University Book Store

Seattle, United States

4

Closed now

26 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 800-335-7323
Website:
www.ubookstore.com
Address:
4326 University Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105
University District
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
330 ftNE 45th St & University Way NE
420 ft15th Ave NE & NE 43rd St
440 ftNE 45th St & Brooklyn Ave NE
Categories:
QR code
Download QR Image Download vCard

Map

Streetview

Activate map

Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Seattle) 2:04 AM Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Business hours

Monday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Description

Specialties

The oldest and largest independent bookseller in the Seattle area, University Book Store offers an extensive selection of new and used books, high quality Husky gear, computers, games and tech gadgets, eclectic gifts, art and office supplies, and more.

We host more than 450 author events a year – from Jimmy Carter and Tim Gunn to Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) and Chuck Palahniuk. Ongoing events include multiple book clubs, Read Dating and StoryTime for Kids.

Our services include free gift-​wrapping, free book shipping on in-​store purchases, online ordering with in-​store pick-​up option, and free parking with validation.

And University Book Store has the best value for the University of Washington community: all of your required course materials, yearlong textbook buyback services, academic pricing on tech products, and 10% back on all your purchases with the UW Customer Rebate!

Visit us at ubook​store​.com to learn more.

History

Established in 1900.

University Book Store was founded on January 10, 1900 in a cloak room next to the University President’s office in Denny Hall. A $ 100 cash gift from two concerned faculty members was the only outside capital invested in the store, and accumulated cash and mortgage loans have been the store’s only source of capital to this day.

University Book Store moved to the Ave in 1924, into a storefront that had previously been a pool hall. Since 1964, University Book Store has operated as a for-​profit corporate trust, with a Board of Trustees made up of five UW students, four UW faculty members, one UW administrator, and the Book Store’s CEO (currently Bryan Pearce).

Although it is one of 4,000 college book stores operated in the U.S., University Book Store can be likened to very few. It is one of the few is organized as an independent, tax-​paying corporation with direct student involvement in management oversight, and it is one of the few that annually returns rebates to its campus customers.

University Book Store also recommends

Vintage Costumers

20

reviews

Costumes

University Book Store says,

«Friendly, helpful staff. Amazing selection! Petticoats are one size fits all.»

Scarecrow Video

180

reviews

Videos & Video Game Rental

,

Music & DVDs

University Book Store says,

«We are lucky to have such an amazing local video store, especially one that’s close enough to run to on lunch breaks.»

Top Pot Doughnuts

191

reviews

Bakeries

,

Donuts

,

Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt

University Book Store says,

«We support our fellow locally owned and operated independent businesses! Mmm, and it’s so tasty to support them, too.»

Tiger Tale — CLOSED

4

reviews

Lounges

,

Pubs

University Book Store says,

«Excellent atmosphere for discussing books! Delicious ginger lemon drops, too.»

Related places

Explore similar places:
360
ft
Edge of the Circle Books
1307 NE 45th St (University District)
400
ft
Twice Sold Tales
4501 University Way NE (University District)
700
ft
Magus Books
1408 NE 42nd St (University District)
1
mi
Continent
5218 University Way NE (University District)
1
mi
Globe Bookstore
5220 University Way N.E. Suite B (University District)
1
mi
Newberry Books
4760 University Way NE (University District)

Vicinity

Near this location:
80
ft
U.S. Bank
University of Washington Bookstore 4326 University Way NE
130
ft
Bollywood Dance With Mollie
4332 University Ave NE
140
ft
Beetle Cafe
4334 Univeristy Way NE
140
ft
Yogurtland
4334 University Way NE
140
ft
Cafe Saigon
4311 University Way NE
150
ft
Shiga’s In-Game Shop
4306 University Way NE

26 reviews of University Book Store

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
I love stopping by this shop after any vacation; there is more often than not a cornucopia of marked down things that appear to be non-​holiday related. Recently, I picked up an excellent set of dishes for $ 1 a piece, because they were seemingly Christmas themed (?). Anyway, tons of great bargains, and one can constantly roam about looking at textbooks (to determine which courses to prevent).
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I’ve been shopping here for 22 years! Wow! I can hardly believe it myself!
I started buying textbooks and supplies here for grad school waaaaaay back in 1994 and I’ve been coming here ever since. It’s just an awesome store.
They have a HUGE variety of books, gifts, office supplies, Husky Gear, stationary, computers and software, makeup and beauty supplies and more. It’s a great place for book browsing, gift shopping, or just grabbing a drink and snack at the little café. I’ve seen many cool authors do readings here too.
Also they validate for up to two hours with any purchase of $ 5 or more. Plus they have a free gift wrapping service upstairs! What more could you want?
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
The U Book Store will always have a special place in my heart. They put my former university’s bookstore to shame. (I transferred to UW 2 years ago.) With top notch, high quality merchandise, the selection of items from UW apparel to books to gifts is just phenomenal.
In addition to a coffee shop with plenty of seating, their downstairs section is my favorite where you can buy school, dorm and textbook supplies. It is always fully stocked, and I never have to wait long in line to pick up the textbooks I preordered. Upstairs, they have a large selection of Apple products and even a gift wrapping service!
One thing though that they can improve on is their service for ordering books for departmental events on campus. The graduate office I work in ordered books from their book ordering service, and they could not even provide us with the correct books. They forgot one book we wanted to order. We were a little frustrated and decided not to order books from them again.
Aside from that though, the U Book Store is truly a treasure trove of UW goodies and supplies for university life. Enjoy this picture of my adorable grandparents sporting their Husky pride with their U Bookstore «Husky Grandparent» gear! :D
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Maybe it’s because I love animals and the Husky mascot, but I have to say this campus bookstore has some adorable UW gear. Everything from stuffed animals to books to stationary to clothing and more.
And it’s conveniently located in the HUB.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
The UW bookstore is one of my favorites! From Husky gear to Clinique to cute gifts (and of course, books!), this store has it all. Ladies, if you rather poke your eyeballs out than go to a bro bar for drinks, have a seat in their coffee shop and order a glass of wine (or two) for some mellow times. The wine selection is basically either a house red or a house white. Their beer selection is limited and consists of only four different types of beer. What’s great is that they don’t accept tip, so let your inner broke college kid rejoice!
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Quite possibly the best bookstore in the greater Seattle area. This place is really something else. Trust me, you have to check it out.
Place rating: 4
Edmonds, WA
For a while, the U Bookstore was my go-​to for books. Other than owells in PDX of course. The last time I was in though, their selection seems to have dwindled, or maybe I’ve gotten taller and bigger. U Bookstore just seems so gigantic and expansive to a tiny human, I guess.
They always have authors in, and the staff is so friendly. I also love their gift/​café side, their selection is carefully selected and very Washington oriented and very unique.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I love their coffee and raspberry cream cheese Danish. So cheap and such good quality coffee on the ave. Parking is free up to two hours if you purchase up to $ 5 worth at the café. They have stamp cards for coffee drinks and free wifi (not sure only for students). Baristas there are really nice and remembers their regulars. Probably my new hang out spot for now.
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
so well stocked for a university book store. their kid’s section is huge, and you can find just about any type of book you want here. there is even a make up counter! and convenient parking and friendly staff… love it.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
One of my favorite bookstores in Seattle! This large, multi-​floor bookstore does have UW textbooks, but also contains a wide selection of general-​interest books, stationery and gifts, and even makeup and jewelry — plus a pretty decent café.
The bottom level has textbooks and art supplies, including a huge variety of fancy writing and art pens that should be enough to satisfy even the most obsessive pen nerds. There’s also a selection of kids’ art supplies and craft books, and inexpensive stocking-​stuffer trinkets.
The upper floors have all the departments you’d expect of a large bookstore, including a nice display of local Washington-​themed books (nature, history, hiking guides, travel). They usually have several large bargain tables with fiction and nonfiction at decent prices. Staff tends to be hands-​off, so you’ll have to hunt someone down if you need help, but otherwise you’re mostly left alone to browse.
However, my favorite part about this bookstore is the non-​book items! There, I said it. They have a TON of Moleskine and similar fancy journals, notebooks, postcard sets, stationery, post-​its, and other adorable office accessories. They have scented soaps, tote bags, scarves, holiday ornaments, locally made chocolate, and some really cute sterling silver jewelry. They have cool mugs, bags, and ceramics made with NW tribal art motifs. They have a Clinique makeup counter. And yes, they have every piece of Husky gear imaginable, if you want to show school spirit. (Not that I could have afforded any of this stuff when I was an actual student, of course.)
So what I’m trying to say is you could do ALL your holiday shopping here in one pretty painless trip! And then treat yourself to a coffee and a pastry in the small, friendly café inside the store.
They also have regular author readings, both free and paid (both in the bookstore and in the church across the street). Parking is validated inside the store. I’ve been to events in both locations and they’re well-​run, start and finish on time, and are often filmed for online streaming after the fact, so if you miss a reading, you might also be able to watch it online.
Overall, a welcoming and large bookstore with a good selection, but especially great for office/​art supplies and cute gifts.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
This review is focused strictly on the technology center upstairs:
I enrolled as a Continuing Education student this fall and needed to upgrade my computer for the class and saw that they offered some special deals for students on Apple products so I went to check out their selection.
They seemed to have all the newest laptops from Airs to Macbook Pros, to the newest model in the Apple line, the 12″ Macbook. They had most if not all of the permutations of storage size, screen size/​resolution, etc., for sale.
I had a pretty good idea which version I wanted, but after talking through the pros and cons of the different computers I felt pretty confident in my final decision and am happily taking a break from the homework to type up this review.
Looking around the technology area they also had a few PCs for sale, not a huge selection, but definitely some good options at several different price points.
The only reason for the loss of a star is that I find it strange that anyone off the street can come in and purchase one of the PCs, but only students are allowed to buy Apple computers. I’m sure there is some sort of deal that has been worked out with colleges and Apple, but why not allow them to sell the computer at the full list price if you are not a student and get the special discounted price with a valid id?
Personally, though, since I am enrolled this year and was able to take advantage of this special deal, I’m thrilled with my new computer and was very pleased with the helpful and knowledgeable staff.
Place rating: 2
Seattle, WA
The manager was nice to me and handled my issue well, but the rest of the crew needs to get it together. Don’t take it out on me that ya’ll hate college students needing to get their books… Wth. You work at a college bookstore. You’re asking for it. Talk to me like I’m a damn human being, not an incompetent college student WHO’S PAYIN YOUR BILLS WITH MY OUT OF POCKET MONEY AND TUITION MONEY. I just hate people with bad attitudes who act like it’s torture to help students out… I’ve normally had an easier times at this bookstore, but ya’ll got me all types of f-​ed up today.
Place rating: 1
Seattle, WA
Nobody likes paying astronomical amounts of money for textbooks. Some of the textbooks here you could rent or buy at other retailers for much less. The 10% rebate doesn’t help very much, but whenever my items are eligible I do appreciate it. The husky gear they have is immense, and it’s quite expensive too. I could see people getting into debt with all the gear they could buy. My only complaint is the high prices all around for students. Granted, not everything is overly priced, but they should really give us students some more discounts. Our tuition is already high enough.
I usually buy my school supplies here, but that’s only because I like the UW notebooks. If you could buy all your school utensils and textbooks elsewhere at a cheaper price, do so, it’s just a search away. Oh! And the free parking — I like that very much.
Update: I made an online order for pickup. I waited 4 days without hearing nothing from them and when I did call four days later, the textbook I ordered was ready for pickup. Apparently the book that was in stock for 2 days after I ordered became unavailable and was forced to purchase a more expensive one. These custom books are a pain, and it sucks having to pay even more because of a delay.
Place rating: 5
Renton, WA
My family and i have always loved this bookstore. We’ve been coming here for years and always bring our out of town guests when showing them around the Seattle area. Great for all ages. There is something to apease everyone. Go Dawgs.
Place rating: 5
Freeland, WA
My lifelong favorite bookstore. An awesome place to browse books. College textbooks, children’s books, fiction, nonfiction, general books, cookbooks, all good. A wonderful place to wile away the afternoon. Free parking with validation. A very friendly, wonderful place. Great for school supplies for students of all ages. Great art supplies. A veritable haven for bookies.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
My 1st visit to this store goes back to 2002… I was in the U-​District for the first time to check out the university. I browsed the store, and all seemed good. In 2003, I had to go and find some stationaries for the class, and their ground level floor with a HUGE collection of office supplies just simply impressed me.
The parking has been free, even 2015, with the minimum purchase of $ 4 to get your parking ticket validated. (It was $ 3 10 years ago…)
Great collection of books on any category. I like their poetry section with the copies of «Today’s Poem» sitting on the book shelf next to an old typewriter. I think Garrison Keillor would approve this lovely poetry section.
The café is also nice, a good place to buy something to eat, and the gift shop section is interesting to look at.
If I could offer a word of caution… If you plan on going to this book store with a hope to find a place to study… Sorry, you may not be all that lucky. There are tables for people to sit and read right by a nice fire place, but the noise… If you are OK with some people talking near your seat when you need to concentrate, you might be fine. But I could not study there… Go there to enjoy browsing books, some cute greeting cards, have some light meal or coffee… But not for studying.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
Art Supply shopping only:
I usually go to Blick Art Materials, but I didn’t want to drive do Capitol Hill to deal with the obnoxious parking and crowds of people. I decided to see what other places had art materials in my area.
I decided to try Univ. book store… They surprisingly had a good amount of Prismacolor markers, pens, and paper. They’re pretty well stocked for a university bookstore. I would recommend it! It’s more chill, and everyone is so helpful in the store.
Place rating: 4
Milton, WA
I have always loved the U Book store. We came here with our Grandkids (our Granddaughter is following the family tradition of being the 3rd generation U of W student) and she wanted to get some celebratory items. I wanted some proud Grandpa but very limited choice so I got nothing. :)
It has everything U and is a fun place to spend some time. Bonus — they will validate parking — use the lot in back of the store with a back entrance.
The staff is usually friendly and helpful and the memories of our college days always come back.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
Even if you aren’t a student at UW, there’s a reason to go to the University Book Store.
Besides a generous selection of books you’d find at any bookstore, there’s the student sections in the basement where students can find their books and their needed supplies for just about any class. For non-​students, there’s stationary, pens, bags, knick-​knacks and husky gear galore. There’s also a café with plenty of places to sit and decent coffee.
I have only really interacted with the student staff downstairs, but they’ve always been super nice and helpful. Unfortunately, it’s not very often I get books down there because just like tuition, book prices get more and more astronomical. If I can find it elsewhere for cheaper, I have to get it at that place. Sorry!
As far as husky gear goes, I know I can always find exactly what I’m looking for here more than any other husky location from a specific hat to a «UW Grandma» cup. And, being the main store, that’s to be expected.
Bonus, you can get your parking validated at the store for the lot right out back. Score!
Place rating: 1
Bellevue, WA
Usually I get pretty good service here, but today was a different story.
I went to the customer service desk to ask about registering a clicker, and a young woman with glasses just shot me a rude look. She then kept saying «I don’t know» to every question that I asked. Eventually I asked her if I can show her on a computer as to what my problem is, and she said «We don’t have internet on these computers». Ok… Then she suggests going to Odegaard’s tech help center (only helpful thing that she said during our whole conversation). Honestly, I wasn’t expecting superb service but I hated how rude the employee was, and how she was practically rushing me out of the store.
Also, I do realize that the UW bookstore was probably not the ideal place to ask about clickers, but considering they sell them, I would have expected their associates to have some basic knowledge of how to register clickers. The employee could have asked a co-​worker too, but instead she decided to stand her ground by saying that she had no clue what I was talking about. Well thanks for nothing.
Place rating: 5
Redmond, WA
The University Bookstore has drained from me an untold dollar amount – easily in the quadruple digits – over the past few years. Obviously, that’s also compounding the dreaded rising tuition that students have to pay. Well I’ve graduated from UW now and should no longer need textbooks every quarter, so why is it that I continually find myself returning here for some shopping? Even though I no longer have my Husky Card, I find that a lot of the stuff here still pertains to me. The store is large, clean, and has three floors of stuff that’s interesting even if you’re not in school.
This place gets insanely crowded on the first day of every quarter – especially in the bottom floor where all the student textbooks are – so be sure to do your shopping before then. Don’t wait until the busiest day to buy all your textbooks; you should know what you need well in advance. For all the days that are not so busy, this place is a dream come true. Aside from the aforementioned textbooks in the bottom floor, there is also a variety of writing supplies down there. On the middle and top floors, there are «normal books.» The middle floor has a café and some UW-​related merchandise like clothing, and the top floor carries the electronics.
Generally, the store will have everything you need, but if you can’t find it, you can just buy it on Amazon. When you buy stuff using your Husky Card, you can get a yearly rebate which adds up to a lot if you do a ton of shopping. Be sure to keep your receipts for that reason, and also because you will need them for making returns. The staff here has always been very helpful in accepting my returned merchandise. Actually, the people working here are pretty nice for the most part, but they’ll sometimes watch you like a hawk because people shoplift from this store all the time.
Besides the countless textbooks which I have purchased here over many quarters, I have also bought tons of miscellaneous items like t-​shirts, mailing envelopes, calendars, and DVDs. One of my favorite purchases was the video game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves from upstairs in 2009 back when it first came out. That game forever changed my life. Probably the most unusual thing I’ve bought here is a box containing pepper spray and a rape whistle. I don’t think anyone’s going to attack me, but the University Bookstore helps me be prepared in case it does happen. Oh, and the parking lot is free if you make a purchase and get validation!
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
I came to a Hillary Clinton book signing here. We arrived at 6:30am and stood in line until 9am. The line wrapped around the block, the employees were very organized and friendly. Once we got our wristbands, we were told to come back at 5pm for the actual signing. We arrived at 4:30pm and they moved the line into the store, which snaked around all 3 levels. They handed out water and snacks. The line moved fast once it hit 5pm. This is because Hillary wouldn’t allow any photos and wouldn’t personalize any books. She shook my hand, asked how I was, I nervously said «thank you» and walked away. Only me would fuck that up. I turned to snap a pic, and some woman grabbed me and said «no photos».
Sucka, I got some stealth photos before I got my book signed.
I hope this review helps anyone planning a future book signing. 5 stars for the awesome staff, –1 star for the heat wave in the basement. Damn.
Place rating: 5
Richmond, VA
My family and I accidentally wound up in the U-​District because of our GPS taking us to the wrong part of town. But, we ended up finding a lot of great places, like this bookstore, and ended up exploring the UW campus.
I like this bookstore because has a lot of UW stuff, textbooks, and regular books too. It’s a great place to kick back and read a book.
Place rating: 4
Puyallup, WA
If you don’t go to the textbook section at the beginning of the quarter, you will have a good time. Even in the textbook section, there’s a guy that will help you find the book you need. If you want to buy things at a lower price or sell at higher price than you want, you need to be lucky. Maybe avoiding old, grumpy cashiers would be helpful, but you can’t choose the cashier when it’s busy.
Once, I bought a charger from the tech store but I didn’t really need it since I found mine in my room after I thought I lost it and bought it. I bought it and returned it on the same day and I’m so glad I did that because the package had a little dent on it. But the guy who sold me the thing was there when I went back to return it and remembered that I bought the thing with that condition, so I was able to return it and get my money back.
I like bookstores in general, so I like this store since it has all kinds of goods including books. I like looking at the books and contemplate whether or not I should buy for a long time while drinking coffee. The price may or may not help me buy it but I still like window shopping, and this store is good for that.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Clearance section ftw. There’s not a lot you won’t find here in regards to husky apparel and paraphernalia. They also have skyline socks which you won’t find anywhere except online. Btw, good on those guys for making it into the store. That’s no small feat considering they were students when they started the company.
I digress, staff is always helpful and I’m even considering joining the alumni association just to get the discount since I shop here pretty frequently.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
I don’t even go to UW anymore but I still love the U Bookstore. I’m not going to review the textbook section but I’ll review the rest. On the top two floors, you have an excellent book selection including discount books and staff picks and their reasons why.
On the main floor to the right, there’s the everything else section. There’s, of course, tons of cool Husky stuff. There’s also a lot of cool knick knacks and stationary. I’ve found many a gift here. There’s a Clinique counter which I definitely made use of when I was a college student with no car. Finally, I love the free gift wrap station upstairs which has gold and purple striped wrapping paper! I almost typed Husky wrapping paper which, let’s be honest, is basically what it is!
Woo hoo for a fantastically curated bookstore/​Husky gear store/​random gift store!