Came here with my wife, who is an alum. She wanted to get some UCSB swag for our 5-yo daughter, and instantly found a cool hoodie for her. The store is big and spacious, with a bunch of cool swag and useful school items. Prices are what you'd expect: pricey. read more

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Oh the memories of picking up UCSB gear and my books for class here. Right in the middle of campus with a great view of Storke Tower and eateries in the same plaza and lots of areas outside to chill and study. Right now with Covid they have limited hours that are listed on the website - M, Wednesday, and Friday to do curbside as the bookstore is closed to the public. I came to visit and wanted to pick up a few items. What you can do is go to the bookstore and they have a binder of all of their items and someone will run in to get the items for you like a personal shopper. They have hand sanitizer and sanitize the binder between people. Wear your when rolling up. I got some cute baby items for my baby and friends. Another option is ordering online to ship or have it ready at the store - but there may be a processing time for that so you're better off doing the binder process if you're wanting something day of. Go Gauchos!! read more

It's a great bookstore for a smaller campus such as UCSB. They have all the typical logo gear and school supplies. It also includes a small convenience store section and Santa Barbara area gift items. The workers there are all very helpful and friendly. We stop by almost every time we visit the school to pick up something for either myself or the girls. read more

Most items are overpriced here even though it's conveniently on campus. I've only bought graduation gear here since it's the only place I can get the items. read more

UC Santa Barbara Campus Store - Bookstores Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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I stopped by UCSB on a recent trip to the west coast. I was given a whirlwind tour of campus and got to stop by the school bookstore. The UCSB Bookstore is pretty huge place - it looked ginormous to me - with lots of useful, potentially overpriced items for college students to get their work done, including stationery, writing utensils, and promotional gear. (Because as we all know, you need a sweatshirt emblazoned with UCSB to complete your college experience.) Not only did they take my credit card for my meager purchase, but I even got a marker to take home. "Woohoo" for free swag! read more

I cannot tell you how much I loathe going here. If possible, I'll go on the website and see what books are required for my classes and just buy them off of amazon or rent them off of chegg 3 weeks before the new quarter so that I don't have to wait in that clusterfuck of a line that's equivalent to a line at Disneyland for space mountain. The students here hate their jobs so when I've returned the books I rented and then one year after I've rented a certain book, the staff tells me that I still have one, I have a problem. I have rented books every quarter because sometimes it's cheaper than buying the book online and why is it that over a year later that someone tells me that I still have a hold on my account? I even came during the summer to pay off all my holds and that dickwad didn't have the courtesy to tell me that I had to pay for one more book? Did no one care enough to tell me? Obviously not because it's not their life and it's not their money and they're just trying to make a living. Oh, and even though you pay for the rental with a card, you're card isn't automatically charged for the full amount. Instead, it accumulates over time so these fucktard student employees are fucking people over by not fulfilling their job requirement and telling people that they have books that are due. Ok, so I may have unleashed my rage on an employee and that was my bad, but seriously though... Do your fucking job. If everyone continued to ignore the hold and not notify me (even though I'm in front of their faces), I won't be able to get my diploma when I graduate until I pay that off. But of course, that's not their problem so they don't have to deal with it. Ucsb bookstore, get your fucking shit together. read more

I browsed through the bookstore a lot to kill time before and after classes. That is dangerous because you may persuade yourself to buy things you don't really need. No matter. I LOVE all the quirky books, art supplies, sketchpads/books, clothing and various other items which I brought home from the UCSB Bookstore. All of the nice sweatshirts are super expensive though. Sigh. read more

Oh how I loved buying tons of books I barely even read once here. Typical college textbook prices. But they do have tons of other cute stuff such as unique makeup and accessories. One of my fav buys .. sunblock! Great for those lazy days on the beach when I was really supposed to be studying. read more

Even though i promote the IV Bookstore, I still love going to the UCSB bookstore. They have a lot of non-textbook books which is nice to browse through. It is clean with a constant change of sweaters and other ucsb wear. Art supplies are amazing here, but books are WAY over priced. Like i said, go off campus and find them (iv bookstore) Little sales (like for Christmas and other random times) are great. they put it out by the lobby and sell things for 75% off. Great store for everything but textbooks. read more

I understand they probably hate their crappy service job behind the counter, but here are some guidelines on how you SHOULD treat another person--customer or not: Greet them, look them in the eye, place their credit card in their hand--don't slide it across the counter, don't drop it next to your crotch so I have to reach across. Finally, say goodbye, have a nice day. Was that so hard? There was 1 time --ONE-- when a girl smiled at me and was friendly. I stopped, mid Credit Card signature, to say, "You know, since I've been to this joint you are the FIRST person who has ever been friendly--ever smiled--and I just wanted to say thanks." She had a HUGE smile after that and said, "THANKS!" Come here if you can't find it off campus, otherwise, get your stuff in IV--better vibes. read more

I'm pretty sure that I don't really get to review this place anymore, since I've been off campus and living my own life for the last couple years (graduated in '10), but I have good memories of killing time before classes at the Bookstore. I did do some bookshopping here; if you're willing to pay the price for your textbooks, and you're on top of it and sign up for all your classes early enough, and you're an (ex-)science major like I once was...it's totally worth it to order your books early so that all you have to do is drop by and pick up your box of textbooks for the (year) quarter. Decent selection of tschotskes, and you're go-to place if you want University swag. Also an amazing selection of art supplies, if a little pricey. Man, I don't miss being a college kid... read more

Way too over priced on everything for a public school which is suppose to support its students. They buy back your used books for less than 20% of its original sale price, and resell the books to students for almost the same as new price. It's all business. read more

One shop shopping for all the college supplies, clothing, gadgets you will ever need for your UCSB schooling. They have a great gift store inside to send home non UCSB emblazenrd paraphnalia. STORE well stocked. read more

The bookstore is a great place to peruse in between classes. Obv don't buy your books here. I don't know why any of you noobs are taking away stars because their books are too expensive. Get your books at half.com. Half.com is the truth. Only noobs buy their books at the UCSB Bookstore. Obv. The bookstore is for killing time, buying UCSB regalia, and creepin' on Freshmen. God bless America. read more

When I first started out at UCSB, I was totally lost and didn't even know how to find my textbooks. The staff was kind enough to walk with me to select my books, and I got some pretty great advice about which classes to take too! A lot of the staff are upperclassmen with a lot of knowledge of the campus, and their input is really helpful if you need guidance on things other than textbooks. I opted to rent a lot of my books because it's way cheaper, and the campus doesn't charge over the original price if you lose the book or forget to return it. Everyone is really helpful and management really knows what they're doing. During rush, everyone offered to help me find what I needed and it was a really positive experience. The website is also really helpful for ordering books when I'm lazy. The only thing I would complain about is, there aren't enough workers during the day sometimes because sometimes no one will be at the desk. You can just ring the bell though and they'll come running from the floor haha... read more

I'm a UCSB student and come to the bookstore often. I bought a pair a Chooka rain boots and found out when I got home that they were damaged. I went back to exchange them the same day and the cashier was very rude and told me that I could return them if I wanted to but I wanted to exachange them for another pair. She wasn't helpful at all in helping me look for another pair. They no longer had my size so I was wondering if I could get a discount for the damage. She told me to come back when the buyer (manager) was there the next day. I went back the next day and was told that the buyer of the boots was out for the day. I went back the next day and was told that she was out for the week and that she would be back Monday. I went back Monday and she wasn't there! I left her a message and she finally returns it on Tuesday and says that it sounds strange that the boots could be damaged. I told her I came back to the bookstore an hour after I had purchased them and she still didn't seem to understand. She said that I couldn't return an item if it had been worn but I hadn't worn them. She finally decides to tell me that I can come in and get store credit but that I should come as soon as possible. At this point I had already traveled home (6hours away) after a week of attempting to speak with her. She says that I can come in when I get back but seemed very unsure and rude about it. She also tells me to check my receipt because all gift items on sale are final sale. I check my receipt and no where on the receipt does it say this. Lori Olsen manager of the gifts department ....horrible customer service, but cute boots. read more