Bay Books

Awesome local bookstore with great selection and prices. Great rare books section. My kids love the children’s books.

Although we still miss its sister store in Concord we were happy to see that Bay Books in San Ramon is still alive and kicking. I tried to sell some books and audiobooks but alas I was rejected.
The store is clean, well lit and well organized. We weren’t looking for anything in particular we just wanted to browse. I especially liked the children’s section. I’m sure if I were looking for a specific title – I’d find it.
The staff is friendly and knowledgable.
It would be fun to have a bookstore like this closer to our hood.

This is an exceptional, warm and intimate bookstore — not only well-​curated with new and used books — but managed by a stellar staff. My son, 12 now, favors this one over the dwindling others.
The kid’s area is increasingly built out with popular titles and graphic-​novel style books. But more than anything else, the staff loves books and enjoys helping their customers.

Cute used book store. Strolled through once and was able to snag some more Dr. Seuss books to add to our collection.
Prices are fair, however, before I buy, I still compare them to new books I can get on Amazon for a little bit more.

I’ve been here many times and am always impressed with their selection of used books — but recently they have expanded!
I usually come here to just browse and if anything catches my eye, I will make a purchase. I actually found a couple of cool anti-​stress art therapy coloring books for adults today! Really awesome find, but it’s pretty obvious I bought these two books new and not used. So I paid full price — 9.95 each.
Meh.
Also — the colored pencils that would compliment this purchase were about $ 2 more than you can purchase at Safeway. I think they can do a better job at pricing their merchandise since it seems like the general idea of a used book store is targeted towards an audience with a budget.
They have lots to choose from and there’s a lot of cool novelty items in the front of the store. I will come back here but my first choice for a used book store will always be Half Price Books in Dublin.

Such a nice place to shop. Peaceful and pleasant, with nice people and good books. Sometimes I come just to be here. I’m glad Bay Books exists.

Visited Bay Books a few days ago and I have to admit that it’s been a while since I last visited this store (probably ten years). I love book stores… always have; I have a Nook but only have six books on it and will not get anymore. I enjoy the feel, smell and touch of a book/​magazine as well as the turning of pages… it’s very relaxing.
They have a wide variety of both new and used books both paperback and hardbound. I found my favorite niche in the history and animal sections; I would probably say that I spent about 45 minutes in the nature section and found several books on birds which I bought.
The people who work there are very nice and helpful. I will definitely be back!

Bay Books is a great place to go to buy books, whether your looking for something used or new, they do have a really pretty good selection here.
I bought a book one day titled «Look Me In The Eye.» Which was a great read, I have Asperger’s, and this book is about someone that has Asperger’s.
I find the staff here to be very friendly and helpful. I would come here often when I drove a women while she was at the beauty salon. Little bookstores like these are becoming more rare, it’s important that we give the small stores some business so they can stay open. Come support BB.

This bookstore is magical. It may be smaller than some bigger places, but the books are piled to the ceiling and the aisles are narrow so it feels like a maze. F$&@ing cool.
It feels like a place where you could get lost forever and just read for the rest of your days. Check it out and buy some Bukowski books.

Normally I have great experiences with Bay Books but I felt the need to highlight a horrible experience that I had with the woman who identified herself as the Manager today. I called to order 2 books on grieving. She told me that she needed to go to another computer and didn’t come back to the phone for several minutes, as I listened to her struggle to locate the information with another associate. She finally came back on the line and flatly said that she could not order from her vendor, that they were out of stock. I waited for her to offer some other method of getting the book and/​or address the other book I had requested. She did not. I said, «This is taking longer than I expected, I guess I will go to Amazon.» And what did she do? SHE HUNG UP ON ME!!!
When I called back, giving her the benefit of the doubt, and asked if she had hung up on me she agreed she had and accused me of having said something that I absolutely DID NOT say. At which point I asked for the Manager and she identified herself as such.
I told her that «people wonder why independent booksellers are struggling» she continued her false accusations and then angrily said «Goodbye» and hung up on me again. I tried to find the owner online and contact them directly of my concerns about her horrid customer service and unacceptable treatment (especially for someone buying books on grieving, I might add) but could not. So Unilocal here I am. Book buyers beware.

Here’s a dying breed: bookstores. Crown is long gone, Borders is gone now, Barnes & Noble have shuttered many of their stores. At least we have the used bookstores.
Such as Bay Books. They did have a store in Concord, where I’d spend many hours perusing (and bought my copy of the score of Handel’s «Messiah»). Yep, gone. At least this one is still here.
My family had some time to spare before going to a housewarming in the country between San Ramon & Castro Valley, so here we went. Good selection, well organized. Unlike many used bookstores, this one has a good-​sized kids collection, and my daughter’s library has grown by one book that she bought herself (with Dad’s money).
Like all used bookstores, if you wait to purchase that book, it may not be there next time you visit. Better get it now.

Stopped by looking for particular audio books and found several new and also used at great prices. Store appears to be well run and have large selections. Got a used book for my wife that I thought she would like and got kissed for the thought.

Growing up, I used to be locked up in a library once a month. No, really. I had an uncle who was a member of the Toastmasters Club. This particular chapter used to meet at the local library very early in the morning before it opened for business.
This library was located just a couple of blocks from my grade school so my uncle used to give us a ride in. While waiting for school to start, I remember exploring the empty library and losing myself in stories of adventure, romance and derring do.
The atmosphere at Bay Books brings back these fond memories. BB is a repository of both slightly used and well-​loved books. They even have new editions. I have found personal favorites, come across old classics and discovered new authors at BB. All used tomes are available for a fraction of the sticker price.
Large chain stores have their place. But for the personal touch with a pinch of nostalgia, I often go to Bay Books.

My mother loves going here so of course I’ve been dragged along. Its a «meh» kind of place. they don’t always have the things you’re looking for.

I absolutely love book stores — especially used book stores. So why only two stars?
For starters, the books are extremely expensive. We’re not talking rare books, either. Every book my daughter and I found was about double the price I’d expect to pay elsewhere. The selection is huge, which was nice.
Bay Books will buy your used books for store credit. I was thrilled about this because my daughter is a voracious reader. We brought in over 50 books for resale. Most were hardcover, and all were in excellent condition, purchased within the past year. We only received a $ 35 store credit for the books. This would have been satisfactory at any other reasonably priced used book store, but it didn’t go far with the 7 or 8 books we had chosen. I think we still ended up paying another $ 50 to get out of there.
Most of the staff here were relatively friendly, but one woman was particularly icy. She gave what I assumed to be a new employee a rather humiliating dressing down in front of other staff and customers over a minor issue. It was unprofessional and just plain mean.
I think I’ll go elsewhere next time.

My favorite independent bookstore! It is nice and big, and includes a good sized fantasy/​science fiction section plus an awesome kid & young adult section too. The staff is great. They are always willing to help you find books, give recommendations for new authors. I like the scattered helpful notices around books by popular authors that state «If you like _​_​_​give this author a try».
The décor is nice in the store. The staff decorates for each holiday/​event. I liked that I was able to easily find a book on Irish fairy tales in March by looking at the St. Patty’s Day display.
Oh, and I love the option to bring back books and earn credit towards buying more books!

One of the few book stores left in the San Ramon/​Danville area. After checking reviews on this place, I decided to give this little gem a quick visit.
At first glance, the store almost resembles a Half Price Books. A few carts in the front loaded with books priced under $ 3.50. The store may look small at first glance, but beware, this store extends all the way to the back, and no room is left untouched! The shelves are HIGH, and packed with hundreds of books. My only issue was finding books in this place. A few noticeable signs, but many were small and wedged inbetween books to separate genres/​topics. A slight blemish, if you ask me.
I did manage to find 2 out of the 3 books I needed. One was even priced for $ 10.50 on Amazon, and I got it here brand new for $ 6. The other book was a book on Information Systems. and I found out today (and after circling the store for about 10 minutes) that they don’t carry any books on computers or technology. So if you’re looking for a book on Information Systems, Computers, Technology, it’s likely they won’t carry it.
Overall, great store, friendly staff, quiet place to just grab a book and sit on the floor for a few minutes for brief reading.

Bay Books is a rare independent book store found in a commercial shopping center. every niche of used books are available here, although only the staff knows where they are at.
the store’s interior is designed like an old house housing old books. one forgets that
it’s just a commercial space.
reads: Francis Fukuyama, «Trust», (8.5)used
–various national cultures are examined to find hidden principles that produces a prosperous society
*should be interesting.
loose leafs:
–new books and e-​books also available.

I love to read, it’s one of my favorite hobbies.
This store doesn’t look very big from the outside, but once inside you’ll see that it’s deep and goes all the way back. It’s a very clean place, all the books are nice and neat, I can honestly be here for hours! My favorite type of books to read are thrillers and their section on thrillers is huge.
Customer service is awesome.
They have a fan in me!

They have a wide selection of new, used and rare books along with a bunch of other goodies like stuffed animals, magnets, stationary and other gift items. If you’re looking for something in particular, the staff are friendly and helpful.
Let’s hope independent bookstores like these stay around. I’m more of a book fan than an e-​book fan so I will definitely be back. I use the Kindle rarely but I’m never without a book.