Borders Books Music & Cafe

This place is not as good as Barnes and Noble. The prices and buyer club can not compare. Every time I walk in tot he store it is just too industrial.

It is a real shame this place closed. Their hours of being open until 11PM every night, even Sunday, couldn’t be beat and it was a great place to meet up with friends or make new ones. There was parking at the door and right down the road from Colonie Center. They had a café in the store so you could enjoy coffee and other drinks and snacks while
you relaxed with a book. I don’t know why they remodeled the joint a few
years back, in my opinion they wasted their money as it was better the way it originally was with the reading room opposite the café on the second floor. It’s too bad they decided to close this store, as both the hours and parking were far superior to Crossgates!!!

i prefer borders to barnes and nobles. perhaps because i like the café more? or maybe i like that they employ such a variety of interesting people?
and i went there recently to return some programming books that it turns out i don’t need as i got a different job. they have a sign that very clearly states that even with a receipt, they won’t give money back after 30 days, only store credit. i was sad as the books were not only brand new and not used but they would be totally able to be resold — i mean who Isn’t going to want to buy
or Sharepoint stuff? anyway, i gave the counter girl my best puppydog eyes and asked if there wasn’t Please, some way they could override this rule? my new job wasn’t to start til next week and while i LOOOOVE books, you can’t eat them or put them in your gas tank (at least and still remain healthy or get anywhere). the really cool manager came over and said sure, i was only a few days off. (more like 12 but who is counting)
besides thier very kind and giving ways, they also have a really great kids selection that always makes kenz happy (and thus me). and i do so love going upstairs and sitting down and having a cup of tea or coffee while i ‘pre-​read’ my books just to get myself all excited about my near future.
1.4.2008 update: we came back here after going to b&n for a book and were snubbed and not helped. when we walked in and approached the counter (info desk) i was greeted with a big smile right away. i asked my book question and he immediately looked it up and said that i was right, they were out but they could order it for me or they could call the one in the mall and see if they really Did have the 2 tht the computer listed. while he was calling, another person came up and asked if we had been helped. with a smile. and at the mall store they Did have the book and held it for me at the front checkouts.
once again i choose borders. yay for such good customer service.

I like this Borders a lot. I’ve spent a good amount of my post-​high school afternoons here wandering the music section. I never really bought CD’s or DVD’s here because it’s so damn expensive. But this particular Borders was never really crowded and you could always spend as much time as you wanted sitting around reading graphic novels. Oh and the café is pretty sweet. And the poster boards outside the bathroom are always pretty hilarious to read.

You don’t really have to go to Borders for books. Believe me, with the Barnes and Noble across the street, you’ll want to go there.
The reason to go here: the cd selection. It’s pretty insane, it doesn’t have absolutely everything, but they have sales of good stuff all the time, and the best is the «left of the dial» section, with all their punk, hardcore, indie, underground stuff that’s really top notch, and something you’d never find in a chain store.

Border’s is a great big bookstore with a ton of books and lots of CDs. I’ve never actually bought anything there. But I did see TMBG perform on the second floor. I’m pretty sure the place was packed to capacity, maybe more, since there was nowhere to stand on the entire second floor. The Johns put on a fine show, but when they did «Clap Your Hands» I got a little scared. When the words «Stomp your feet! Jump in the air!» came up and half of the crowd obeyed, the other half yelled «NOOO! STOP!!» The floor was shaking beneath us and I was really afraid of being part of a repeat of the infamous «Famous Polka» incident of 1992. But luckily the floor didn’t collapse, and I got to have a CD cover signed by Flans and Linnell. Excellent.