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Barnes & Noble
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Behemoth be damned: Like it or not, superstore Barnes & Noble has conquered Manhattan and the outer boroughs, with prices on current bestsellers—30 percent off retail, plus an additional 10 percent off for club members—that are really hard to beat. Fiction's the chain's main strength. Other areas, like science and art, aim for breadth, but the inventory can be patchy depending on the location. B&N is also a decent place for reasonably-priced gifts; in addition to journals, board games and java-related paraphernalia, sale and remainder aisles display hundreds of coffee table books at drastic discounts. (Good deals are harder to find in the CD and DVD section.) The in-house cafés, basically Starbucks satellites, suggest serious hanging out—though you'll be competing with students, freelancers, bookworms, nannies, and the odd homeless person for a seat. Laptop users can avail themselves of Wi-Fi access at a nominal hourly rate. Most branches feature readings by well-noted authors as well as events for kids.
| 4.5 | "Mixed Reviews" Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10 |
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Poor customer treatment
mimijudith from | Posted on 1/21/03
| Quality: | 1 |
| Service: | 1 |
| Selection: | 1 |
| Value: | 1 |
The Barnes & Noble in Forest Hills, Queens uses its security guard as a manager...over the weekend, when I asked to speak to a manager regarding getting a damaged calendar discounted, they sent the security guard down to look at the folded and torn calendar and tell me that I would not be getting a discount. I did not realize security guards have authorization to give discounts. Then I was told by another Barnes & Noble employee that if I don't like the quality of the merchandise, I should not shop in that store. Then the security guard started making fun of me to other customers, right in front of me. I guess when you go into the Forest Hills Barnes & Noble, you should expect to be humiliated and you should also expect to pay the regular price for used-looking merchandise.
Bigger sometimes is better...
amsterdam9 from | Posted on 12/4/02
| Quality: | 7 |
| Service: | 7 |
| Selection: | 8 |
| Value: | 9 |
Small, independent bookstores have charm, but the Barnes & Noble stores -- particularly the ones on the Upper West Side -- have huge (and sophisticated) selections and a social scene. The new fiction displays are terrific. The magazine selection, less so.
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