Amazon Books

There’s an Amazon STORE? No way!!!
Only place in the world that you can play and test out Amazon’s Fire TV, Kindle reading device and Echo «Alexa». Prices are same ones listed online with snippets of reviews and star ratings. Feels like a Barnes & Noble bookstore. Has Wi-​Fi and long seating areas along windows with plenty of outlets. Atmosphere was on point with perfect lighting and low music which made it a nice place to sit and take a break or browse through a book in a comfy arm chair.

Amazon, known for being internet only, graces one lucky neighborhood. It has mostly books, but also it has Amazon’s other products and the occasional accessory made by another company. Employees here are enthusiastic.
The Seattle area has lots of influence in our lives. Products here are demonstrated to the utmost. Seats are in the back, yet there is not a café. The store quickly reminds you that prices are no different than on their website which has taken the world by storm. All items are new and used is cheaper, but the redundancy with Amazon online is okay.
This store would be memorable without such a builder.

Amazon Books is located in the University Village, and when I went on a Saturday, the place was packed. It’s not a huge store, and the selections they have are the most popular kind of works, what I assume they sell the most of online. I was confused at first when I came here since it was my first time because nothing had price tags. Located around the store are barcode scanners that you have to take your loot of books to, to get a price. Some books were good deals, but mostly, it was only a couple bucks off the listed price. There is staff everywhere and they are helpful. I’d come here whenever I’m at University Village, to browse, but wouldn’t willingly drive here, just to shop here since the collection is not extensive nor the prices on the fiction books aren’t that much of a bargain.

My favorite part about this bookstore, apart from the vibe, is that all of the books are front facing. There are less books in general than say a Barnes and Noble but each one is almost spot lighted and picked because people have enjoyed and rated them highly.

I think the overall concept of this place is pretty cool. I found it before eating dinner at Din Tai Fung at University Village. The store is pretty big and has a lot of variety of books to choose from: travel, young adults, graphic novels, cooking, etc. The interesting thing is there aren’t any price tags on the books. You scan the barcode at one of the price checks and they’ll match the price to what’s shown on
! The thing that kind of acts like a price tag is a buyer review and the average rating at front of the books.
The store even has certain products for people to try such as the Fire TV and Amazon Echo. I told Alexa to play a rap song and forgot that the volume was turned up, so the product definitely works. The employees there are also super friendly and willing to answer your questions and show you how the products work and interact with each other.
The cool thing for me though is that they have a really huge bathroom! Most stores I know don’t have their own bathrooms so I was really happy about this after drinking a lot of tea. There are also seats by the windows where the magazine racks are so you can read something. I haven’t officially bought anything here yet but I heard they do not accept cash. I’m assuming it’s because the physical store is based off the website and everything has to be done electronically. I would definitely buy something here when the occasion calls for it though. Such a cool store!

How could you not love a place with Amazon prices yet immediate access? :)
The only downside is that it’s not BIGGER! It’s always been bustling and pretty crowded and it obviously doesn’t have the endless selection as online, but it’s an amazing start and great concept!
People are very friendly and helpful. Lots of staff around to answer questions.
I love the price scanners around the store too!!!

Want to feel like an Amazon prime member without the fee? Then you can shop here and get book discounts without having to pay the prime price! A cool place to check out for Amazon fans and those who like to save on books.
Amazon’s brick and mortar is a pretty cool experience, they rotate the books on display based on what’s bestselling in certain categories. There’s also Amazon’s answer to apple’s «genius» bar, which has an employee to attend to your questions about kindles and other needs. There are screens for you to try out apps on the Fire and see other Amazon technology.
They have a wall and window sitting area for those who like to fully read a book before considering buying it, but otherwise space is limited in this shop and not to many places to sit and read. Overall this is a bookstore to visit if you want to see what’s hip and happening and grab a current gift for the avid reader in your social network.

Cool concept and a nice place to kill time. Scanning the books for prices is pretty fun. They have a very limited selection though, but I like how they honor the online prices.

How cool! As if Amazon didn’t have enough of my money online and also took over my city, they are also encroaching upon my physical being. That’s OK though, because I love a good deal. I also love books, and poor old Barnes and Noble has some stiff competition in the Amazon Bookstore. The prices here correlate to what the book is sold for online, which means essentially half off.
I loved the curated displays of books by genre, as well as the nice layout of books and color scheme for wood/​décor.
But again, I am not really sure why Amazon is moving towards a brick and mortar store. Isn’t their strength the online sales and convenience? Either way, I like bookstores so this is a welcome addition.

Pretty disappointing foray into physical books
You feel like you’re in a warehouse picking up books
In other words the browsing experience is far from pleasant
Hard to pick up books
Nowhere to put down your coffee
Electronics section should be the centerpiece (punt intended) but customers are left to fiddle with electronics on their own
Amazon can do better; hope they evolve the concept vs shut it down in 6 months

Yep, it’s a bookstore. Amazon’s first foray from the virtual shopping world into the physical bricks-​and-​mortar store. The bookstore is arranged as any usual bookstore is arranged, by broad genres. There are also Amazon’s devices on display: the various Kindle e-​readers, Kindle Fire tablets, Fire TV, the Amazon Echo with a list of things you could ask it. For example, someone asked Alexa to tell a joke and Alexa delivered. «What did the buffalo say to his son when he dropped him off at school? Bye son (bison).» There’s also a magazine section. My friend and I enjoyed walking through the aisles and reading the reviews pulled right off the
website. Each book has a review and a barcode to scan. As others mentioned, the reason why the barcode is there is so that you can purchase the items at the same price as what’s listed on the website. That’s great customer obsession at the expense of customer experience — customers get the appropriate price (assuming that the prices don’t fluctuate too much), but the experience is poor in my opinion because it’s inconvenient. You either have to walk around with a scanner or use your phone and the Amazon App. The bookstore does have complimentary wifi.
You can purchase physical gift cards in the store as well. You can also apply your online gift card balance to purchases in the store. When you purchase things in the store, it shows up in your order history if you use a credit card that is registered with your online account. That’s quite magical.
Again, my hilariously curious friend and I wondered how Amazon chose which books to display. It had to be chosen based on some data, given how Amazon is a data-​driven company. But some books had few reviews while others had tons of reviews. Some had very high ratings and some had mediocre ratings. The rating distribution would have been nice to display.

4.5 star! Amazon Books (aka Amazon’s first physical store) is amazing in its own way. It is a little small but showcases some of the more popular books by categories along with select reviews. The store is nice and clean and has a modern feel to it (though a bit cramp). There are some seats along the windowpanes to sit and enjoy the books, too.
I especially like checking out Amazon Echo and asking Alexa all kinds of random questions. It’s kindda fun to check out what the state of technology is like these days! :)
The only thing that I miss about the book store is really the community feeling to it, though. I wish they have a section for community to gather and enjoy the books (such as storytelling, book signing, events, etc) like other traditional bookstores have. Overall, a fun place to check out and a nice take on trying to replicate all the other stores that e-​commerce sites like Amazon had tried to replace in the past.

It’s like Barnes and Noble but without the extra room.
Expect to be packed liked sardines if you come visit Amazon books. There is just not enough space in the store to feel comfortable. As you are trying to read about the books people just keep walking in front of you because of the lack of space.
I like however how they choose how to stock their shelves based off what is popular on line though and that’s the only reason they didn’t get a lower rating.
Gimmicky feeling book store that is basically advertising for amazon

Was at U-​Village the other day and forgot that Amazon had opened a bookstore. So I decided to check it out. It’s near Molly Moon’s, Joey, Banana Republic corner area. I could see it was pretty busy inside and as I entered, it crossed my mind that something cool must be going on. Unfortunately, there wasnt much coolness going on, just only people inside of a bookstore.
It’s not a big store, it’s pretty regular to me, a good amount of sections but not as wide array of choices. They do sell some electronics stuff so that is a slight plus. A good sized periodicals section to check up on how the Kardashians are doing to Food Network recipe magazines.
I do like they have a bench seating area to sit at while reading your magazines. Also there are Kindles you can play with to sample books, games, apps too.
As mentioned, there are no prices on the books, only barcodes. You will need to download the Amazon app on your phone, scan it, just so you can get the price. There are barcode scanning machines among the aisles to scan as well, but I only saw one.
It will be pretty busy in there for a while since holiday season is approaching, when it gets too packed inside, security guards will form a line outside and will let people in. Since it’s new and quite busy, its pretty loud inside and a little tough to read among the craziness, so dont expect a calm, relaxing bookstore atmosphere just yet.
I enjoy going to bookstores but this place doesnt tickle my fancy much as it was just ehhhh (shrugs shoulders) to me.

This store is on point for the purpose it was created. If you are looking for a huge inventory of books, a classic bookstore atmosphere, or a place to sit and read, you’ll be disappointed.
Amazon is showing how to mix e-​commerce with brick and mortar to make a better in store experience. This feels like how shopping should, and eventually will, work in the digital age:
Walk around with your amazon app and scan the bar codes to find the price on amazon so you don’t have to worry about there being a better price. All of the product tags include the star rating from amazon to help you determine you are getting a good product. The books they stock are based on best selling and most wished for categories on amazon so they have a smaller data driven selection of inventory. With the smaller inventory, all books are front facing so you easily can see all of the books.
This store is meant for you to discover a new book and puts your fears at ease if you ever are in a store but think «I wonder if it’s cheaper online» or «I wonder what other people think about this»
This may not be the bookstore experience other ls were looking for but it sets a new bar for brick and mortar stores to leverage the vast amounts of digital data we have to create a more seamless in store experience.

When the Amazon bookstore opened this week, I asked my friends whether they planned to go and got mostly anti-​Amazon reactions! But I was curious to at least check it out and see what the deal was.
The store is medium-​small, about the size of an airport bookstore and definitely smaller than, say, an average Barnes & Noble. So as you can imagine, the selection is a lot smaller and more «curated.» The inventory all consists of books that are highly rated and/​or bestsellers on
, and the display tables and hang tags reflect this.
They make a big deal out of prices being the same as online, but you have to scan the book to see what that price is. There are a couple of in-​store scanners, but they’re strongly steering you towards using the Amazon app on your phone — no doubt to collect even more juicy consumer data. I didn’t see any in-​store computers to assist you with looking up items and buying them online (since the store selection is limited) — maybe they assume everyone has smartphones now?
You’ll see most of the usual bookstore departments (fiction, YA, nonfiction, reference, children’s), just a much smaller quantity of titles. I liked that they had an endcap promoting Native American voices, though it seemed light on Pacific NW tribal representation. But the center of the store is devoted to Amazon gadgets: Kindles, Amazon TVs, Echo and more, plus all the cords, adapters, etc. that go along with them.
It was very busy on its first weekend and had a line out the door, so while the store was well-​staffed, the employees were focusing on re-​stocking shelves and didn’t greet or engage customers. But with the store being as small as it is, if they have a book that you’re looking for, it should be pretty easy to find.
I’m an Amazon Prime member and I sometimes order books from
, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to visit this physical store. It’s handy if you want to test out their gadgets and convenient if you’re looking for a book that’s popular enough that they’ll definitely have it, but it’s got a very impersonal and corporate feel. I still prefer the larger selection and the joy of unexpected discoveries — plus the good karma! — that come with shopping at indie bookstores.

Great store! Prices Are variable based on current online price. Staff friendly! They have items like Amazon basics (USB cords/​cables) Will be back.

Walked out with my new Philips HUE light set to connect to my Echo and also found 5 new books and a discounted new Kindle Voyage at a $ 30 discount thanks to my Prime membership. Very happy customer here!
The store is gorgeous and for the first day, the staff did a great job managing the lines. Allowing people to go in only as other people exited made for easy maneuvering of the store. The aisles weren’t too crowded and the devices (Kindles, Echo, Fire TV, etc) weren’t all taken up either. I had plenty of time to look around, shop, ask questions, and stand and read up on some titles I wanted to check out.
Wishing I could scan a QR code or barcode through the Kindle app and simply order or download a sample of the book. But hey, maybe one day! At least I got zero dirty looks when taking photos of book covers to remind myself to look them up later.
A very high tech, sleek and streamlined way to shop for books or Amazon accessories and devices. They also sell charging cords, headphones, and more. Was happy to pop by and get a few items at once. Thanks to the staff for answering questions and even offering title recommendations on books I was looking at.

Definitely recommend a visit here! The books are all the same price as amazon online and you can take the books to various price scanners scattered throughout the store to check the price. They also have a bunch of Amazon basic items like charging cables, Bluetooth speakers, Bose headphones, etc.
There’s a lot of interesting things tech things they are doing here. Near the magazines, there’s a sitting area with Fire tablets loaded with audiobooks, books, and magazines. There’s also power plugs here if you’re looking for a place to sit. You can also try out the various kindles and the Fire TV.
Of course there’s tons of books and Amazon is using data from the website to stock books that are best sellers and recommended. I really like browsing the recommended and best selling lists in person. All of the items have a small excerpt and review ratings from the website. Amazon books is a great addition to Uvillage, especially since Barnes and Noble closed in 2011!

(Yeah, I understand that Amazon killed a lot of co-​op, independent bookstores and Borders, and ironically now they are opening a physical book store… but this review is not about Amazon the company, but the store/​customer service)
Like Amazon prices for books but don’t want to wait for shipping? Now you don’t have to!
Amazon opened a physical store in University Village, next to Banana Republic and across from JOEY Kitchen Din Tai Fung. The closest parking garage by the 26^th Ave NE entrance but I took the bus here.
They grand-​opened half hour ago. Short line but plenty of media. An older lady who said she was from the Associated Press took my photo and my name. Maybe I will see the photo somewhere, maybe not! They didn’t offer any freebies to attract the unwanted demographics (if ya know what I mean), and first to purchase didn’t get any perks either. Nonetheless, it was a very easy experience.
Prices are the same as online so use the scan stations to check real-​time prices, or use your amazon app, click the camera button and scan the barcode.
Everything stocked is average-​rated 4.5 stars and above, if I observed correctly. The décor and atmosphere reminds me of Barnes and Noble but everything sold is crowdsourced and averaged highly by customer ratings, so there should be few duds. All the books face out instead of spine facing out, and underneath each book or product is a tag/​label where you can read a short customer review, or read it on your smartphone! There is a big children’s section and even a table with 4 little chairs and 4 children-​friendly Kindle Fires. These Kindle Fires can work in adult-​mode when unlocked.
If you use the same credit card as the one registered on your Amazon account, you can just opt to get an emailed receipt without having to type in your email address. Hooray for saving paper! The cashier asked if I found everything OK and I told her that I was looking for a book written by a local Seattle author and she was quick to get on her phone to look it up (and told me they don’t have it). So, not to worry — Amazon Books won’t replace Barnes and Noble, just a nice addition to the University Village.
Definitely check it out if you happy to be here, a quick detour while at UW, and then eat lunch at Din Tai Fung right across the path afterwards!