University Book Store

A great variety of Badger-​ware/​wear and gear for visiting alumni. This is always a must stop when in town to refresh my wardrobe. The selection is huge and prices competitive. Not sure students even buy books here anymore like in the old days!

Yes people complain that it’s too pricey, but I’m cool with it. The higher cost is expected so when I need to stock up on badger wear, this is the place. It’s convenient and they’ve got it all: books, clothes, school supplies, outdoor gear, all in one place.
Their ‘secret sales’ are crazy. $ 50 sweatshirts on sale for $ 15 at a certain time. Good deal for sure, but plan on getting there way early and even still expect to be trampled and clawed at by crazy college girls all crowded around the boxes on boxes of cheap merch. You may not be able to snag a sweatshirt in the madness, but it’s always a good time.

I visited a friend in Madison and didn’t have a lot of time to shop for apparel. Angie, Melanie, Steven, Ross and Talia all helped me obtain exactly what I was looking for in no time. Additionally, even after a friend bought me an oversized sweatshirt, they made the exchange for me without any questions. If you come to the bookstore, I highly suggest one of these five workers to help you shop.

I was a student once (and no, not a long time ago you jerks), and I worked in customer service once for over five years. Yes, it sucks sometimes, and sometimes there are days where you’re just completely over it. But it’s ridiculous here. Every single person who works here gives absolutely no shits about their jobs. A friend and I came in here to pick up some souvenir stuff, and we had a few questions about some merchandise. The kids here act like they’re doing you a favor by working there, even though a majority of them were just chatting away about their weekend plans or sitting at the register while on their phones.
We wanted to know the price of a duffel bag they had on display, and if it was available for sale since it had no tags. We literally had to ask three different people before we got a straight answer. Each one of them didn’t know. No one bothered to try to find out, but instead just directed us to another worker.
Also, I guess in this establishment it’s absolutely unheard of to greet a person before speaking to them. The kid at the customer service desk actually gave me the most disgusted-​weirded out look as I said hello to him before I asked a question. I actually felt like I offended him by speaking to him! It wasn’t like he was busy, all he was doing at the time was folding a pile of shirts!
Whatever. It’s a shame, because they have a huge selection of pretty cool badger merchandise to choose from, but I’d rather give less jerky establishments on State Street my business. You don’t wanna bother these guys. They’ve got shirts to fold.

Came here as a tourist to purchase a few logo items to bring back home. Like most university bookstores, this one also seemed to be employed by students as the majority. The features that seemed to really stand out to me were the extensive selection of Badger gear and unfortunately — the horrible customer service.
The items were priced from mid to high, though there were a few items on sale. And of course, stationary equipment and school supplies seemed affordable as well (for a student budget).
I made a few purchases here, and believe that with the business I provided. the customer service should be reciprocated similarly. Most employees often gave me «I don’t know» responses or directed me to ask another employee regarding my inquiries. One employee in particular, I think the person’s name may have been Felicia or something similar… was extremely standoffish when approached. Felicia seemed to be more interested in folding merchandise than attending to our questions. Felicia pretty much did not greet us and when greeted, Felicia gave us that look as if we were mistakenly at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Anyhow… other than customer service and the moderate to high priced items, there are many other alternative logo stores along state street that are equivalent and possibly better to this bookstore.

I actually want to review the one in the Hilldale mall — i’ve never been to the one on state street. Fantastic art supplies; great UW apparel. Decent book selection. Does a great job of highlighting books by local authors or about local topics. Staff willing to find/​track down and order anything you want.

I’m not going to talk about the books here. I remember the days (long ago) when I barely got a few bucks back for a $ 250+ textbook while I completely cashed in on others.
What I am going to talk about the insane variety of Badger gear. And, thus, the insane amount of coin you may drop ensuring that you and every single one of your family members is outfitted in red and white.
The University Book Store is a mecca of everything Bucky. Things that you couldn’t even fathom to rep UW are present here. The selection is choice, the quality is high and so are the prices. Do not be shocked to see many a $ 65+ hoodie. It’s the norm.
The kiddo and baby section is especially impressive, so definitely stop by and give a look-​see for any budding Badger.
*Pro tip — Bathroom is in the basement (where all those glorious textbooks lie).

bloody place. I got an used English text book there. in the beginning of the next semester, I tried to sell it back. the first staff there told me I could get 4 some buck s if I could erase all the marks written inside. Well, all the marks were there when I bought it here. if they require every costumer to erase stuff they wrote before they sell the book, how come I got the book with marks in it. Now they require me to do this. f* ck that erase the whole book for only 4 dollars!
so i left at once since I had other stuff to do. Secondly, when I came back to the book store again some hours later to see if I could argue with them. this time, it was another staff there. he told me I could get 2 dollars at most since it was an old edition. F*ck that as well!
is it a private business run by individual staff there? I don’t think they have a same standard to evaluate the used books. it’s a bloody place after all.

The only pluses I have for the University Bookstore are (1) it’s location is basically on campus and (2) it has an extensive supply of Badger gear.
However, it’s a bit pricey. You can easily find Badger gear (especially tshirts) elsewhere on State Street for cheaper. As an art student, I buy a lot of art supplies, and the bookstore’s selection is decent, but pricier than other stores. You can find textbooks for cheaper in other places, too. Also, I’ve had a couple bad customer service experiences with a few of the full-​time employees.
Basically, unless you’re really just looking for the most convenient option, you can find what you need somewhere else for cheaper.

Good stuff in here but expensive. Go up State Street and find t shirts, hats, etc on sale.

The bookstore is, without a doubt, the most corporate bookstore in all of Madison. I’d even go so far as to label it a «big brother» entity. The benefits of their return policy end within the first month of the semester.
I had the ink for my printer cartridge refilled, only to experience problems with it the very next day.
Sometimes a student is left with no other choice, but I’d recommend any other route available, as far as buying books are concerned.
Buying books online is not only cheaper, it’s also worth the wait.

The Bookstore has arguably the best selection of Badger attire/​memorabilia in the State Street neighborhood. There’s a mix of higher-​end athletic brands (think Under Armour, Adidas, etc) with really affordable, collectible clothes. The sales can be pretty good, too. Check their website for coupons before heading down there, there’s often a coupon for clothing items that you can print and use for a small discount.
As for textbooks — in my experience, the Bookstore has never been a particular bargain destination. They’re not particularly well-​known for great buy-​back offers, either. Part of the textbook business, I suppose. It’s very easy to find cheaper textbooks from online sellers or even other bookstores on State Street. Look elsewhere before you buy if you’re interested in saving money.

UBS is key to college survival; they pretty much have everything you would need in the way of textbooks, school/​office supplies, badger gear, and probably stuff you didn’t know you needed but upon sight, know that it should be yours.
Some textbooks can be found for cheaper at other local places, and of course online shopping is always cheaper, but UBS typically has course lists of materials which you can have sent to you, put on reserve in store, or simply show up and grab what you need.
I’ve always found the staff to be really helpful during the rush at the start of the semester, which makes everyone’s lives a lot easier.
Located in Library Mall, UBS is definitely convenient, and is great to shop for gifts for anyone really.
The prices aren’t as low as they could be, but that is to be expected by a local store who pretty much owns the college population.

I could spend all day in the UW bookstore (and have come close before!).
In addition to textbooks and everything-​you-​ever-​wanted-​with-​Bucky-​the-​Badger-​on-​it, they have a great selection of art supplies, pens, and random cool gift things. I love trying out all of the pens. It used to be one of my favorite things to do when a new semester would start. I would reward myself with new pens for surviving the hell that is textbook purchasing.
The bookstore also has a great selection of used books for cheap. So now I can buy back all those books I wished I hadn’t sold back to the bookstore to buy ramen.

Great selection of all the UWM stuff you didn’t know you needed. Helpful people willing to call around for another size when your uncle from out of town is desperate for a shirt he can wear to the office.
Things are a little pricey but they have a great selection.

Everyone’s least favorite place to drop $ 300+ twice a year on text books. Nonetheless, I dig this place, because they consistently have way cheaper office/​school supplies than Walgreens. Additionally they carry a stellar selection of date books and art supplies. (not sure how reasonably priced the art supplies are) Also, the upstairs book store is extremely convenient when you need to get that last minute travel guide for your last minute vacation. (or gifts) On the reverse side, all of their UW gear (sweatshirts, water bottles, etc etc) might as well be purchased at Steve & Barry’s for half the price.