I went there to shop around for a vintage classic typewriter and found out they have a lot of selection of old typewriter. the owner is so nice and really helpful and knows all about the old typewriter, and finally i bought one. read more

The owner, Joe, is a truly nice man. We were in the market for a manual typewriter and Joe let us have our way with the models to find just the right one. No pressure, no hurry. A very present buying experience. read more

Excellent service at a good price! My 6-year-old Canon PIXMA MP800R had stopped printing black. Tried replacing the cartridge, then (very carefully) cleaning the ink cartridge receptacle with warm water & ammonia solution per online advice, but no dice. Luckily I found Berkeley Typewriter, the only authorized Canon service center within 60 miles of me. They replaced the defective print-head for less than a third of the cost of a new comparable model ($95 vs. $330), and did it in one day. Only (small) downside is no parking lot --metered street only, but that's Berkeley for you. Thanks, guys! read more

I brought my Brother printer in for installation of a new fuser unit. Although I'm good with simple repairs, I didn't want to tackle this one. Berkeley Typewriter has been in the same location for at least 40 years. Joe the owner exemplifies the best in small business. Personable, friendly, and absolutely capable. He's honest in his evaluation of your equipment. Interestingly, I had worked in another office in the same building 35+ years ago and it was deja vu to enter the shop. I think they should charge an entry fee for its museum-like interior. Yet, they work mostly on modern equipment nowadays. If you do have a vintage typewriter that you need fixed, Joe has the depth of knowledge to do that too. Highly recommended. read more

Joe is simply the best. This is a long over due review, I came here to get a typewriter repaired-which I wasn't sure if that would even be possible. (Mind you, I have 5 typewriters. So I have seen it all) He was prompt and upfront about the cost and he even threw in a new ribbon. He is the ultimate small business owner. Go here if you need repairs he's very transparent, friendly and knowledgeable about typewriters! read more

We were directed to this repair shop by Canon tech support. Our Canon MG5420 that kept displaying a paper jam signal, but there weren't any pieces of paper visible. The repair guys asked us about the warranty (e.g., when was it purchased, from where), had us fill out some paperwork, and then took it to a side area to run a diagnostic. The diagnostic confirmed the same paper jam error. The repair guys started tinkering with it -- using a flashlight to check all the crevices, removing components to double check it there were any paper bits lodged in them, et cetera. Ultimately it turned out to be a small paper piece lodged deep in the rollers. After removing the paper, they re-assembled the printer, ran another diagnostic, and then did a few test prints for good measure. Total time spent was about 30 minutes. Would definitely go here again. read more

I was recommended by a friend-- Joe helped me out by telling me I was better off not repairing my eBay-purchased Underwood, and instead buying a new typewriter. He showed off a number of models he had and offered me a deal, and even when I said I wasn't in the market to buy another typewriter today, he was super helpful and walked my very heavy Underwood out to my car. Three cheers for good people. read more

The reason I am such a satisfied customer is that the man fixed my Brother MFC J430W in two hours, for $50. Brother printers work great right up until they don't. This is the second one in a row that suddenly started grinding its paper feed wheels and creating paper jams, just for fun. After unjamming it 10 times I gave up and decided it was broken, that it had died the identical death of my last printer. Then I remembered that I had just spent $75 on new ink cartridges, and you KNOW that when you get a new printer it wants different cartridges. So, Berkeley Typewriter kept a machine out of the waste stream and saved me the cost of a new printer and new ink. read more

Berkeley Typewriter is a funky, wonderful little hole-in-the-wall-type store. Joe & Jesse are knowledgeable and friendly, and they do printer repairs well and quickly. I will go back there, even when my warranty expires! read more

This place is amazing the gentleman that owns is wonderful. Our 10 year old granddaughter asked.for a manual typewriter. She loves school and loves to.write. looked at many places didnt feel good about any of them. After speaking to owner we drove from Modesto to see what was available. He has incredible stock and all machines work.better than any I learned on in the 1950's. We got her a.beautiful portable in a case for a.very fair price and much better than shopping online. Plus he gives a complete one year warranty. Wonderful experience best place ever. read more

Fixed a typewriter that's been in the family for at least 50 years which was broken during a recent move. $75 and one week later it's good as new. Thanks Berkeley Typewriter! read more

A great, honest business with good prices and customer service.

It is refreshing to go to a place you fully trust, What a great store. Super friendly, professional and specially honest service. Amazing selection of typewriters and they do repairs. Highly recommend it. read more

Fkng love this place. Every other place said they could not fix my home HP printer or if they could they come to your house and there is a minimum of $150 (Thats just to look at it). This place charged $70 total - including the part it needed. Super nice fellas too. read more

I love visiting this shop for all my typewriter needs. Once a year I take it in and it is serviced and ready the same day. He also repairs old typewriters including ones that have been in the family for generations. Thanks! read more

Expensive, rude, unpleasant ... awful experience ... what a rip off! There's a typewriter place on San Pablo Ave - 2 miles from this one - what a difference ... wonderful people ... wonderful merchandise ... read more

Great shop!!! Lots of beautiful typers and Joe was very friendly and really helpful. I picked up an Olympia SG1, a beast of a typewriter from the 50's. Pay them a visit and enjoy this unique business. read more

Love this place. I got a beautiful typewriter for my home, good quality & value. I'm coming back in a few weeks to buy another typewriter for my other home! :) read more

This is in response to the review "short story" I know jesse. I do maint. work on the bldg that contains berkeley typewriter. My family owns the bldg. Maybe the person who wrote that story bumped his head or something because I took my typewriter there and Jesse informed me that my typewriter is worth much more than $500. He even gave me a computer printout showing me the same make & model as mine and the price for that one. When I found out how much it is worth I tried to sell it to him for a very low price, he wasn't interested. I didn't ask why. Jesse and everyone who works there have always been good professional people. Infact I'm going to bring him another antique typewriter Thats my short story and I'm stickin to it, Chris Salerno. read more

This guy's customer service is bullshit. I brought in my portable manual Underwood a week ago. I got this thing when I was a kid. The keys stick. I was dumb and tried to fix it myself with WD-40 and oil. Then the typewriter sat for years. That said, I know it's a tough project. This guy was rude from the moment I walked through his door. Acted like I wasn't in the shop, standing in front of him, for a good five minutes. Then, upon examining my Underwood, he sees the excess oil and starts saying it's going to be real hard work and he'll have to charge me more. Understandable. We agree to $100 for the repair. The whole time I was talking to him, he had this tone like he was talking to a complete idiot. He also kept moaning and saying, "That's a lot of oil." He said he'd call when it was ready. A week later I called and all he does is complain more, with that whiney tone that got under my skin, and say it's real hard project and he'll call me back in a couple hours. I wait four hours and call back. Suddenly, the price is going up on me and he's still talking to me like I'm stupid. I don't appreciate being talked to like I'm stupid. I lost it, yelled at him, and said I'll be picking it up tomorrow, whatever the work done is. The next day, he asked what he'd done wrong. I told him he spoke to me in a disrespectful tone; like someone stupider than him or a child. He never apologized, just nodded then said something about the margin bar of my typewriter being broken. I said okay and left. I checked the margin bar and it was just fine. It just needed some fiddling around with. I think he was trying to swindle me. I thought he was the only show in town, so to speak. I'll be brining my business elsewhere in the future. read more

They cleaned (with a toothbrush!) and restored my 1929 typewriter. It works beautifully, and looks great. I hope they know how appreciated they are by people who love these old machines. read more

My printer broke down and so I contacted the manufacturer (Canon) for a licensed place to get it fixed. They responded with this place. I called and this is how the conversation went: ME: Can you tell me how much it would cost to replace the power source on my printer? BM: It's $25. That's for diagnosis only. ME: Ok, I'm fine with $25 for diagnosis. Do you know how much it would cost to replace the power source? BM: Bring it in. ME: I live a little far from there, so I want to make sure it's not a waste of time because I can just buy a new printer for about $100. BM: Bring it in. ME: Do you charge by the hour for labor? Or by the repair job? BM: I charge how much I want to charge. ME: Um....Ok. BM: You come and I charge $25 plus fix. How old is it? ME: It's just over a year old. The warranty ended 2 weeks ago. BM: You pay $25 then get estimate. If you don't like at that time, you leave. I charge you how much I want. No guarantee I can repair if over 1 year old. ME: If it were less than a year old, it would still be under warranty and I could just send it back to the manufacturer. So you want me to pay $25 for diagnosis, plus the cost of repairs, and it still would not be guaranteed to work? BM: Yes, you come. ME: Actually, no thanks. 1. If it's under warranty, then why would I pay to have it repaired? 2. I'm always reluctant to trust anyone who is not upfront about how much this will cost me. If this guy says it might not work but he'll still charge me, I'd be a fool to take my business here. 3. I'm not sure if I just got a bad apple, but the guy spoke really fast, had an accent I could barely make out, and was just plain rude. read more

I stopped by to repair my ribbon of my Hermes typewriter. Turned out great and now I can see what I'm actually typing. Also I got a purple ribbon looks great also! Highly recommended read more

Amazing place, walking down the street and saw some cool looking typewriters! I suggest going here! Ask for joe the owner nice guy he helped a lot and knows what he is doing ! read more

This old-timey, Mom & Pop style small Berkeley shopfront is a dying breed: they are very nice, unassuming, and they professionally repair all printers. For more than 20 years, I have taken whatever printer I've had (Canon in the past 10+ years) over there, dropped it off, pay the $25 deposit that goes toward the repair, and often the total charge has only been $30 or $25, so I ended up paying $5 or nothing. They are great, and I just hope they stay around as long as I do, because I really count on them being around for printer problems. read more

What a wonderful surprise! Jesse and his brother Joe have carved out a much needed niche in the world of printer/typewriter repair, etc. They are thoroughly professional and personable. The appearance of the shop is from the 50's but don't let that fool you. They have amazing expertise. I called one morning and talked to Jesse. Within an hour they had my printer and once again explained to me the procedure for handling the repair, if repairable. The next day, after Joe called me, I picked up my newly repaired printer and enjoyed the few minutes with the brothers. read more

it's amazing that such craftsman are still around in this day and age. Berkeley Type fixed my old typewriter at a very reasonable cost and restored the action of its carriage and the keys. my Olympia typewriter now types smooth as butter. thanks for the great work guys! read more

There are few things in life that I can count on but B.T. is one of them. Over the years they have serviced typewriters and these days, printers. They've fished out pushpins and cleaned printer-heads and always charged a fair fee for their service. So glad they are there when I need them! read more

Update to my earlier post: I just got the printer back in service and it STILL has the same problem with the overprinting. In a way I'm glad, because I feel less guilty about my earlier review. read more

Went down here because my sister goes to Berkeley and I noticed a little store and saw wonderful typewriters, I bought one for my sister as a welcome to Berkeley type of present and she loves it. :) read more