Smith Family Bookstore Review

Cute place amazing selections of books the kids love it there also

Great selection, books in great condition, good prices

I haven't been since the integration of both stores, and I'm hoping everything is a little more fully set up when I return. I write that knowing that since it's a perfect example of my favorite kind of book store. Other examples include Dickson Street Bookshop in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the flagship location for Half-Price Books in Dallas, and another Eugene location -- the sadly now closed Blue Moon Books, a space and an owner I was so excited to find only to discover they were in their final days. There's a certain smell and feel to stores like these. It's as if you're walking into some special spot that only certain cool people are aware of, where you might be transported to any other time and place in the history of anything -- apologies for the cliches, but there really is something magical about Smith Family Bookstore. And as much as I love my fiction, the organization and selection on the second floor is incredible. Staff is great, too. And they love to read, so they can talk to anyone about anything. All the best people are readers, and this is one of the only places where I've only bumped into cool folks.

I can always find the book I need at Smith Family Bookstore.

The downtown location must have water damage somewhere because I ALWAYS smell mold. My husband has a lung disease which requires use of the elevator where the smell is the worst. Although I love the large selection of books, it is hard to want to go in for health reasons alone.

poor service from an old pompous all white staff. Do not support this business. It's cheaper to buy online

best bookstore I've ever been too. books everywhere for cheap prices!!
definitely recommend going to that book store

I buy most of my books there. It can be a bit on the spendier side but they have a huge variety and definitely have great sales.

Reminds me of Powell's, by which I mean to bestow the highest compliment possible on a used book store. A bit of a different selection than the campus Smith, still a fantastic browsing/buying experience for any book lover.

Absolutely a fantastic place to take a date who is as fascinated with the world as you are if you're the curious wordy type who loves to read and share knowledge. The staff are helpful and friendly and knowledgeable about where to send you if you know what you're specifically looking for. They feel like an old timey bookstore and have tall beautiful wooden shelves just brimming with books. I managed to get a massive haul of encyclopedic books about mythology and supernatural things for just 56 dollars. That's what one of them had as manufacturers suggested selling price, to put this in perspective. Truly a delight to go here and I plan to come again.

Two bookstores with a more University bent to the 13th Ave walk-up, (lots of specialized art, science, Lit, etc.) and more of a generalist feel to the Willamette two-story with a big kids section as well as well organized by subject & author. Some subjects are sorted into subsections, but some subjects, such as sociology and psychology lack granular subdivision and are found in large, 5-6 shelves high & 15 feet long sections, tho still author-sorted. These are a bit large to productively shelf-surf without some set of authors of interest to look up. Hours and days might be allotted to the dedicated bibliophile in the stacks of Smith's Family Bookstores. Alas, parking can be a negative with only small dedicated parking lots and the unlucky left to the vagaries of the Metermaid. For any specific work that is not found, they will call the other store to see if it's in stock there. So, these are absolute gems of a pre-Amazon era with a mix of used and new, not to be missed if visiting Eugene.

This family ran store is wonderful. Usually can fine whatever I want, or they try and help you find it. They buy books ,too. I love to read most any subject, and they have it all.

Eugene staple of existence if you have an interest in reading a book that doesn't need batteries! Used and new. Cool place.

You can get lost in this place for hours. The staff was very helpful and when I asked for a book but gave the wrong author I was politely correct. Thank you. Loved it. Most will either not correct you or say something rude.

Stacks and stacks of books upon books! Love this place and its collection. They also accepted bags of books and paid me for them.

I am not a reader though my wife purchases many books for school and even I was very impressed! Large business (two stories of books), large selection of books, all categorized nicely, very competitive prices, helpful and friendly staff, elevater accessible from street level to store.

Great book store!! Huge selection. Cool historic building. They have an upstairs section. Very friendly helpful customer service and they will hold books up to two weeks to come back to buy.

Smith Family has long been a haven to book lovers, and while I was sad to see the campus location shut down, the expansion of the downtown location is nice. The new space is dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, comics, and manga. The complete selection remains a wide range of new and used fiction and non-fiction. While some places can top choices or prices, no other Lane County store feels as good to explore.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. Knowledgeable, too.

Excellent service, selection, and prices. A professional, local bookstore.

A great place to get a book, used or new. Local and friendly.

Mediocre, overcrowded, computerized store, avoid them.

I've been coming to this book store since I was a teen. Great selection of new and used books. My husband and I go there almost once a week. If you love to read check it out!

There are a lot of books here, it's two stories, and they do have quite the variety. However, some of the books seemed pricier than I was expecting, rather than finding them in the $5-10 range, the majority of the ones I was looking at were $10-15. And some of their books are new, so they're only 10-20% off the regular publisher price...which is better than nothing, but disappointing when you see a book on the shelf, thinking it's used and potentially a good buy, only to find it's practically full price. Also, as a side note, you have to pay for parking here, not surprising since it's downtown, but worth noting for those who might be first time visitors.

They have a great selection of books. And they are always responsibly priced

a gem-awesome, interesting selection and great prices. the staff is very welcoming and know their stuff. :) book stores are disappearing these days-i am so thankful that smith fam is still rocking.

I got a word feeling from the place. Maybe it's just me.

Good prices, but very snooty staff. Not happy with that part.

Great book store and a iconic landmark for Eugene OR, also a great family and members of the community.

Great spot to find new and used books. Prices are competitive and the staff are very knowledgable. They have a ton of books and I have never come out empty handed!

I've found the staff absolutely delightful and very helpful every time I've visited the store. Even calling, they happily locate books and have a generous hold policy.

Quick and friendly service, ordered a book over the phone and she's was super nice!

Awesome book store! Real good collection! Got some Star Wars, some Trek and then some King 'n' Koontz 'n' stuff! Good store.

Great place for any kinds of books you need, they've been here a long time, and have a very helpful staff. Right now, to maintain social distancing, you can call in a book order, then pick it up later that day, super helpful! Buy used as much as you can!

The smell of old books and the generous and fast acting hospitality make this a great place to look for book!

There is a huge selection, but the woman working the counter was very rude. I came in with a huge list of books I needed for school and she and another employee just waved me in the direction they thought I might find my books. I came back overwhelmed and lost asking if they might just check their database. She told me they don't keep an electronic database of their books. I asked her "how do you know what books you have?" She said "we look with our eyes" and pointed to her own eyes in case I wasn't intelligent enough to to know what eyes were.
The service was a massive turn off. Go to the other Smith Family, or Tsunami books instead...

A warehouse of books. Great for all sorts of books. Sadly the two books I went to get they didn't have.

The owner tends to be found most frequently over here and she is very sweet and quite the authority on books. The prices here are extremely reasonable, sometimes more so at this location than their university location (1 of 2). Of note used books can be donated and in buying books there is a no return policy but you can hold books for a good amount of time, they are quite negotiable. Downtown Smith Family I find to be the best for the most relaxing and definitive in creative type books. I could be wrong but I've frequently found a lot more books on drawing and travel (calligraphy, needlepoint, scrapbooking and an immense cookbook section and if you want all of the hiking Sullivan books they can be found here), more autobiographical books and books on theories of knowledge such as math, biology and psychology are here. If you want textbooks go to the university location.

While I love supporting local book stores I have a difficult time with supporting Smiths. The selection of books is outstanding and the pricing is reasonable. Where they fail is customer service. I went to the location on Willamette yesterday to get one of William Sullivan's books on hiking. I had hoped to get it used but, knew that if not used I would get 10% off the new price. I got the book and approached the cashier to purchase it. He was talking with another employee about which location they would be working at the following day. I stood quietly for a moment and then made eye contact with them both and said that I would like to pay. He rang me up, continuing to talk with the other employee the ENTIRE time. Neither one smiled or talked to me. The next book I purchase will be through Amazon.

Ok prices and decent selection, but several of the staff seemed irritable when asked questions.

Probably my favorite bookstore for finding surprises and treasures.

One of the best used bookstore s I know. Of we live in Massachusetts but visit Smiths whenever we're in Eugene seeing relatives.

Lots of books. Used books 1/2 list price but in excellent condition. Friendly and helpful staff.

To be honest, I haven't been in the store but intend to first chance I get. My experience is from buying a book from them through an online platform. See the pictures for why I am posting this review. This is the most thoughtfully packaged book I've ever received. It shows the care they take to service customers. Absolutely recommend them.

There customer service is SUB-PAR.....
I've been there 3 times and will NOT go back..the staff working there act's as if they are doing you a favor by being there..FIRE EVERYONE
My book store is now Black Sun Books up on Amazon
Smith Family Bookstore...It's run by Capitalist Hippies kinda like Venice beach and San Francisco in California....who think they've saved the planet but whom have only ruined it with their excess and greed.

Awesome locally owned used AND new book store. This place is totally Eugene, and if you're a local or just planning a visit to Eugene, it should include a visit to Smith Family Bookstore's iconic downtown location.

Even those close, they came to door and got item wanted.

I'm probably spolied with Powell's Books but coming back to Eugene I was surprised how shabby Smith Family's bookstore was and also when we asked if they had a specific book we were told they have no database of their stock so don't know themselves what they have in store with an certainty. The sections aren't organized particularly well, either.

This is by far one of my favorite places in Eugene!

Very nice place. They have a variety of books and they're always getting more. Check them out.

Knowledgeable staff. They know where every single book is. They are passionate about books/reading- as am I. So I trust their opinions on genres and authors. Really enjoy spending time here.

Many good finds. Especially good for more academic books without an obligatory "so what is X anyways?" chapter. Some employees are a little unfriendly.

I got lost in here a few times trying to find sections that may or may not have existed. Nobody offered to help but they did offer to take my bag and put it at the front desk (don't try walking around with a bag bigger than a book). Lots of books, duh, but more importantly lots of different kinds of books. Pretty much anything you're looking for you'll find. The used books seem over priced to me compared to other used book stores. I personally love the atmosphere of any used book store so it's 4 stars, but it wasn't my favorite by far.

Great selection of books. Unenthusiastic and dour service. Working restrooms are present on premise but ABSOLUTELY NOT ALLOWED for patrons! They'll recommend you walk to the end of the next block to another establishment for THEIR restrooms. Not acceptable for disabled seniors and young kids.

Lots of books... and hippies... lots and lots of hippies.

Large selection of used books and good variety of new books staff were helpful on our visit

Though the selection is the best in Eugene, the service is poor, the policies defunct (they want a local i.d. to buy books from you), and their prices can be beat.

Great book store fair prices 2 locations... Local business

They have everything, just about any book you can think of. Great prices on used books

Large bookstore and well organized. Regular stuffy bookstore staff. Will like you if you like the books they do.

A really great spot to find random gems. I wouldn't come here looking for specific books, as you aren't likely to find them. But if you want to be surrounded by books and be surprised by what you find, please visit!

Book store had an enormous variety of books and author's. Love to browse.

Wanted to (possible) buy some "better-to-rare" books, maybe signed copies, not looking for a specific title. Too bad for me; they have them, but I couldn't look at them, they said I had to go back home and look for a specific title in the internet. Except on ABE, where they say they are, I was unable to look up a specific bookstore. The stores are linked to the book, and if I could just find a title that they have, I could click on a link for Smith Family, and maybe see if they show the entire inventory. ABE doesn't show any way to search for a specific company's offering, so that didn't work. Thus, the $300 I had on me did me no good, and no one there seemed to care much. I guess they make enough money on the paperbacks they carry, which did seem well arranged. Time for a Powell's run, I guess