Barnes & Noble @ RIT Bookstore

This is an awesome store! It is huge on two floors and is integrated as RIT’s official merch store as well. You can use TigerBucks there for school supplies, etc and they had loyalty punch cards that earn you discounts! Great resource as a creative field student and really good quality!

It would be nice if Barnes and Nobles included baskets because art students have to buy many supplies and it’s hard to carry it all.

Amazing selection of RIT sportswear, extremely helpful and friendly sales associates, great Starbucks options, sitting area, and a Clinique shop!!! One of the sales associates (I think her name was Megan) was so sweet and helpful! She was helping us find a sweatshirt in a size small for a gift for our daughter. She suggested we buy the Medium and she would call us as soon as a small came in and we could switch it. This worked for our situation. She called and was every careful not to leave any identifying information so she didn’t ruin the surprise. She only left a message on my cell phone. When we purchased the items, she offered a box and tissue paper and offered to wrap the items we purchased and place them in the box for us. I haven’t had a store offer a box in so long. They don’t have a fitting room, but you can give the cashier your ID and try something on in the bathroom. This is a campus kind of «catch all» store. I’m not sure of the selection of books, but they have a selection of necessities for college students (office, dorm, etc.)

As an RIT alumni, I no longer live near this store but I have been there once or twice. This B&N was not there way back when I attended and I have mixed feelings about it.
Most of the negative feelings are based on nostalgia so that does not really count.
However there is one very bright spot — online orders! I have placed 2 – 3 orders for items from this location through their webpage and they ship FAST. It typically takes less than 10 minutes to get a order confirmation email and less than 3 hours to get a shipping confirmation email. They charge a reasonable shipping fee ($ 7) for standard shipping and I typically receive the items in about 24 hours from when I place my order –even with standard shipping. (I am in NY so transport time is shorter than across the country, but still pretty fast!)

B&N wasn’t part of the RIT campus while I was a student there. I got my books and supplies from the Campus Connections (not sure if its still there) that was next to the SAU and Building 1. That location was totally convenient for me as I was an art student and I lived in the apartments close to Crossroads. Whenever I ran out of something or whenever a teacher told us to pick up something immediately– we would run to Campus Connections and grab the books or supplies or a new USB in middle of class. It was SO SO SO SO convenient. Now seeing that they have B&N waaaaaaaaayyyyyy over the other side by the dorms… I don’t think I would have survived or passed my classes cause I did NOT have a car or a bicycle to get around campus «on-​time». Sure, I used the shuttle, but as an art student, I had really odd hours and had to be somewhere at some time that the shuttle wouldn’t be able to take me.
Also, the prices at B&N, just like any other B&N are expensive… and I cannot imagine ordering my school books from there, let alone art supplies and USBs.
Whose idea was this to have B&N be the sole provider of supplies on the RIT campus?
No.
Oh yeah, the school spirit clothing and items are really bland and generic at B&N compared to what was sold at Campus Connections… hello, we have an enormous art program at RIT– B&N should at least work with them to create CREATIVE designs and such to sell at B&N. Because the designs and apparel offered were so awful… I didn’t buy anything as an alumni this year. :(

Good place to study… Expensive items/​clothing… Got an Mini Apple Store, Face Wash Products (Useless). Starbuck, worker needs to be train (don’t even know how to make a Frap).

Text book prices for both new and used are outrageously overpriced. I have been able to successfully find all of my text books significantly cheaper online (2x-​3x)

Rob W., I agree. The textbook prices are high. My daughters have taken to buying everything online as well. Hopefully, that will someday correct the trend at campus bookstores like Barnes & Noble but that seems to be the way of the world everywhere.
It is a marked improvement over what used to be at RIT. I’m still not a fan of these huge bookstores and miss the smaller booksellers we used to have but when it comes to selection, they are hard to beat. Personally, I prefer the Pittsford location. It’s a bit less frantic.

Don’t bother if you’re not a student.

Man, oh man, why didn’t we have this place when I went to RIT? Just a decade ago, we had to schlep our way into Henrietta in the blustering cold and snow, walking both ways uphill and with no shoes… It actually wasn’t that big of a deal, but this store is great. It’s probably better that I didn’t discover Starbucks in college or I would have had Frappuccinos for breakfast every day and gained a hundred pounds.
The selection here seems pretty great, but I do understand the students’ complaints about the prices. I also loved the huge array of RIT gear (why we stopped in here to begin with), and saw way cuter stuff than in my decades-​old tenure. I’ll be decked out in Tigers gear for all my favorite Angelenos to see (and think I went to school in Rochester, Minnesota).
Way to go, Tigers!

how can you like this place? its so over priced… EVERYThing!

Nice place.

The Barnes and Noble/​RIT Bookstore was a great idea. Not only is it closer to the dorms and most of the student housing but it’s bigger, with a much better selection of items and longer hours then the old Campus Connections used to have. The bottom floor has the regular Barnes and Noble, the Starbucks, and the RIT clothes and souvenirs while the top floor has text books and supplies (photo and computer supplies are still in the SAU by where Campus Connections used to be). Yes the prices are a tad higher on some of the art supplies and texts books but these are things that are overpriced almost anywhere (except for online) and convenience is key not to mention they now have a parking lot (which Campus Connections never had). Besides when you’re paying almost 40k a year for school, who cares if they’re charging you $ 80 for a $ 60 text book or $ 10 for a $ 6 paint brush?
This whole new area of the campus is gorgeous and I wish it was around when I was going there. I’d recommend sucking up negatives, it’s a great store and if you still feel emo about the prices then go get a few drinks at the new bar in the same parking lot.

Looks nice but you will pay for it. Be prepared to pay top dollar for all your school needs when shopping here. In store Starbucks is a nice touch. White chocolate mocha’s are comparable to Wegman’s.

Most of Campus Connections was outsourced to Barnes & Noble (photo & Computer area were not). There is now a much larger selection of RIT paraphernalia, art supplies, reading books & magazines, and regular school supplies. You can even get your textbooks quicker if you are taking a distance learning class. While the textbook prices are cheaper than the RIT Bookstore’s old prices, they are still more than what you can find online or elsewhere. In fact, I really didn’t see all that much of a benefit in terms of price unless you were able to get a used book for your class or needed something immediately. They do have sales from time to time, and those are pretty decent times to buy things.
Walmart isn’t that far away and it’s 24 hours with Staples and Office Depot just down the street. I’m not an art major so I don’t know about the art supplies but I do know that unless you have a car your options are pretty much limited to on campus for most needs.