now it's just us slackers and chances are the slackers are too busy in Central Park toking up and that means: No lines!! Yay!!! -
- Mary B.
- Astoria, NY
- 1 friend
- 8 reviews
My professors only supply text books through Shakespeare because they prefer the quality/service to that of the Hunter College bookstore.
That being said...the quality/service of Shakespeare is great. Ever time I go in someone apologizes for something: for the lines being long, for my wait, for the somewhat shitty return policy (you only have a few days on most text books, some no returns at all) or for the books being available new and not used.
I took off one star because when they don't have what you want, they don't offer to special order it, a new feature at the Hunter bookstore and the norm for B&N or Borders. -
I love independent bookstores. They smell different.
Great selection of foreign language books downstairs.
Friendly staff. -
- Shannon Z.
- Brooklyn, NY
- 300 friends
- 363 reviews
Yes you can definitely buy cheaper books online but what I like about here is the fact that it's cheaper than the Hunter bookstore. During fall/spring semesters, this place is JAMMED with students trying to purchase/sell back/rent books. The people who work here are quick with their hands and you can get the book in your hands in less than 5 minutes. Yeah, they're that good. Took two stars off obviously cause they're a bit more expensive than online stores but if you're in need of a bookstore asap, I'd go here. -
- N J.
- New York, NY
- 66 friends
- 675 reviews
This Shakespeare & Co. is right by Hunter College. It's small but they have a good selection of things. Friendly and helpful staff. You can buy or sell textbooks downstairs. -
- Diana B.
- New York, NY
- 159 friends
- 1430 reviews
But it *is* a pleasant book store for those not seeking textbooks. -
- Jeison M.
- ASTORIA, NY
- 73 friends
- 59 reviews
This place is good as others have said for books not textbooks. But even if you are looking for books you will find that they are much cheaper online. What I dislike so much about this store is the quality of used textbooks they sell to you. For just a few dollars less than what the new book actually costs you get a really old beat up textbook required from Hunter. And then when you sell it back you get barely anything back. This bookstore partnered up with Hunter try to get the most money out of you. When the professor asks for Hunter Edition textbooks they make them only available at Shakespeare and so everyone must flock to buy them. What i found out is that the Hunter edition is just shortened versions of the original one and for the same price or significantly less you can buy it online through Amazon or other retailers, but your are never told that. -
- Frances L.
- Los Angeles, CA
- Elite ’13
- 1221 friends
- 1177 reviews
While on a spontaneous post-lunch walk, the boyfriend and I wandered into Shakespeare & Company Booksellers; a nice local bookshop with a diverse collection. We sauntered down into their basement level and found a sale section that had some pretty good titles for super cheap. Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union and Kurt Vonnegut's Look at the Birdie (Hardcover) both for under $10 (new!) While most of the other titles were on the ordinary side (similar to that of a small Waldenbooks), there were some pretty good deals and the staff were friendly. Oddly, they also had a small section of DVDs that were very inexpensive (new movies ranging from $7-11). Not the most impressive independent shop in the area, but I'd prefer it over going to a big corporate store. -
For a local bookseller, this place has it's act together. Mostly hardcovers and trade paperbacks. Don't look for a lot of the cheaper editions. I walked in as a lark and found two titles which I doubt I would find at Barnes & Noble. Check them out.
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- Katie K.
- Bayside, NY
- 5 friends
- 21 reviews
WAYYYYYY overpriced. I'm a student at Marymount and their used books are typically in crappy condition and expensive. Go to http://half.com and save yourself $300 like I did this semester. -
- Emily H.
- New York, NY
- 0 friends
- 99 reviews
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- TK T.
- Manhattan, NY
- 7 friends
- 134 reviews
- This bookstore was great! I Staff was very helpful, and their selection was amazing. I love indie bookshops because you will always be introduced to something new. I love!
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- C L.
- New York, NY
- 0 friends
- 1 review
- Empress O.
- Manhattan, NY
- 19 friends
- 9 reviews
- this review is regarding the textbook portion of the store. don't even bother asking anyone upstairs for help, exchanges or returns on your textbook because they will send you downstairs with a dirty look like you're the red-headed step-child.
but basically i got in line which wasn't bad when i got there but shortly became insane, i asked the employee what the return/refund policies are regarding the books i was going to get (i got a lab manual) as another girl from my class had to drop the class and was trying to sell me her book. but just in case she didn't show and i needed the book (hunter bookstore didn't have theirs delivered yet) for that day's lab, i went ahead and bought it at shakespeare.
the employee told me it was totally refundable/returnable and that i have a week to do so full refund. i bought it based on her answers and later that day i was able to buy the lab manual from the girl who dropped the class so i went back an hour later to return the lab manual i bought from shakespeare. they would not refund me and said lab manuals weren't good for returns as it said so and she proceeded to point to a small sign by the cash register and the backside print of a bookmark.
i told her that their employee had then given me the wrong information after i specifically asked her and the cashier told me that book runners have no idea what the policy is and still no return. i informed her then they should better train their employees to be familiar with policies and that it was wrong to pass their lack of training onto customers. in addition, the receipt stated all purchases were good for return for one week. even though i pointed it out to her and it did not state anything about lab manuals, she pointed again to a book mark and a small sign. she said it was my responsibility to read the back of the bookmark (which wasn't an official receipt). getting no common sense through i asked for the manager, and she scoffed at me and said that he will say the same thing as she did. when the manager came, he was rude and nasty off the bat. i tried to explain the situation and to indicate which employee it was and what she had stated after i asked her the return policy for the book i was getting and he kept interrupting me asking me why i would buy someone's book. he did not seem to get it at all. finally he tried to locate the employee that gave me the wrong info but couldn't so he begrudgingly told the cashier to refund my purchase. now she was all like oh, "our runners don't know shit." well, it's your job to make sure your employees are familiar with your policies.
i love independent retailers but they were nasty and i'd rather pay hunter bookstore the $10 extra to not get attitude like that or go to amazon or barnes & noble. so no thank you shakespeare. you are the reason why people flock to big-time retailers. i need to buy textbooks, but i don't need to buy it from you.
big mistake...big! huge!!!
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