UC Davis Stores | Downtown

Wanted to buy a friend’s son a gift certificate for a graduation present as he’ll be starting at UCD in the fall. More than 10 minutes at the cash register, rifling through multiple cards and clicks-​clacks on the register along with two phone calls over to the main bookstore and I was done. I wanted to give them money and their hourly wage employees could not figure it out. A gift card. Really?! No one has ever come in and asked for that?! Guess I’m getting him an Amazon card now. Go Ags?

The items here are overpriced. I had high expectations given the Fresno State store, where I bought almond butter, nuts, cheese, wine and olive oil. This store paled in comparison.

Nice store, just seemed kind of small and offered less than I was expecting. near the start of classes the inventory seems to become barren quickly.

I don’t understand why there is a UCD store downtown. I actually went in a few times before work, just to in the air condition and to shop around. The prices are typically high. They still a bunch of UCD gear and trinkets. It’s pretty much a retail store for UCD. It is nice not having to go to the bookstore for things like scantrons and booklets.

I was at Fleet Feet Davis for one of my race-​related things and I noticed this UCD store across the street. As an alum I rarely go back to campus, but do visit downtown Davis often for errands and eating out. Before this store opened, the only other option I could think of for licensed Davis apparel/​gear downtown was the Davis Sports Shop (and more recently but not downtown, the Davis Target store). The Downtown UCD store is convenient, and it has been useful for purchasing shirts and hooded sweatshirts as well as other gifts. I finished undergrad in 2008 (centennial) so I can get away with some of the current merch that says «UC Davis ’08» or something, referring to establishment year, ha. I also snagged a hoodie with the traditional UC «seal» around the time of the proposed new ridiculous «UC» logo. They have a sort of rewards program where every dollar you spend earns you a point that can be used toward future purchases (discounts?). The store supervisor Kelly H. is awesome friendly. The store also does custom t-​shirt printing in-​store ($ 6 per shirt, no minimum order. Buy a blank shirt from them or bring your own in), and the job can be completed by the time you’re done browsing the rest of the store.
P. S. As you can see by the photo, even Hello Kitty endorses UC Davis.

Love this store! As a alumni I try to avoid campus during school days/​hours (i.e. basically the exact hours of the MU bookstore) so I’d rather come here. It basically just carries merchandise/​trinkets and less actual school necessities. Not sure if this store is carrying things that the MU store isn’t or if it’s just a supplement. Either way they had more than enough sweatshirt options for me and I left a happy camper.

I’m trying to understand the purpose of this UC Davis Store in downtown.
As an alumnus, I don’t visit downtown Davis very often anymore, but on my walk back to my parking spot after the Turkey Trot, I was surprised to see a UCD retail store on the fringes of downtown. Not that my closets are running low on UCD alumni gear, but in the rare occurrences where I would want to pick up some collegiate gear, it was nice to have a option that didn’t involve going on campus to the Bookstore.
The store features a limited selection of the same kind of branded random knick-​knacks and university apparel. Naturally the selection isn’t as broad as the Bookstore, as the space is much more limited, but given that this was the off-​campus store, I also expected a larger selection of alumni gear — certainly more than a lone section of shelves. There was more selection and variety devoted to «UC Davis Family» gear. If the intent is to reduce merchandise traffic for parents and students during the fall and the holidays, I suppose it’s effective. But the selection is so limited here and the Bookstore just isn’t much further away that I would just make the effort to go to the Bookstore in the future.