KB Books

KB Books is so damn unorganized. Last semester I went to KB Books to rent my books and for one of my textbooks they informed me they didn’t have it, and I should rent it through their website. I was there at KB Books having one of their staff members help me and they «guaranteed me» it will arrive by Saturday. Well, the textbook didn’t arrive til the following Thursday. I was pretty angry, but to make matters worse, when I went in to return all my books I rented, I was told that I had actually bought the textbook and thus, I didn’t need to return it. Since this was at the end of the semester, I thought oh well then I guess I must have bought it instead of renting it. I was told the buyback would be $ 7 so I decided to keep the textbook that I apparently «bought» and not «rented». I just received an email saying that textbook rental is due in three days. Extremely irritated, I just thought to hell with it, I’ll just buy the damn book (note: this is after they told me I had bought it when I tried to return it as a rental at the end of the semester, December 2012). Well when I clicked on the link, there is a message saying «extend your rental purchase/​buy out the book» it says «no rentals available to extend or purchase». Don’t waste your time with KB Books, as far as I know, this place is a P.O.S.

I totally had a wonderful experience with KB Books. The prices were cheaper, and the very friendly staff basically picked out all the books I needed-​they were very helpful, knowledgable, and organized. Would definitely recommend! No waiting in crazy lines or searching through crowded isles upstairs at the SDSU bookstore.
I was shocked at the size of the store and how many books were really in there the first time I went in! :)

my first time there — let me tell you, awful time. I had several books that i had to go out and buy that were required by my professors. They didn’t have it at the SDSU bookstore.
I waited in line for 30 minutes. Prior to that, my books were not under the author’s name. I had a guy who tried helping me located my books, and he even got lost. He had to go ask his supervisior to help us out.
They’re prices aren’t as decent as I thought, I should have bought my books online.
Their returning policy is very strict. If you plan to return your purhcase you need to bring proof if the class was being dropped. Now if you got the wrong book, they will give u 90% back. Some items are non-​refundable (which doesn’t make any sense).
Service, very slow, there are certain machines that will accept cash/​checks or cards only. If you get one-​on-​one with them, majority of those people are nervous & aren’t as friendly/​socialable.
Coupons arent as great… because its basically 1% off of a $ 100 and over.

My first experience at KB books was horrible.
When I went to return my rented books, the girl at the register named Dana didn’t look up just said an exhausted «Hi.» There weren’t a lot of people there so I didn’t get what was irking her. Anyways, I started getting my books out and put them on the counter. She didn’t ask me anything about if they were rentals or that she had to see my ID so I asked her, «do you need to see my ID?» She replied in an unfriendly tone, «Yeah I’ll see it in a minute.»
So then some coworker of hers starts talking to her for a couple minutes while she starts scanning my books. When she tells me the prices of the books, I give her a confused look and say, «but they’re rentals.» Then she gets all bossy like, «well next time you need to tell me they’re rentals from the very start.» Um, hello? Isn’t that your job? You’re supposed to ask, «are these rentals?» You can’t assume they were bought and start scanning them.
At that point I just wanted to hurry up and get out so I could take the final I had that day. Then she asked me about a book that I had on my record as unreturned. I showed her the paperwork and explained to her that I hadn’t checked it out, that it was crossed off by an employee and that I never paid for it. Then she starts saying that I have to talk to the manager if that ever happens again because they hire a lot of temporary workers that aren’t very experienced during the busy season and blah blah blah. How is that my problem? Plus, there isn’t going to be a next time. This place is unprofessional in my experience.

I was fine with these guys when I was searching for books online and it was easy to navigate to find your course books and such. I called in to make sure the books I wanted was still there coo, I went in to get my books and realized I forgot the yellow coupons I found laying around classrooms, on the ground, and in the trash. The staff wouldn’t even give me a discount without it cause he didn’t have anymore and I saw some by the register and I was the only customer in there wtf. Give me a break, seriously. So, I ended up buying the books anyway for me to turn my ass around to go home and come back and maybe not see my book again would be worth the amount of the discount. GOH!

No. 400
You buy books… you sell them. It’s the hugest college racket in America and our government should probably amend the RICO Act accordingly. You buy high, sell low, and the difference is your cost of doing business – in this case, going to school to get an education.
Every year new books come out. You’re stuck buying one of those $ 120 piece of crap economics books, when the Keynesian economic model hasn’t changed much in almost 80 years. Supply, demand, deficit spending. I could write that damn book and tell all the kids we’re all screwed if there’s a depression, recession, or dry spell which is just as good as a dry hump. We live through a series of economic cycles and what goes down, must go up again, and vice-​versa – Newton taught me that.
The endless cycle amuses me, and distresses me at the same time. Whether it be from the college book store, or an enterprise like KB Books, you know you’re going to be losing money. Everyone dreads it. Everyone embraces it. Does anyone else see the hypocrisy in buying and selling books, only to run further in debt in our life’s attempt to acquire wealth?
You can read this Unilocal review instead of buying a crappy econ book. I have now taught you my infinite wisdom… carry on.
PS: Fuck you KB Books for only offering me $ 1.00 for a book that’s worth at least $ 10 on Amazon simply because a newer edition came out. I’m not bitter… okay, maybe I am just a little. At least the college book store will use that money FOR the college.

I am a fan of the college bookstore. I don’t mind waiting in long lines, because honestly, they got what I need.
KB books, is the total opposite. They sometimes have the books I need, but the service is usually pretty great.
They give out coupons on campus for 10 off every 100 which really adds up, but they start handing them out the third week or so of classes, and trust me, ive gotten my books already thank you.
Theres one across the street, and I don’t go there that often anymore, but would recommend the place.

KB Books is a staple for me, I will never go to the college bookstore again! Their staff is friendly, efficient, and helpful, and the textbooks they offer are always cheaper than the bookstore offers. Their return policy is fair, and I have found their buyback program to give me more money than any other location. I only buy my textbooks from them, and on a few occasions they have been kind enough to set aside the last Used book when I’ve called in ahead of time. They’re also one of the few if not the only bookstore that will give you costs of books over the phone so you dont’ have to go down there to budget how much you’ll need. (As long as they’re not too busy)
Its street parking, but I’ve never had a problem parking right in front of the store or throwing a quarter into a meter to run in and grab what I need. ALternatively, they offer the option to purchase your books online and either have them shipped, or pick them up in the store.
The cheapest I’ve found and superior customer service. Check them out as a GREAT alternative to your college bookstore.

Shazam! Another first!
This book store used to share space with the honey bee hive, now it has its own space around the corner, next to City Boxing. It’s pretty non descript, except for the crazy japanese toys they have in the front! What the hell? Are these toys/​dolls really that popular? Personally I don’t get it.
The city college books are a singular unimpressive bunch. The books from the new school of architecture are a little more interesting.