Chaucer’s Bookstore

I never review things but the employees at this store were so amazing I opened Unilocal as soon as I got home.
The woman I talked to (I didn’t think to catch her name) was so knowledgable about their stock and was able to get me exactly what I needed. I came in looking for a dystopian fiction with some depth to it and left with THREE promising books. She definitely took the time to ask me all the right questions to figure out exactly what I was looking for. I will be a frequent customer from now on.

I am thrilled to have a real, live bookstore survive in Santa Barbara! I love books and Chaucer’s has a fantastic selection. Upon entering, it can look a little chaotic and disorganized but trust me, there is quite an ordered method to the madness. I have purchased dozens of books from Chaucer’s over the years and am generally able to find what I am looking for, whether for me personally or a gift for someone else. Customer service varies from excellent to literally non-​existent, so a solid 3 stars it is! I am sure it is a tough market with the convenience and cost efficiency of shopping Amazon Prime, however, that does not deter me from buying local whenever possible. The only time I end up purchasing from the online mega monster is when something is not in stock at Chaucer’s and/​or no one is polite enough to help me locate what I am looking for. I even overlook when I am completely ignored or not acknowledged so long as I can find the book I’m looking for myself.

So stoked sb still has an independent bookstore! A huge selection and a really relaxed atmosphere I would stay in here and read all day if I could. Lots of selection and a super helpful staff that seems to genuinely enjoy being there. Would recommend going for one of their readings too, usually on a weekend night with a really intimate setting. Better than reading at the sb or iv library any day.

One of my favorite bookstores of all time!!! So many wonderful books and artistic elements throughout. The smell of books from wall to ceiling will fill the hearts of any legit book enthusiast. I always enjoy being in this store and I’d much rather support this local shop than a big chain retailer! Their children’s section is also amazing. They offer free gift wrapping with any purchase which is an excellent bonus!!!

I can’t say enough good things about this place! I actually live in Boston but needed to buy a couple books last minute for mother’s day somewhere my sister could pick them up and bring them to my mom. I wrote an email telling them about my predicament and they called me straight away! Fantastic customer service and cheerful staff. I paid over the phone, it was a quick and enjoyable experience and I cannot thank them enough for saving my butt on mother’s day.

I’d live here if I could! The staff is so knowledgable and knows where each of their thousands of books can be found!

Happiest place on Earth for my book worm boyfriend. Told him to choose whatever book he wants for his birthday (he picked a total of 10). He said it’s the best book store he’s ever been too! Yay for Chaucers!

I had the most unique experience at Chaucer’s that I would like to share. While shopping last night, I had found two extraordinary books and stepped away from my purse to find another. By accident someone had picked up the purse and handed it to the wrong person, who left the store with it. When I realized my purse was missing, I spoke with Miranda at the front desk, who was very helpful. Miranda asked the whole staff to help find the person (apparently a regular customer with some disabilities) who mistakenly left the store with the purse. Jeremy, another employee, was able to track down the purse to a nearby bus stop and Miranda was kind enough to drop the purse off at my home at the end of her shift. I would like to thank the staff for their persistence and helpfulness and their incredible selection of books!

Awesome old, but vibrant bookstore filled with delightful, unique treasures.
My daughter begs me to bring her here for color books (young adult variety), colored pencils, books (because they have an incredible selection of books for young people). We have also come here for Secret Santa gifts for a classmate, and tonight, we popped in for a new, beautiful 1000 piece puzzle. It’s a great place to visit. The staff are always very helpful. A refreshing alternative to the chain bookstore.

I know some people mentioned the lack of organization, and truly this is a personal thing. I myself LOVE how Chaucer’s is displayed. I PRAY TO GOD we as consumers don’t let it slip away and replace it with another Beauty store or cheap clothing store for the tourists.
We walked out of there with $ 80 worth of books stuffed into our bags and purses, very happy. There’s no markup, and I found books I haven’t been able to read in eternity.
I love my Kindle account, but you cannot replace the feel or smell of a book in your hands.
It was also mentioned they don’t sell used books, but I think that is inaccurate. Either they have a vault full of unsold books from 20 years ago, or they sell highly taken care of used books.
Everyone there was friendly to myself and my boyfriend both times we went, and knowledgeable of where things were categorized. Love it!

Great selection of books. Called ahead to see if they had the book we were looking for and the guy went back, found it and held it for us a the register. When we got there they were so busy but he took the time to help us. He was very informed and helpful. NO long lines that took forever, we were in and out.

The disorganization was a turnoff, but it was the extremely rude staff that made me just walk out. Some girl with shoulder length hair and glasses was putting away books when I asked her where I could find a couple of authors I’d liked. She sighed deeply and cut me off to say «well, why don’t you tell me who the authors are?» In an annoyed voice. After making it obvious that she was annoyed that I would dare ask for help — she pointed me to the horror section (which was under the sign ‘humor’) as if it is completely obvious where these authors should be. When i asked about the horror section under the humor sign, she got annoyed and said «well, we don’t have a sign for everything!» At that point, I just walked out.

The one thing I love about this place is that it’s an independent book seller. They don’t have used books, and that’s fine. Whenever I come to the area to see family, I usually make at least once stop here so I can do my part and support the local economy (it’s all part of that «shop small» movement going on). Such a large selection on various subjects. My fiancé has been able to find quite a number of those hard-​to-​find/​out of print books that he has been looking for to add to his collection (as of the most recent visit, he was able to find the entire «Wizard of Oz» series that he’s been searching for). The staff here are friendly but they won’t hold your hand (unless you ask them), if that’s what you’re looking for. If you can’t find it, ask them, they will show you where it is or if it can be ordered. Great place.

Awesome store. Amazing staff. They will help you find books for kids or adults or anyone else. They’ll also wrap stuff up beautifully and for free! Huge selection. So much fun to browse. Well worth supporting our local bookstore.

This is my go to place whenever i need a present or a card. While i buy a lot of electronic books for myself, I really enjoy giving real books to good people. This place has a huge selection and the workers here have helped me many times in finding just the right one. As one of the last real book stores in town, i hope Chaucer’s stays forever.

A great selection of books, but it was hard to just browse since the organization was a little lacking. They did have everything broken up into categories somewhat, but all of the sections with the exception of fantasy and fiction were not alphabetical by author.
If you go in looking for a specific book, they will be able to look it up and find it right away, but if you’re just cruising for reading material then you might be in over your head.

Great selection. I’ve bought dozens of books here over the years; they even had a copy of an obscure Wittgenstein volume I couldn’t find at the university library. But the store is way too cramped and the staff can be awfully condescending. Today, an employee shot across the store and scolded me for touching the «overstock» (a couple of paperbacks stacked on top the shelf). Luckily, she was willing to lecture me on how to appropriately peruse a bookstore!
Advice: Go to The Book Den downtown first. Much, much cooler staff, and quite a good selection.

Love this place, I always go in to pick a book and come out with six. The staff is very helpful.

I feel like supporting local business and helping the local economy grow is so important. That is why I love and always get my books at Chaucer’s. Everything is in its right place and is organized in way that doesn’t look like it would make sense from the outside but once you start browsing and looking down the aisles you’ll see that it all does make sense. The people that work here have always been pleasant and are knowledgeable. I hope that others will come by and purchase books and help this little gem in Santa Barbara stay open.
Go Chaucer’s!

Indie bookstores are important and valuable. I was so sorry to see Granada Books go out of business, so I think it is my/​our duty to visit Chaucers’s. As for the bad reviews-​why is it we put up with bad baristas, but can’t handle erudite and slightly arrogant booksellers?
The staff are very helpful and knowledgable, but they are just not coddling. I don’t need to be coddled, babied or patted on the head. I need to know if a book I’m looking for is in stock and they are good at that. They are not the behemoth online stores which have everything (and undercut Indie prices and underpay authors), they are small independent booksellers. The don’t have over 1M selections, but they have very wide and varied books.
I agree with Jane M.-rock on Chaucer’s!