Barnes & Noble

Great selection of books, abysmal selection of chairs to sit in to peruse them!

A good-​sized B&N. Much better than the one in Issaquah or at Crossroads shopping center, but maybe not quite as nice or convenient as the one in Woodinville. The parking lot is a pain, but at least they have a lot in the middle of Bellevue. Well-​stocked, clean, although why the B&N stores up here have no train tables for the kids to play with beats me… as others have noted, it does seem like they don’t want you to stick around. A missed opportunity imo.
We like to come to this location because there is so much good food in Bellevue. A trip to the bookstore for the kids with a delicious lunch afterwards for the adults.

This is one of the remaining Barnes & Noble, which works great for me because I’m a BN member and it’s walking distance from my apartment. I also like that this BN has the music/​video department, and the staff there always seem to be willing to help. The layout is easy to navigate around. But if you’re looking for particular books, they may not have it. They have all the major works, but usually just in one or two editions. I love coming here during the holidays because they always have a nonprofit that comes in, to gift-​wrap your items for a donation.

Had a good experience at this BN location. My emailed coupon wasn’t working for whatever reason, but the cashier didn’t give up. Most sales associates would have probably replied with,“sorry man, it isn’t going through. Don’t know what to tell ya… That’ll be $ 40 full price.” But he figured out the issue after 5 or so minutes. Shout out to Adam S!
Parking is kind of blah, but that’s to be expected in downtown Bellevue. Take your ticket and get it validated.

I love books and I love this particular Barnes & Noble location!
This particular store i enjoy for a couple reasons… the staff is always super polite, the store is always clean and the media section is larger than most (or so it feels.)
Selection of new books, magazines, gift ideas and media (DVD’s & CD’s) is great, plus if you can’t locate what you need in the store it can be ordered in a snap.
Side note: Like most B&N there is a lovely Starbucks within to feed your coffee/​tea needs.

I love their convenient location. I love meeting friends here after shopping at Bellevue square.

I’m not one to leave negative reviews for customer service alone, but my experience at Barnes & Noble yesterday was pretty awful.
I had purchased 2 books as a Christmas gift early (in November) but the recipient already had them, so I brought them back to exchange them for a different book. The cashier (looked like perhaps a manager?) looked at the receipt and told me that the return timeframe was up and that «it says so riiight heeere on the receipt. See?» She did offer me a store credit «just this one time» and when the machine prompted me to swipe my card, I instinctively swiped my credit card (whoops!). The cashier responded in a very condescending tone by repeating her spiel about the return policy, this time very slowly. I felt spoken to like a 5-​year-​old who just got caught with her hands in the cookie jar.
I do think that a 14-​day return policy is terrible in this day & age and will admit that it surprised me. However, if I had been denied a refund due to my own poor planning, then that’s life. There’s a multitude of ways to inform a customer that their request cannot be accommodated, and none of them involve patronizing the customer.
2 stars because the book selection is pretty good and the person who helped me locate a book were very helpful. In the future, I’ll save myself the unpleasant interactions (and a few bucks) and order from Amazon.

This store exceeds your expectations with selection of books, magazines, cards — friendly customer service in-​store and on the phone. Highly recommended over the Tukwila store, will now only shop at Bellevue B&N.

It gets two stars because it’s clean. And has books. Nothing else nice to say about this place. I tried to park in their parking lot, you know, like we do in America. How dare I?! I was quickly stopped by a guard who didn’t speak coherent English or bother to take the time so I could comprehend him. So I parked in some gravel lot out of the way. *here’s hoping I don’t get towed. Thanks.* Anyway, I attempted to figure out the parking situation once I got in the store by speaking with a passing manager. She was unbelievably rude and short with me. I should’ve expected nothing less in wonderful Bellevue. If you have other options, I would strongly recommend you exercise them. The pretentiousness in this place is actually palpable.
*EDIT — on second thought, one star. Suck it.

This place makes me really happy. I just wish they didn’t take away the comfy chairs. The staff is nice and personable and I’ve always been helped when it comes to finding the right book. Great place to come and wind down after work. Starbucks attached, I assume that’s true for practical every Barnes and noble chain tho

I love a feeling of instant gratification, so when a book I saw on
and
was available at this location I took a break right away and headed over to grab it. It was a nice walk in the sun to the store, but that was about it.
The arrangement of the books leaves much to be desired. I had to go to customer service to ask the location of a book. As I walked up to the desk, with no other customers there, the woman tapping away on the computer didn’t acknowledge me for about 30 seconds. That may not seem like a long time, but I am used to walking up to a counter, and even if the person is busy… at least get an acknowledgement of my presence and an «I’ll be right with you». I had the title pulled up on my phone, as it was long and I didn’t know the way their search works, but was tersely told, we only need the title. I felt like my hand had been virtually slapped away. Mind you, all of this was done with body language that was screaming contempt. She must have known what was coming when I went to checkout.
So, I got the book and went to checkout. In the meantime, while I was searching for the book I came for, I found another book and picked it up to buy. I also found a little chotchkie and had that for purchase as well. As I walked up to the counter, I was greeted by asking for my phone number… and then when I didn’t want to give it for the rewards program, I was asked where I usually shop (amazon) for books. All downhill from there.
I still had my phone out with the book listing on screen and when the book was rung for full price I asked if they matched their website. Oh no, I didn’t! After inquiring whether
and barnes & noble were the same company (they are), the stores don’t honor the online price. Um. And beware of the bait and switch if you chose the pick-​up in store option, even though it is shown with the online price on the book detail pages. I was told that this was because people physically handle the book and put it on the shelves. Understand, I am fully willing to pay full price. I wasn’t even haggling over the other book I had brought to checkout.
It has already been a long story, but to sum it up. They were willing to lose a sale over $ 8 and an unwillingness to match a price that they have online with their own website. Even if I wasn’t the only person asking for an adjustment that day, I got an extra book and item that I wasn’t even planning on getting, which value wise was twice as much than the book I was going to buy. I walked out, whole sale for them gone, went right on to amazon and bought both books. Guess I’ll have to wait, but at least I get better service and integrity with them.

I shop in the b&n often because it is close to home. On a busy day it is impossible to park. The lot is small. They do have a connected Starbucks, so that is a good thing. Seating is a premium. I normally have to plop down in the kids section. Don’t think about returning something easily. I had purchased a book online and couldn’t return it in store. I was amazed. That was a first. Must other stores allow it. Overall it is a typical b&n and nothing was anything but par for them

Brought my daughter here for a lego event they were having. The event seemed decently staffed and the selection in this store seemed immense. The big con here is the ridiculous paid parking system — this is reason enough for me to not come back. The store itself seems to have great selection however.

I’ve been coming to this Barnes and Nobles since high school although I much preferred the now closed UVillage location (it made me feel smart studying by college students). So I’m familiar with the layout. Back in the late 1990’s I’d park my car in their lot (before there was the silly gate)
To be honest nothing has really changed since then. Back when it first opened– it felt massive and spacious– but time has not been good to this location. It seems overcrowded and with little room to maneuver around. I have a tandem stroller and I still kept bumping into things trying to make it down the main isle– which is now blocked as you enter with a NOOK stand.
They do have a large selection of books, magazines and a nice Children’s section– and of course a Starbucks. My 3^rd star is for the fact it’s an ACTUAL STARBUCKS– not a bookstore owned one so you get your stars and can use your reloadable giftcards!
Overall– I won’t go out of my way to come here. I don’t like the parking (tiny as hell for such a large bookstore) the feeling of claustrophobia, and well the fact that the armchairs are still the armchairs from the 90’s (which we all hope and pray they’ve been at least cleaned!!). I like this because it reminds me of high school days and well they have a Sbux!

I like this barnes and noble a lot more than the one in crossroads, it always seems a lot leas crowded. The have a Starbucks attached so the aroma of coffee sweeps around the store.
They major disadvantage however is they have a paid parking lot. They seem be pretty kind though and will validate you when if you don’t buy something.
They have a great variety of books and a large music section

Don’t go to this book store.
The parking is a scam! They give you a parking ticket, you go into the Barns and Noble to shop, get your ticket validated. You think everything is fine when you hand your ticket to the parking attendant, who takes your ticket.
Then they say, «$ 10 please», and charge you for a ‘lost ticket’. The manager in the Barns and Noble will not help because they do not control parking.
To sum it up. Don’t go to the Barns and Noble at 626 106^th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA. The parking is a scam!!!

Barnes & Noble is a great bookstore chain overall, sadly though, the Bellevue location is one of those locations that gives the entire chain a bad name. The store has a very dark, depressing (which Barnes and Noble does validate for). The store without question shows it age and the fact little if any upgrades have been made. What is most frustrating though is the service that was experienced at the service desk. The associate working at the desk clearly did not care about his job, his customers nor want to be at work. He did not apologize for the wait, did not seem truly interested in helping and when the book I inquired about was not there he simple said we cant stock everything you can order it or get the nook version.
The clerks attitude is why I will not return to Barnes n Noble. The price would have been double that of
so I could have ordered it from Amazon, PAID for next day air shipment and still comeout around the same price and purchased from a business who cares.
This is the prime example of how one associate can kill a business image.

This Barnes and Noble is rather large and located conveniently close to the Bellevue Transit Center. The browsing experience is a lot better here than the one at Pacific Place. The whole time I was browsing, I didn’t have security guards breathing down my back, and the environment is just a lot more open here.
It’s also connected to a Starbucks so you don’t even have to go outside.

With so many books to choose from, I tend to get lost in it because of how much I like certain ones that fit within what I want.
The staffs were nice, place is always clean and tidy and there’s more than enough parking for people who needed a place to park at. I don’t like the fact that this place charges people to park but there’s a way to get away with it. If you live close to the bookstore, you won’t need to drive there just to save yourself some money. For now, we live close to it so there’s no need to drive there.
I like going to this location because of the many selections that this store have. When it comes to magazines and books, this is one of the best BN bookstores to visit.

What happened to the world of bookstores? I was at a Barnes & Noble in NJ purchasing children’s books for my two year old toddler recently. I had a fantastic experience there with helpful staff and a generally good experience. My experience at this store is an example of the downward spiral that many retailers are facing.
The store is huge and well stocked, but the staff was sparse and unhelpful. I had a list of books I was looking for, and there was nobody in the children’s section for the longest time. When some did show up, she was on the phone and looking very busy and annoyed. She walked by me twice without once greeting me. Wow, do retailers not train their staff so that each one is a greater? I guess not at this B&N.
After struggling through searching for books on my own, I finally had enough and took my purchases to the cashier. Great, one cashier with five people in line. There were a bunch of at least three sales people manning a booth at the front of the store trying to convince people to buy a Nook as they were offering a $ 20 discount. How bizarre is that? Instead of helping customers who have gone to your store… a book store… the resources are focused on a device that gets people out of the store.
All this was topped off buy the slow and indifferent cashier that rung me up. I had a significant purchase and placed my basket on the counter. For an awkward 10 seconds the cashier just stared at me… expressionless and vapid… finally she sighed in a monotone, «I guess you’d like me to ring these up.» I really did not know what to say, seriously?
If any managers read this, this is a poorly managed retailer. Go talk to head office and get some training on how to effectively mange your store.