Powell's Books on Hawthorne — Local services in Portland

Usually love Powell’s and its employees but feel compelled to say that I am very unhappy with how my last visit went. My husband, one year old and myself went in to sell some books and look around. It was a busy day with lots of people wanting to sell, but our son was in good spirits and we had a plan to take turns walking around the store with him to keep him occupied while we waited our turn in line. At one point we were blocking the door a little and an employee from behind the counter shouted at us that we needed to clear the doorway, which we did right away. She then turned to her coworker and not as quietly as she thought said, “not sure why you want to wait in line with your baby anyway…” she then looked up and saw me staring at her. Then not even a minute later someone came up to us and said it’s going to be an hour wait just so you know… perhaps he was just trying to be kind and let us know, but it very clearly felt like we were unwelcome and they would prefer that we left, so we did. Mind you, our son didn’t make a single sound this entire time and was in our arms out of anyone’s way. I understand being busy and just trying to get your message across but this was just a very unpleasant experience that is making me not want to return. As a side note when I was reading my book last night that I ordered from Powell’s as a used copy, I happened to open the cover and saw that it had a little library stamp in it. I know it’s an honor system and is ultimately on the seller that they took a little library book and made a profit, but disappointed that Powell’s chose to buy it…just insult to injury...

Who doesn't love Powell's? If you're looking for it, they probably have it. This is a truly gigantic store and it's easy to get turned around in due to its labrynth-like layout. Thankfully, staff is friendly and will offer to walk you to your destination and there are help desks scattered around as well. I really love all of the staff recommendation note cards throughout and it doesn't take long to figure out whose tastes are similar to your own. I found two terrific memoirs based on staff recommendations. You can sell your used books here after you've read them if you choose. I don't know what they pay but it's worth looking into. There was a long line of people waiting to sell so it must be in line with other bookstores' buyback policies. There are also some fun shopping areas for the non-book junkies and a great greeting card selection with quirky cards you won't find in your local drugstore. I bought several to hang onto for future occasions. Finally, there's a coffee shop where you can take a respite and rest your eyes before heading back out in search of new...

Fantastic selection of books but the info desk was unhelpful and rude. I was looking for a specific book, and was able to look it up and see there was one copy available but I couldn't find it on the shelf. I found the author's other books but couldn't find the specific one. I thought no big deal, maybe some has it in their cart and I'll just need to order it. At checkout I was directed to the info desk for assistance. The woman at the desk had a rude demeanor and just gave me a piece of paper with the section I had already looked through written on it. I had explained that I looked in the section and was simply directed to her for assistance and she plainly responded with "well it says here we have a copy". And offered no other assistance other than a loud announcement over the speakers. The original one who checked me out ended up coming over and helped me out. It ended up being on the very top shelf, away from the other works.

It was so incredibly frustrating and honestly embarrassing to be talked to in...