Odyssey Bookshop — Attraction in Port Angeles

Let me preface by saying I really want to give this store 5 stars. It has fun unique items and I would love to support it, even with their prices being significantly higher than what you can find online. They are a small business and I like to keep my money in the community. That being said they should treat their costumers better if they expect people to pay above average prices to support them. I have gone in three times in the last week and spent roughly $400. Every single time I have gone in, the lady who wears the apron (I believe she is the owner or manager) has been completely rude and unaccomadating. The second time I went in I brought in a couple returns that I decided I no longer needed/wanted. It was within a week and both items were in their packaging so the young lady helping me was very kind and happy to help. I then turned around and spent all the money I got back from returning the items, and more. This was yesterday and I bought a nightmare before Christmas game of Operation, that was $29.99. We were very excited for it when I brought it home, opened it up and put batteries in it, and got ready to have some fun. Only it didn’t work. Yes some of the “operation sites” caused Oogie boogie to blast out his obnoxious lines, but quite a few didn’t really work at all, with you having to click around a couple times to make the “functioning” ones work. Alright no big deal, they were cool about the other returns that I didn’t even use or have a real reason to return (other than I changed my mind), so they should most definitely be cool about reimbursing me for buying something that only half works at best, right? Wrong. I brought the game in the day after I bought it (today) and was greeted with a monotone welcome of “you’re back”. I very kindly and agreeably tried to explain the issue and show what was wrong, and though the first few sites she tried were more responsive than the night before, there were still sites not really working at all, and if they did you had to put in some serious effort to make them “buzz”. I was told “well now you can cheat” and “yeah it’s in functioning condition”. I brought it back home and considered just throwing it away and forgetting the whole thing, but I thought other people should know that there’s a solid chance that even if you do spend good money, you will be treated like an annoyance and will not have issues resolved in a professional manner. Don’t waste your time or money here, go a couple blocks up the street to Port Book and News if you want to support a local book store.

EDIT The actual owner (the woman I spoke of was neither the owner nor the manager) got in contact with me and made the situation right. She offered to refund my money but I chose a store credit and purchased more items because, as I said, it’s a very fun unique store with a lot to offer. The majority of the people who work there are very pleasant and accommodating, the four stars (instead of five) simply reflect my caution due to the unfortunate situation I experienced with one of...

I was at Odyssey Bookshop this afternoon. They get 5 stars for the excellent supply of books, toys, and what nots. The rudeness of the staff brought the 5 stars down to 2. They HAND WRITE their itemized receipts, but you don't get one. If you want a receipt, you get the receipt with the total cost only printed out from their credit card machine. I went back to find out why my $13 puzzle and fold up map of the Olympic rain forest came to $33. Remember, no itemized receipts. When I asked about the individual cost of the items, I was met with an irrationally angry lady from the get-go. It made no sense to me. Well, she said, " You really shouldn't question if what I did was correct." I can write you an itemized receipt." I said absolutely, yes, I would like one. The more she wrote the angrier she was getting. Really? If she can't deal with a question as simple as that, she needs a new job that doesn't include working with the public. She was by far the rudest salesperson I have ever come in contact with in all of my 60 years. I have been a manager for 30 years. If one of my staff spoke to a customer in that way,...

My sister and I visited Odyssey on June 26 after an appointment I had there. My sister spied it from the car and we quickly pulled over to take a look. It was on one of the days when it was over a hundred degrees in other parts of the Puget Sound area so it felt really nice to be where it was cooler, relatively speaking.

The shop is jammed packed with a great selection of books and gifts and we spent a good deal of time browsing the shelves. They also had a really fun selection of games, craft and science kits, and STICKERS. Some of which were PNW, bookstore and library related. I got a few of each. My sister got a few stickers, a book, and a puzzle (they had puzzles too!) and had really nice interactions with the staff on duty. We are already talking about making a trip back up near the holidays to do some gift shopping there.

If you're in Port Angeles and want to check out a REAL bookstore (and not some soulless chain or worse, mega conglomerate, slave driving "super" store) then it's worth the drive up the peninsula to check out this gem in...