Mary Jane Books

Nice bookstore with chill owners. They can be kind of rude, but hey, it’s to be expected in Albany. I do feel like they cater more towards the bigger colleges in the area, so even though I went to school up the street at College of Saint Rose, I did not find their inventory all that useful. But a great resource if they have what you need. They play awesome music, the T-​shirts are fun, and it’s kind of like your neighborhood textbook store served with a side of sly sarcasm.

I’ve never really found that I’ve saved money going to Mary Jane Books. Honestly, I’ve found both book availability and pricing to be on par with the bookstore at the University at Albany. The only time I’ve saved a noteworthy amount of money is when buying books through Amazon. I prefer the Kindle version of books when possible, anyway. Parking at Mary Jane’s can be a real pain in the ass, too.
Having said that, I’ve found the people working at Mary Jane tend to be a bit more pleasant than the people at UAlbany’s bookstore.

K this place reminds me of some of the local shops in Berkeley. Great little place for local students obviously. Sister-​in-​law needed some stuff and they staff did a great job. Admittedly here only 2 times but both experiences were awesome :)

Mary Jane’s Bookstore:
Their used prices are comparable to used prices on Amazon. I refuse to buy textbooks new so I can’t comment on those prices.
This is my textbook purchasing algorithm:
1. try to find textbook on torrent site.
2. look online for inexpensive used books, but do not buy.
3. look online at Mary Jane’s used book prices.
4. if Mary Jane’s offers a used book for less than or within a few dollars of the best deal online, buy it there.
Using this system, last year I spent about 1k on textbooks and maybe $ 800 of that was from Mary Jane’s. That sounds like a lot if you haven’t bought textbooks recently, but I could have spent almost twice as much elsewhere.
You get a free t-​shirt with a purchase of over $ 400. They have t-​shirts in girls’ sizes too. Getting a pink t-​shirt that fits and says «Mary Jane Saves Lives» is a nice perk to take the edge off the financial burden of textbook purchasing.
In front of the counters, they have books for fun reading. You know, the ones whose prices aren’t extortion (I’m not blaming Mary Jane’s, I’m blaming the system). They are also used and fairly priced.