This bookstore is awesome!! I can't believe I've never been here until now, though I have visited…read morethe Campbell location. First off, I love the political signs posted on the windows, like the "everyone is welcome here except ICE". When I walked in, the store looked exactly like what I've always envisioned a cozy community bookstore to be like--filled to the brim with books and with a lot of character. I came here to sell some books and it was pretty quick--I had probably 20-25 books and the employee finished in less than 10 minutes. As I was waiting for my books, I walked around exploring. I was very impressed with the selection of fiction. There were actually quite a bit of new releases, but also older books and editions that I would likely not find at a corporate bookstore. If I had the time, I'd love to spend 1-2 hours here just browsing. I didn't expect to get much money for my books; I was actually going to donate them and didn't realize that they still buy books, so their offer was ok. I was moreso pleasantly surprised that the employee was so nice lol, and also a little chatty. Honestly the last time I sold books was probably 15-20+ years ago at Half Price Books and I remember they were always pretty rude/standoffish lol. In addition to the service, the atmosphere, and the book selection, the cherry on top for me was that they have a special shelf where you can buy a book there for 50% off for them to donate to the library at Elmwood Correctional Facility at a bit of a loss for the store. I used most of my credit from the books to get a Stephen King book for the library.

I've been visiting this bookstore for over 20 years and I definitely have a love/hate relationship…read morewith this bookstore lol. The Bad: The staff can occasionally come across as a bit unwelcoming, and I personally wish the storefront atmosphere stayed more focused on books and less on outside messaging. They sometimes price popular or trending used books higher than what you'd pay for a brand-new copy elsewhere. The Good: I absolutely love the character of this bookstore. Shelves packed floor to ceiling, creaky wooden floors, stacks of books everywhere, and even a cat roaming around the store it feels like something straight out of a fantasy novel. I've visited countless bookstores, and nothing beats the old vintage feel of this place. They have a great selection of beautiful leather-bound books, plus an excellent fantasy and sci-fi section. I especially love when they put books out in under $6! The prices at this location are better, and this store feels much more like a classic old bookstore. The Campbell location feels more like a modern bookstore, and the prices there can sometimes be higher. At the end of the day, this place is a San Jose landmark and everyone should visit it at least once. Even when I disagree with certain aspects of it, I still keep coming back because it's nostalgic.

Soyodo is a place that feels deeply familiar and comforting to me. My parents used to come here…read moreoften, so every visit carries a sense of nostalgia and connection to home. Since Chinese painting and calligraphy are among my favorite hobbies, Soyodo has always been a meaningful place to find traditional Chinese painting supplies and guidebooks esp for maobi, painting flowers, landscapes, and ancient figures. I really appreciate that they also carry crafting supplies and classic Chinese literature, not just generic art books. Everything here feels rooted in tradition and care. The store also offers novels, children's books, Chinese New Year decor, vases, and small toys, which makes it feel like a cultural space rather than just a bookstore. On top of that, the pricing is very reasonable. I've even found books for as little as $2-4, which makes browsing and discovering new reads even more special. The owners are an older Chinese couple who are quiet, reserved, and genuinely kind. One of the things I cherish most about Soyodo is how peaceful and calm the store is. It's the kind of place where you can slow down, browse without pressure, and feel grounded. Stores like this are rare and I truly hope Soyodo continues to thrive. If you value culture, tradition, and supporting a small family-owned business, this is absolutely a place worth visiting and supporting.

The store has a large selection of Chinese calligraphy brushes, tools, Chinese novels and…read moretranslated Western -authored books. It also has herbal ai cao 艾草related products and other health tools , and other Chinese culture-related accessories.

Another lovely location for half price books!!!…read more I love strolling around, checking out the popular books and other nice stationery options.

I wouldn't bother bringing books in to sell! Store selection is great, staff is very polite & nice!…read moreThe bathroom is clean. However I brought in 7 large grocery bags of books & novels... most in like-new condition. Many by very famous authors. They wanted all but about 10 of the books & offered me $18 for the ones they wanted to keep.... Had I left them 'all' of my books, I was told they would have gone on their shelves or to other stores. Crazy to donate products for them to sell. Makes more sense just to donate them & let a non profit sell them...or donate to Friends of the Library... I waited well over an hour to hear the $18 offer LOL.... CRAZY ME!! But it's a very nice place to shop!

I visit Kpop 1004 regularly for their up to date skincare section and BTS/TXT albums. They always…read morehave the newest releases at the most reasonable prices. Their skincare section has a variety of sheet masks and serums. I am a big fan of the sheet masks. They have Tony Moly for my splurge days, but their other lesser known brands are more affordable and work just as well. They have types such as Cica, pearl, and carrot. I haven't tried the Photo Booth in here, but it looks fun. There are also some cute Studio Ghibli and Sanrio merch in here. This store has a little something for everyone who is interested in Kpop, anime, or cute stuff in general.

I visited on a Sunday and I like a lot of groups so I had a good selection of groups but for…read morealbums, it was a bit picked over. The 2 girls at the counter were talking when I walked in by myself and weren't really the friendliest. I ended up picking up an enhypen and nct 127 album and headed out. It was a nice store and one of the closest to my city but I wish they had more selections.

Great variety of records! I came on a Friday afternoon and was easily able to get street parking in…read morefront of the store. All the records are well organized so it's easy to find what you are looking for.

One of the worst selling experiences I've had at a record store…read more I dealt directly with one of the owners, AJ, and the entire interaction felt disrespectful, evasive, and extremely shady. I brought in records to sell and simply asked what he was valuing a couple of them at individually. Instead of giving me a straight answer, he got defensive, kept saying he could find them elsewhere, and repeatedly tried to steer the conversation back to one bundle price. The biggest red flag was my East Side Story record. AJ clearly had a strong interest in it, but when I asked what he valued that specific record at, he still refused to give me a direct number. If you know enough about a record to specifically want it, you should be able to tell the person standing in front of you what you're valuing it at. I do not care if a store offers me less than market value. Businesses need to make money and I understand that completely. What I do care about is transparency. Don't act like someone is stupid just because they're young. Don't dodge basic questions and expect someone to blindly accept a bundle price without understanding what you're assigning value to. The whole interaction left me feeling like he was hoping I didn't know what I had so he could get a much better deal for himself. If your prices and offers are legitimate, there should be absolutely no reason to be secretive when a customer asks how you arrived at them. Being an owner doesn't give you an excuse to talk down to people, become defensive over basic questions, or make a customer feel like you're trying to pull one over on them. Young does not mean naive. I knew enough to ask questions, and the fact that those questions were met with attitude instead of answers told me everything I needed to know. I walked out with my records, and I'm glad I did.

What a gem in Fremont!!…read more The employees here are always super friendly and the book selection keeps me coming back. There is something here for everyone's interest. I love how there is a great selection of cute gifts designed by local artists as well as community events. The children's section is inviting and offers so many books for all ages levels. I usually stop here before visiting Asia to pick up books for my niece and friends' kids. I'm always able to find an age-appropriate book that suits their current interest here. You can count on finding the latest and greatest titles here for prices that are super reasonable. Need help finding a book? The employees here are always happy to help!

Came here to attend the Author Event: SG Prince in conversation with TA Chan, on February 4,…read moreWednesday. It's about a 20 minute walk away from Fremont Bart. The event was great, and I was happy to support my friends by showing up! The staff was super nice, and the store is clean and well-lit, with a lot of great books on display. I added several books to my Goodreads to-read list and Libby. Happy to see this book store in Fremont!

Service here was good, the guys helping me out were really patient with me as I was going back and…read moreforth deciding which games I wanted to get and would nicely let me look at games I was interested at in the locked cases for as long as I wanted. In terms of selection I think they have a good selection on the retro and modern games and consoles which made me spend even more time in the shop! They also have other things like pokemon sealed products and single cards which I assume they are selling at market price and toys like Funko pops and figurines. As a casual collector and lover of video games, I'm happy with the amount and variety of product that is offered and staff here are friendly everytime I come so I'm happy to recommend this shop to anyone in the nearby area :)

Came to look for some vintage games for a collector friend in Denmark and for a Wii Motion Plus…read morecontroller for the kids. It's located in a small strip mall I've passed by in Milpitas and glad we stopped by. It was amazing to see such a large crowd of people coming in and out, it just made me feel like people still appreciate physical hardware. This feeling was acknowledged when I saw a row of CRT TVs for sale and how much better the games looked on their intended non-held hardware. They have a little bit of everything retro and have games ranging from loose to in box, it was cool seeing so many games I grew up with. The most nostalgic systems were the NES and SNES for me. Prices were not and and barely above market though my kids did notice the Pokemon stuff was marked very high. Staff was great and asked me for my requests and immediately looked it up. They also tried giving me free snes clear boxes but they were out of stock.

Cool spot! Came here with a friend on Thursday morning. There is a huge selection of used vinyls…read moreand equipment. They also offer cassettes and some books. The vinyls were grouped by music genre. They were in better shape than the $2 piles. The $2 vinyls weren't sorted, so it was fun to see what was available. As we were paying, the owner said that he regularly rotates what's out. Would come back to browse again! I found out about this place when I had purchased a few vinyls over at Minasan in Japantown and was told they were sourced from here. There is a small parking lot in the front, which was empty at the time, otherwise there is street parking nearby. There is a middle school nearby so the streets might be busier when school gets out.

Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. Nice selection. Reasonable prices. I was able to return a…read morerecord without a hassle after learning I had already purchased a copy.

One of the best bookstores in the Bay Area! Love their selection of books, hijabs, gifts, scents,…read moreand more. The staff is friendly and it's a lovely place to access inspiring knowledge.

This bookstore has a great selection of books, clothes and musks and really anything related to…read moreIslamic culture. The service is always great and welcoming, their prices are very reasonable. I highly recommend this little store!

Great bookstore! My family and I popped in here to check out books and to kill some time before our…read moredinner reservation. I love looking at new releases and staff recommendations. The store was well organized and the staff were super helpful and even knew a lot about the niche book series I was looking for. Def recommend!

Would absolutely NOT recommend if you want to browse books or find a book to read for fun that's…read morenot EXTREMELY politically charged (and very very very unipolar - no diversity in thought at all or even neutral). I love bookstores - just popping in and looking for a good book. Immediately after you enter you can see every display, whether you're browsing history, travel, etc. will be littered with books pushing political agenda. Disappointing at best, felt like the staff was trying to propagandize.