Open Door Bookstore — Local services in City of Schenectady

The only new book store left in town. I mean, they don't carry used books. There is some kind of souvenir/handmade jewelry store in the second room I am not familiar with. As for the bookstore, they have two great sections that I can recommend. If you turn to the right immediately after entering, there is a local interest shelf lovingly curated by the staff. Mostly local guides, but also truly esoteric and cool books published locally. Like a self-published book by a former General Electric PR lady spilling the tea on Jack Welch's dirty secrets ("Rebuilding the GE House Jack Blew Down" (👹!) by Mary Kuykendall - BTW a fascinating read!). Another section is in the back of the store and sells all kinds of overpriced smart toys for kids under 5. We couldn't resist and spent a ton of money there when our son was growing up. There is an epic play area for little kids in front of the store as well. Bulk of the store is the usual bestseller stuff - mostly at full price - I am worried about their chances to complete with Amazon: they may need to differentiate themselves more in the future to survive. Overall, a great place to visit and patronize, especially if you have kids under 5 and interested in...

Coming in out of the heat, and it was well air-conditioned. Immediately to my left (facing out the front door) is the best local history section I couldn't find anywhere else. I could get lost in local interest for too much time, or spend multiple hundreds of dollars just picking out must-haves from this section alone, so I took mental notes to return to. They have really good quality books reduced dramatically in a bargain section along one wall. I find good things there many times. They have the best cookbook rack I think I've seen anywhere. Also, Poetry. Travel. Philosophy. History. Religion. Science. Health. Meditation. Literature. Novels. Children's Literature. Novels for Teens, Classic Literature, New Literature. Photographic Beauty. The newest best-sellers alongside store-reviewed picks suggested for the reader. And so much more that I forget. This is one store to return to...

I really wish I could like this store. I love supporting local independent businesses. Almost every time I visit, there’s an issue. Often it’s them not allowing customers into the store 10 minutes or more before their posted closing time because the registers are closed. This time I made a special trip to use my earned reward. Paid for parking. Browsed and selected a book, was told my reward expired yesterday. There was nothing they could do. Seriously? A regular customer earns a large reward and no exception can be made? I explained that I would be a lost customer, obviously a frequent one because of the size of the reward I had earned. My family will no longer be able to support this business. Loyalty goes both ways. The owner really should allow for a small amount of flexibility for frequent and regular shoppers. I hope she sees this and...