MIT Coop

Pro:
+ Great selection of books, clothes, and various supplies
+ Large, clean space
Con:
— Really expensive
I’ve come here to explore a few times as an MIT student. Their selection of books (both popular books and textbooks) is large, and there’s a lot of MIT themed clothing to choose from (I’ve bought a hoodie from here). Also, this store was very helpful — I had a job interview in Boston and needed a folder to put my resumes in, and the Coop was a great place to pick up a folder (MIT-​themed) in a pinch. However, the prices here are pretty steep. Not sure if you can find better deals on the MIT clothing, but it’s a good place to browse books and then look for better deals online.

Good selection of MIT logo wear plus most things you need for school attendance as well. I remember the Coop to be the place to go for all books and supplies, long since moved from its location when I attended MIT.
Coming to the Coop occasionally to find T-​Shirts and things for myself and other family members is usually a pretty successful trip. I have, however, noticed two things: First, there never seemed to be any proactive service in the store, and second (and more frustrating being not from the area) the online experience is ten times worse. Trying to buy things online is really an introduction to probability theory as something you pick out has only an unknown chance of being in stock and ever being shipped to you.

To be fair, I did come screaming in here demanding to buy a sweatshirt for the brilliant daughter who is most likely to attend MIT in our family. (Not putting down Teen 1, she got a Harvard shirt because she is more suited for there.)
They had so much selection that I had a hard time making a decision, but ended up getting her one that she really liked for the low price of $ 50. For a college sweatshirt.
Yes, that was sarcasm.
Everyone was friendly and helpful. I paid my $ 50, took my sweatshirt and left, probably not to return for at least 7 years if ever.
Oh, they close at 6:30 so visit here first if you are doing both Harvard and MIT or else you’ll miss it. And the Harvard one is open until 11.

Just like any COOP in any American university. A good place to buy books, but a expensive place to buy clothings. My daughters wanted MIT shirts after sight seeing the campus, so Daddy brought the over priced shirts. Oh well.

I love MIT but not the COOP. Most of the people working there are not happy and don’t know a thing about customer service.
As a proud alumni, I was more than ok spending some serious dough here. I had a full basket of things which amounted to more than 2 bills. It was pretty heavy and I was next in line. I wanted to set it down on register first. It wasn’t in anybody’s way and I was next, so what’s the big deal?
The cashier was yelling at me like a criminal for leaving something there. Ugh… he’s lucky he didn’t have a name tag on or I would have reported him…
MIT Coop, please retrain your staff in customer service if you really want alumni and parent money to continue coming in…

Some cool books, calendars, gadgets.
Even so, I’ve never dropped a dime here.
And they’re closed on Sundays.
There’s two floors.

This place is nice but a bit overpriced, I once bought a «sale» item that was marked up more than the original price underneath when I peeled it off to prepare for gifting. The employees do not haunt you which is nice and they are very helpful. The books on clearance can be a real steal sometimes though!

Rating: 2 stars
Quick Comments:
* Limited selection in comparison to the sister COOP at Harvard Square.
* Better off getting clothing inside the MIT student center.
Run-​Down:
+ Has a student barber shop on the inside for cheap haircuts.
— Selection is not that great compared to Harvard COOP and the clothing shop inside the MIT student center.
It gets the job done if you’re looking to just grab some memorabilia or souvenirs. If you’re looking for a wide selection of clothing, don’t expect too much.

I like the way they organize the books here– campus favorites, best new books in science, popular lit, staff picks. Great for browsing, but I confess I leave more often with a candy bar than a new book.
A note on the various articles of MIT-​wear you can buy: I found out that there are apparently several different companies that make the adults & kids t-​shirts, so surprisingly, you can’t find the same designs at both the kendall coop and the one in the student union. This disappoints me– and at the risk of sounding like some unforgivably NERDY connoisseur of MIT-​ness– I will note that some designs are better than others, and the more ‘classic’ ones can be found at the other coop.

It’s a typical college bookstore. Good selection of MIT paraphernalia to send home as gifts — mugs, t-​shirts, etc. Textbooks are overpriced but it’s definitely convenient. Every once in a while I add a class last-​minute and can’t afford to wait for Amazon so I’ll buy a textbook here. There’s nothing special about the COOP — I suspect they must make a lot of money off tourists, which is why they keep their prices so high. But whatever.

Two years later and there is still no good reason to shop at the COOP. The textbook racket is out of control, their buyback program is a scandal, the service is indifferent, and the aura is tainted by the rancid psychic echos of students getting ripped off.

Coop (as in chicken coop, NOT co-​op), you make me hate myself a little bit every time I shop here. Then why am I shopping here? Unless someone can enlighten me, it’s the only place that I can get the gear to plaster myself in full MIT regalia/​glory/​nerdliness. I haven’t bought a book here since my first semester as a freshman mumbly-​mumbly years ago.
If you want technical books, go to Quantum around the corner. If you want sweet nerdly books, go across the street to the MIT Press.

everytime i buy something and am asked if i have a coop number, i have to dejectedly say «no». i want some savings too. :(
i come to the coop for everything i decide i need while i’m at work. books (not tech books ‘cos i go to quantum for those), socks (in case i forget to pack them for my after-​work gym workouts and can’t be bothered to trek the ¾ mile to get to my home), computer bags, greeting cards, teddy bears, candy bars.
come to think of it, maybe i would like it if they opened up a drugstore/​convenience store in kendall instead. ah well…

Small store that feels like a chain. Selection is satisfactory but not imaginative. Prices are average. Conveniently located at the Kendall stop on the red line.

Not TOO awesome, as far as book stores go, esp for the Boston/​Cambridge area, which is stuffed up the wazoo with book stores, most of them really interesting and piled high with super intellectual paper. Plus it’s secretly owned by Barnes and Noble, even though you’re tricked into thinking that it’s independent because it’s a co-​op. Hissss.
Long story short, buy your MIT gear here. Mugs, Nalgene bottles, stuffed beavers, pens, stickers, «I heart Nerds» t-​shirts, you name it, they’ve got it with «MIT» emblazoned across. Also plenty of nerd-logo’ed bibs and propaganda like that to pimp out your MIT-​bound baby. And occasionally you might have to purchase MIT textbooks since some of them can’t be found anywhere else.

Ah the Coop. It’s a pathetic little shop compared to the Harvard one, but it is the best place to get MIT gear. The dorm furnishings are only if you’re really desperate though, seeing as how Cambridgeside is a free shuttle ride away, and you can buy just about anything you need at CVS or Sears for half the price. The only time I come here is for their free razors and gum samples at the beginning of the school year… my friends and I all have enough razors for years to come =D.

Go here for the MIT related souvenirs and nothing else. If you buy your textbooks here, I will hunt you down and steal your money because, obviously, you can afford to pilfer it away at Barnes and Noble’s in disguise and I could use it more.

I like The Coop. Maybe its because MIT is my Dad’s alma mater. Or the fact that the nerdiness is openly embraced. Either way, I like this place.
I grabbed a «nerd pride» shirt in MIT colors and will wear it with gusto. Even if my academic endeavors didn’t quite get me into an ultra-​elite school such as this, its still fun to be one with my fellow nerds. And besides, I can still go to grad school sometime in the future, right? ;-)
I like the fact that I can buy some snacks, some MIT gear, a book or two, all in the same place. So yay, this place is cool.

This is really a Barnes & Noble College Book Store in disguise, but it’s still owned by We The People. The down side is that because they don’t call themselves BN, you can’t use your BN Reader’s Advantage card or coupons here. Their recent 7.5% rebate was great, so don’t forget to get a membership for the whopping cost of… one dollar. And then don’t forget to give them your Coop number when you shop. And if you forget your Coop number, use mine (10 556 892). ;)
Honestly, folks, the selection is great, and they’ll order anything you need. Indeed, it is The place to go for MIT insignia clothing. Don’t forget to show your student ID for a 15% discount on all clothing!
Textbooks ARE more expensive, but they’re tax free. I’d say something snide about the money going to a conglomerate instead of the government, but The Coop sponsors quite a few MIT special events, and the rebate IS quite nice (it’s been consistently over 5% the last 5 years)…
I love their special interest displays– MIT professors, ‘nerd’ books, games, whatever.
Oh, and it is a co-​op, but pronounce it like the place where chickens live (to blend in).

The MIT Coop and its counterpart the Harvard Coop are overpriced. Buy your text books on
and your pencils from CVS or an art store. I suppose if you really have to have that Harvard sweatshirt or that MIT coffee mug you could make use of this store. It is conveniently located though and Harvard and MIT students can join to get some cash savings.
I mostly like to sit in the MIT Coop when it is raining while I’m waiting for the free shuttle to the Galleria Mall.