The Yale Bookstore

Awesome bookstore! They sell a bunch of Yale merchandise in addition to a wide range of B&N books but beware this place is much more expensive than Campus Customs just down the street. It took me a while to figure out if Campus Customs was some sort of Yale knockoff store but no just a cheaper way to display Yale pride!
I will say that all the Yale merchandise I bought from this store was high quality.

It’s a Barnes & Noble, so yeah, it’s awesome.
I ordered a book and it was delivered to the store in a timely manner and they called to inform me that my book had arrived.
Very professional.

Is the Yale licensed merchandise far more expensive here than in the Campus Customs shop less than a block away? YES. Pretty much everything here is pretty pricey. However, the quality and variety of choice here in terms of kinds of Yale licensed clothing (as opposed to a bajillion colors of the same three shirts over and over) and other merchandise are unmatched anywhere else in New Haven. I particularly like the mugs (they have a nice weight and look pretty classy)!
The store is well lit with an open atmosphere, although the entrance is guarded by a security officer. There’s a small Starbucks in the back of the upper floor (one of the few Starbucks in downtown New Haven, for those who prefer Starbucks to the ubiquitous Blue State coffee shops). The book selection isn’t particularly extensive compared to most Barnes and Nobles. HOWEVER, they carry the Tintin comics in the children’s section, so I can learn to be content.
Downstairs is for school supplies, board games, stationary, etc. There are some nice things, but expect to pay high prices for anything that approaches high quality.
I’d recommend waiting for the occasional sale/​coupons if you find anything you really like that you don’t absolutely need right now. They don’t move stock that quickly (as is the nature of most book stores these days, I guess), so if you wait a few months (or a few more than a few months), there’s a high likelihood it’ll still be there.
Overall it’s a nice place to get a dose of nostalgia from waaay back when kids used to hang out and read in bookstores (or was that only my childhood?), get classy souvenirs/​higher quality Yale apparel, or momentarily escape the summer heat/​winter chill. Just remember that all nice things come with a price!

This is a review of the online ordering experience only. I’m in the middle of a 2+ month saga with their poor online-​ordering system and non-​existent customer service. I tried to order a jacket from the Yale online bookstore in May as a gift for a co-​worker. After a week my credit card had not been charged and I never received an order confirmation, so I created a store account to track future orders and placed a new order.
Since I was now behind timeline, I purchased order #2 with 2-​day shipping. What they failed to mention on the website or throughout the ordering process was any estimate of the processing time for the item, which turned out to be TWO WEEKS. During the two week wait, I called to inquire about the item status, and the bookstore clerks could only tell me that this item ships «directly from the warehouse» so they were unable to verify the item’s status. What’s the point of shelling out for expedited shipping when your delivery date is a complete mystery?
I ended up receiving the jacket from Order #2 15 days after purchase. Then in July, I receive a credit card charge and an email confirmation for Order #1 that I placed TWO MONTHS PRIOR in mid-​May. Even stranger, my email included Order #1’s confirmation number, and a link to the tracking number for the Order #2 shipment which I had already received. I’ve called and emailed customer service but heard nothing (admittedly I haven’t been too aggressive on this front as I’ve been traveling).
Bottom line: Their online system is a mess. Avoid their online-​only items, and if you must order online, keep an eye on your credit card statements and create an online profile to track your order.

The Yale Bookstore has partnered up with Barnes and Noble, so it feels like a B&N in the regular book section. There is a decent selection of attire with the Yale name. The biggest problem is that, at least when I was there a few months ago, they closed the changing rooms in the basement, which means you can’t try on the clothes. The clothes are not cheap, so that is a major concern when buying any of the clothes.
The other unfortunate development is that half of the bookstore has been converted to an Apple store. I have nothing against Apple stores, but it made the rest of the Yale bookstore much more cluttered and crowded because they have a much smaller space.
There is a café in the back with seats and Starbucks drinks, which is nice.
It’s a decent bookstore but not what it used to be.

Whatever you need, buy it online from somewhere else! Selection and prices are abysmal. Having worked with this particular bookstore both as a student and as an administrative assistant at one of the professional schools, I can honestly say service stinks no matter what you’re looking for. To be clear, it’s not the individual people, they have been very helpful — it’s B&N’s collegiate store business model that is the problem. Ordering books that arrive a semester too late is unacceptable once, much less twice. Bring back locally owned campus bookstores!

I must give this store props for having a huge stash of Kinder German chocolate. I just about bought them out for stocking supplies this past holiday.
Their gift selection is also good. I found two presents for a lovely ten year old girl.
Thanks for making Christmas easy on me ;)

Barnes and Noble bookstore with Yale stuff. Coffee in the back. Kids section. Basic convenience store dorm items on the bottom level. Limited sizes for Yale garb. Decent selection of popular books, but not as good as neighboring bookstores, and regularly more expensive than amazon. 10% Yale discount.

Textbooks are generally 1.5 to 2 times more expensive than online sources like AbeBooks or Amazon, as are the random dorm accessories you can buy. The reason why this place warrants only 1 star however is that they lie regarding the return policies of the textbooks; they tell you you have a month after buying the book to return, and then set an arbitrary return deadline later on that you won’t know about. I tried returning my textbook less than 2 weeks after buying it only to find that the deadline for returning ALL textbooks, no matter when you bought them, had already passed. Disgusting way to trick students into wasting their money. DO NOT BUY HERE.

Despite the fact that Yale decided to partner with a private chain, Barnes & Noble, this is a decent bookstore.
The selection is good and the place features an in-​store Starbucks and kids reading area.
It is centrally-​located, but you have to park on the street.

Old hang out… sentimental value but they also have a ton of books written by Yale profs and plenty of Yale paraphernalia (they even have a new Hello Kitty line!)

The staff is completely oblivious to what they should be doing, especially when it comes to sorting and delivering textbooks. It’s bad enough that literally every book is overpriced, but the staff couldn’t sort things alphabetically to save their lives; a lot of popular courses are also «organized» in untidy piles all over the ground. I was sent back and forth between the Information desk and the checkout counter 4 times just to purchase an unnecessarily shrink-​wrapped book, which the checkout lady didn’t know how to scan once I finally got to that point.
It’s unfortunate that Labyrinth closed down, because even though their service was a little surly, they at least knew what they were doing.

To be honest, I had not visited this store since I was a student myself and this store was the Yale Co-​op so I definitely had a wave of nostalgia hit me when I walked in.
Pros: the book selection is great, everything from art and art history to sociology, philosophy, and, of course, the newest hardcover best sellers (Kindles are great but there is nothing like browsing a well-​stocked bookstore!).
a nice café with coffee and snacks
items for a dorm room ranging from lamps, linens, mattress pads, personal care items, school supplies and housewares
Cons: (and this is a big one for me) the staff seemed not to care whether I shopped there or not; when I approached the check-​out counter with a smile, it quickly faded when the cashier did not even attempt to make eye-​contact and merely grumbled when I cheerfully mentioned the great excitement for the new and returning students. Later, when I had to return to buy a few odds and ends, I inquired at the same check-​out desk, different cashier, if the store carried laundry detergent. «We do…,» she said and I waited for her to tell me where I could find it, looking at her, first expecting her to finish the sentence, then looking quizzically, as if giving her a prompt. Finally, I had to say myself, «I looked downstairs in housewares but couldn’t find any. Where is it stocked?» «In the back, in the café area,» was her response. I would never have thought to look in the coffee café! Why couldn’t she just tell me when I first asked? Honestly, I got more help when I noticed something in a student’s basket and asked, «Excuse me, where did you find that?» Students would smile and say things like, «Oh, yeah, isn’t it cute? It was nearly the last one! Two aisles back…» Now I understand that there were lots of parents and students shopping there that weekend and it was a little hectic, but seriously, a little customer service goes a long way in making someone a satisfied and returning customer. Since the staff were so rude and unhelpful, I consciously went a few doors down to Campus Customs for all my Yale logo wear to take back home. Lots of smiles there and the owner and staff were genuinely interested in the customers. Barnes & Noble, be more diligent in your customer care.

Pretty much your standard everyday Barnes and Noble, but with a magical textbook cave underneath. I used to go there to duck in and browse through some of the classics or grab a little something at the café that’s inside. It’s close to the gym and right next to Thali, too. It’s not particularly stunning when compared to other Barnes and Noble bookstores, but it’s cool to have one that’s on campus.

The Yale Bookstore is inferior to my college bookstore, but it’s a pretty great place. The selection of fiction is extensive if not particularly thoughtful, and the tables displaying recommended reads generally offer some worthwhile titles. The place is a Barnes & Noble so when Dan Brown writes a book, there’s bound to be a wall of hardcover copies right by the door. Nonetheless, books with literary value are also prominently displayed. There are also occasional readings, since authors like to pass through Yale. I have gotten a couple of signed novels, one by Heidi Durrow and one by Philip Roth, though the latter was not at the bookstore in person.
I appreciate that unlike many bookstores that discourage the lingering browser, the Yale Bookstore provides comfortable armchairs between rows of books. I once left my copy of «The Angel’s Game» at home in California when I was more than halfway through and, like a total bum, spent more than a couple of hours finishing the book in one of these chairs. I’ve also spent a good amount of time languishing with books I actually own, sometimes falling asleep and maybe drooling. The café area also offers plenty of seating, as well as a good selection of snacks and toiletries in addition to drinks and pastries.
Downstairs you’ll find a mini-​Target complete with greeting cards, cosmetics, school supplies, and household goods. You’ll find more books as well, and if you cut across, you can get to the exorbitant textbooks. If you take the stairs up from that area, you end up in what seems like a separate store from street level, selling all manner of Yale memorabilia, from clothing to footballs to mugs to bears.
An upside to the Yale Bookstore’s Barnes & Noble status is there are sometimes pretty decent deals, lots of 3 for 2 sales with a good range of books, for instance. With a Barnes & Noble membership, you also get 10% off all your purchases. That excludes textbooks, unfortunately, but includes most of everything else. I’ve found that some cashiers are sticklers for seeing the card before applying the discount, and unlike other Barnes & Noble will not accept a phone number to verify membership. I find this somewhat annoying and Amazon generally offers better savings in any case, but I’ve bought a fair number of books at this store and consider it a great resource on campus.

Wow, my first 2 stars. Eh… things are horribly overpriced here, but I guess this is the one stop shop if you want to get your Yale gear on.
Its your typical B&N, so you can go in and window shop some books, but rarely do I really buy books at bookstores anymore.
is the way to go. Its a pretty huge store, but things are wayyyy marked-​up here.

Yah, I remember the Co-​Op too, it was cool in its day and had a more «indy» feel, it was a book store. whatever, that was then — this is now.
a few things about this B&N college store — the magazine section could be better stocked (i guess i like news haven too much), the café is ok for a college book store and sells more than your average licensed bookstore café (like toothbrushes). The book selection in the store is good, but it’s smaller than most B&N’s so it is scaled back and as noted elsewhere, there is a leaning toward Yale authors when possible.
It’s across from Thali Too — what more could you ask for?

I miss the Yale Co-​op, in part because «co-​op» is more fun to say than «Barnes and Noble.»
The co-​op was Yale’s bookstore for around 100 years. When Yale decided to redo this neighborhood, the co-​operative got the boot, and Barnes and Noble moved in. I miss the tradition and history that went with this bookstore.

This is definitely not one of my favorite bookstores. I like the little gifts downstairs but that is about it.
The magazine selection is seriously lacking. Not much variety and they still have 3 month old magazines on the shelf. Eh!
I’ll stick to my suburban Barnes and Nobles if need be.

I really only buy used books, so I doubt that I’ll ever buy a book here.
I have, however bought a swim cap and goggles, and a tube of Clinique lipstick and one of those travel neck-​pillow things, all at a good price.
And an expensive, but sturdy, drying rack for clothing. You know, the kind that fold? Well, I swear I’d looked EVERYWHERE for one of these — Hull’s Hardware, the Walgreens-​that-​has-​almost-​everything, the Dollar Store. .. even (gasp) Wal-​Mart and Lowe’s in Hamden. Nobody had one. Maybe they’ve been outlawed or declared unsafe in some way?
Anyway, point being, this might be a very lame bookstore — especially if your needs are met by Labyrinth (new books, academic Humanities type), Atticus (new, general interest, kids’ books) Book Trader (used) and/​or Bryn Mawr (haven’t been) — but don’t overlook it if you need to buy practical household odds and ends in town.
The selection of books in European languages is quite large, but other than that, it’s just a Barnes and Noble. It’s a truly bad academic bookstore with almost no university presses.