Doesn't Recommend

ognyc

Joined 6 years ago

RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE RUDE. DID I MENTION THEY ARE RUDE!????? i have lived across the street from strand my whole life but i actually just registered with citysearch JUST to write this review!)

like many of the previous posters i went to sell some used books, as it clearly states all over their signage that they buy them. just as i walked up, the man behind the counter (richard i think his name was) acted like i offended him by bringing these books there, he glared at me and snapped that they dont buy text books (which they used to) and they dont buy paperbacks. i told him to just look through the 3 bags i had to see if there was anything he would take, since i wasnt sure anymore what he was looking for. he outright refused to look, so i pulled a few out that i thought maybe he would look at.....saying that whatever else he didnt want, i would just donate. that apparently outraged him more because he rudely informed me that the salvation army on the next block was the "appropriate" place to try to donate my things if thats what i was trying to do!!! i certainly didnt expect to make more than a few bucks on my books, which were used but in great condition, and i probably would have turned around and spent it in the store purchasing some new books....but after this disgruntled loser of a man waved his hand at me saying "NO!!" there wasnt anything useful in my bag, i am glad because i dont want to contribute a cent to these people. the worst part is that EVEN THOUGH THIS MAN REFUSED TO LOOK AT OR BUY ANY OF THE BOOKS I BROUGHT, WHEN I TURNED AROUND ANOTHER EMPLOYEE HAD ALREADY TAKEN ALL 3 BAGS OF BOOKS AWAY ANY WAS PUTTING THEM IN A BIN TO SELL THEM!!!!!!!!! they were so heavy, i didnt even bother to ask for them back, but i was angry with myself on the way home thinking about them making money on those books after giving me nothing but a DISGUSTING attitude. i certainly would have settled for a smile! STAY AWAY FROM STRAND!!!!!!

Doesn't Recommend

lacroune

Joined 6 years ago

don't waste your time. I would have to agree that the service at the strand is very poor and the place is not organized and the staff is rude. Dont waste your time!

Doesn't Recommend

lilmanhattan

Joined 8 years ago

Worst Customer Service Ever. It?s places like this who whine when chains take away their business. I?m all in favor of supporting local businesses but if the staff is going to insist on treating the clientele poorly, I?d be glad to see them go out of business- can?t just coast on ?we?re independently owned and we're cheap" as justification of their existence when they treat people badly.

I go in on Sunday April 22 and I?m "greeted? by a security guard who tells me ?check your bag?. Fine. Just let me get the books out first. As I?m doing this, he keeps jerking his head towards the bag check counter even after I politely tell him yes, i will, I?m getting my books out. Now if I?m taking books out of my bag the second I walk in, what do you think I?m doing with them? But he waits until I check the bag, bring my books to the sale counter, then tells me they don?t take sales on Sunday. I asked him why he watched me do this without saying anything- he just ignored me. Textbook ?now I see you, now I don?t? behavior regularly practiced by nasty bouncers, but a bookstore? . What kind of business encourages this behavior?

I go in April 23 and sell my books (rate was about 12% of original price). A employee is curt with a guy behind me when he asks if he can put his heavy box of book on the counter. I see already yesterday wasn't an isolated incident, but the way of things at the Strand.

Then the guy behind the counter thinks it?s appropriate to remark on how I shouldn?t smoke cause it?s bad for me (thanks, had no idea) when I take out my lighter. I?m sure he was trying to be funny, but after observing his sizeable belly and wondering if I should advise him to exercise more and eat less pizza because it?s bad for him, I somehow doubted he?d find the humor.

There?s an ?if you don?t like it, go somewhere else? attitude here. Don?t worry. I will. Rather spend an extra $5-$10 on a book and not deal with a miserable staff. I hope the rest of the customers who get treated like garbage here follow suit.

Doesn't Recommend

sal1229

Joined 7 years ago

awful. gaijingirl is so right, i did not know about citysearch when I HAD My problem at Strand, this place is a disgrace, and on the phone just as bad. rude service, rude workers, lousy store

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Citysearch Editorial Review. The overwhelming eight miles of narrow aisles is crowded with not-yet-shelved volumes and fellow book lovers to stumble over. If you call the book search department and give them all the bibliographic information on a title, they'll call you back within three hours if they have it in hardcover, and put it on hold for you for five days. Over two million new and used hardcovers and paperbacks--usually 50% off cover prices. The main floor features new arrivals as well as art, history, literature, philosophy and any other discipline of thought you can imagine. The Strand also has a very good rare book collection in an adjacent building--ask at the information desk for directions.

Doesn't Recommend

gaijingirl

Joined 8 years ago

Rude staff, disorganized aisles. I'd experienced the rudeness of the staff at the Strand in the past - and today's experience inspired me to write a review. I had gone over to the Strand to sell a few books (with the intention of later browsing the aisles, and maybe picking up something new.) The man who came over barely glanced at the books (without looking at me at all), announced "we don't buy books unless they're in good shape" and walked away without further word. In the stack of books I'd brought were novels purchased *less than a week ago* from Amazon. And I sure hadn't dragged them through the mud since. (Just found they weren't my style.) And alot shabbier books were on sale all around. Given markups, my concern was not really that I was denied much of a sale...it's the ATTITUDE at the Strand that is just unpleasant. Thanks, whoever you are. I'm never coming to the Strand again.

Recommends

ShellM

Joined 9 years ago

difficult shopping but still great. While the upstairs at the Strand is crowded, impossible to move around in and seems to have no organizational qualities whatsoever, the downstairs with thousands of hard cover reviewers copies of new books is a new fiction lovers paradise! I'm never buying a new novel at regular price again!

Recommends

bob_lupinskie

Joined 10 years ago

Strand Bookstore. Is it perfect? No -- it's dusty, hot, etc. But it's the best of its kind. I won't argue that there aren't niche booksellers (Argosy, etc.) who shine, but for those who are old enough to remember the treasure troves of 4th Avenue's booksellers, the Strand is a reminder of what was. In the age of chains and Internet sales (Alibris, Amazon's z-shops, etc.) the walk around and touch the stock stores like Strand are endangered species.

Recommends

youngblood58

Joined 11 years ago

Miles of books / cool t's. The t-shirts boast "8 Miles of Books", and once you enter this NYC institution you believe it. Hardcovers, paperbacks, etc. in every genre and condition and price range. This store reminded me of a regular bookstore in its open-aired atmosphere, voluminous selections, and bustling crowds of bibliophiles. One other note: it's touristy, but you can't beat the cool Strand t-shirts for $6.95 (tax included in that) in all kinds of colors from saffron to black to olive green. A must for any literate boheme.

Doesn't Recommend

BookLover4U

Joined 11 years ago

GET AC!!!. Come on Strand...get some Air Conditioning? Who wants to spend more than 2 minutes looking for a book, when it's 100 degrees in your store? I dont want armpit stains after lunch break!!

Clean the place up a bit...get rid of the dust. Hire some employees who aren't tattooed and obnoxious. What happened to the customer always being right? Not at the Strand.

I love books, and you have great deals and rare finds..but who can put up with the atmosphere?