We came in the B.A.M by suggestion of an employee at a different store in the mall. They told us this store may have Pokemon cards, and while Books-A-Million did not I was happy to have an excuse to browse a bookstore location I'd never been to. They did have book 4 of The Dream Harbor Series by Laurie Gilmore (The Strawberry Patch Pancake House), which was the next book I needed since I've read the first 3 of 6. I snagged that to enjoy during my downtime of the next week or two which will give me something to look forward to. Employees are helpful in guiding you where to find items and the store was well organized. While I typically prefer local vs national brands when it comes to bookstores, B.A.M. is still a solid option to grab a book when in a pinch. read more

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Added yet ANOTHER business to Yelp, which will help it get more business. I'm the good guy, you aren't you lazy, none reading, SOBS. This place is like Barnes and Nobles and Borders Books on closing! Lots of sales that are LEGIT, and it make me wonder if it's just some used stuff sold back to people?! JK, it does look all new. All types of genre related things besides books here so it's a diggers wet dream. Come for the books stay for the rando stuff you'll find. I found some books on vacation spots I'm going to like Japan, Italy, and Thailand. read more

Disappointing first visit. Apparently items are not priced as marked at this store. The clerk was "unable to do anything about it." The manager, I am told by the clerk was, "too new to be able to help me." This is over $4. I stopped in for a specific product this time, but very little incentive to give it another try. read more

Much like other people have stated, the clerks are extremely pushy. I almost told her to stop asking me so many questions while I was TRYING to pay for my items and leave. I think I told her no to their customer program about 5-7 times. Relax lady, if I said no the first 4 times I'm only going to get annoyed if you ask again! Otherwise this place kind of reminds me of Borders... oh how I miss Borders! The set up, decor, and end caps just give me the overall feeling of Borders. The kids section is pretty nice and has all the new and most popular titles. There is equally the same amount of space for toys as there is books. A great place to find a gift whether it be a book, toy, mug, or knick-knack. Just be prepared when you pay for your items that they will try their darnedest to get you to sign up for their loyalty program - and by sign up I mean pay for. read more

Books-A-Million - Bookstores Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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Usually mall bookstores are kind of disappointing. They carry the bestsellers, some big-name authors, a smattering of magazines and...not much else. Not so here! Not only did they have all the typical stuff, but there were LOTS of sideline items: nifty gifties particularly in the geeky range (Star Wars, a whole display of Minecraft books), lots of PopVinyl toys, and just fun oddities (I got myself some Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty, which has barely left my hands for two days -- think stocking stuffers!) Staff was chatty and fun (and one dude was wearing Jayne Cobb's hat from "Firefly" -- cunning). Nice that this store is putting in the effort and not just phoning it in with a bestseller display. read more

The people at the front desk were very helpful. A woman there took time to help me with the coupons I was to load for being a member. She was very patient with me as she helped download all the coupons I get for being a member. She went beyond the call of duty by helping me. There ought to be more employees like her who do their job and more for the customer. Thank you BAM! read more

I really don't like bargain book stores, they're messy and disorganized and carry large selections of books you don't want. I should probably have prefaced that by saying that Bam isn't a bargain book store, but it isn't a Barnes & Noble either, it's something in between. They carry books I might actually want, and they offer a wide range of the staples too, at prices that may even be comparable to Amazon. I've come here several times looking for well known and widely distributed books and been able to find them every time. They also have an eclectic assortment of knick knacks, games, toys, and apparel that came in handy this Christmas for stocking stuffers. They have some kind of points/rewards card for which you have to pay a fee, but the truth is I don't think it would be worth it for me, but maybe it would be for you. If you need a particular book in a pinch and it's widely distributed, you have a good chance of finding it here so keep this place in mind. But I've found myself coming here randomly and spending a little time looking at books, which is much more enjoyable than perusing Amazon. read more

Thank you for telling me I don't matter BAM....Showed up at the Fox Valley IL location at 8:59. I was told by the manger they were already closed and the register was shut down. I wanted to purchase 2 graphic novels total price 40 dollars... not breaking the bank here, but wanted to support local even though they were cheaper on Amazon. The manager told me I had to leave she had to lock up and be out by 9:30 bc of the HS students working... it's Friday night! I asked if I mattered as a customer she yelled with aggression... NO!!! Never again BAM. read more

I was not only disappointed, but left the store speechless and in shock from what I experienced at the checkout desk. First of all, the store is not really well organized, certain themes/characters are spread out and is difficult to find your particular book/author. I asked for assistance and was told to wait , he will show me the books on his way out (LOL?OK - little weird, but ok, no big deal- I think). Given that no one else was in sight, I waited few min before he came out from the staff room, with his jacket on, to point the section I needed. I head out to register where I am given a full and super fast speech about joining the book cub for "only" $25 to save now and in future for a year. I told her this Is a one time buy and is not worth paying the membership in my case, but I have a coupon that can save me 10% of the whole purchase v/s 20% with membership. Right off the bet she tells me they won't honor any coupons without membership. I pull a current and valid coupon on my phone from their website stating 20% off with membership and 10% without membership in store or online. She types in and states it is not valid and not accepted at the register (!!!) I ask for the manager and she said -"I AM THE MANAGER AND I CAN NOT OVERWRITE" already looking irritated. She continues with her membership speech over and over again trying to prove me I am wrong, but looks all irritated that I am not joining. At this point I am thinking ( "Really!!!') and ask her " is this a false advertisement on their website??" ,and she "explains " I need a membership to validate the coupon!!! " DEAR GOD, LADY!!! - I am thinking- does your life depends on this membership!!! At this point I can care less about the coupon ,but is the principle of it. This is a clear case of false advertising!! Finally, another customer behind me, who had hands full of books, said that he did not have membership and was planning to use the same coupon from their website. Now, she said will try to reenter the coupon AGAIN ( after the 5th time) and suddenly MIRACLE (LOL) my coupon works without the membership( JEEZZZ REALLY!!). As I am getting my bag of books she continues " AND NEXT TIME HAVE EVERYTHING PREPARED SO YOU DONT HOLD THE LINE!!!) -- OMG!!!! WHAT A F*%# , LADY!I-- AM THINKING!!! I glance toward the other customer whose eyes popped out in disbelief and his jaw drops on the floor. I opened my mouth to ask for immediate return , but a though of spending even 5 more seconds with this individual made me cringe. " Never back here again, my dear!! -I tell her and left the store shaking my head. (I hope the customer service if better in other locations) read more

These employees are so pushy! They expect a reason why you are turning down magazine offers or why you are declining to sign up for their membership. I realize they're doing their job, but maybe they can turn it down a notch.. Or 10 notches, because they can be quite annoying. I'm not going to mention the employee's name because I'm not here to get anyone in trouble, let alone fired, but I don't think I'll be coming here any time soon. He was so stubborn. Dude! When a customer says no, then the answer is no! read more

I really like this store they have a great selection of graphic novels but that is destroyed by the fact once I have made my selection and take it up to the register the same guy Patrick always asks me to pay for a $25 reward club membership and even after I politely decline the guy processes to make me justify why not and continues to try to sell me to the point I don't even want my book anymore I guess I will have to buy my books online cause I will not be returning to a place that does that to their customers read more

As a member of Amazon Prime, whenever I go to a bookstore, I have a bit of an internal battle with myself; do I want to pay the extra 30-40% for the book and have it right now, or do I want to save that money and just order it online from Amazon and have it shipped to my door in 2 days? Most of the time, I choose the latter, as it is very rare for me to have a time constraint when it comes to owning books. To put it into perspective, I currently own about 190 volumes of manga, and only about 20 of those volumes have come from a retail bookstore. The rest have come from Amazon or a place that sells them for far below retail price. However, after going into the BAM shop in Aurora, IL on May 5th, 2016, something that I'd never experienced before had happened. Items that weren't set for release until 3 weeks in the future were already on the shelves. I had instantly decided to buy them. At first glance, the store is quite nice. For a mall bookstore, it was quite large, didn't skimp out on any major sections, and had a lot of seats to read in. It didn't have nearly as wide of a selection as say, a standard Barnes and Noble bookstore, but it was definitely great as a normal little mall bookstore. I also liked the nice, though small, selection of random trinkets/novelty toys that they had. They definitely added flavor to the store. I got my unreleased items, and headed to the checkout. The employee there, whom was named Patrick (no last name was given on the receipt, but was likely the same Patrick that was complained about in another review of this store) decided to be a major hassle during a day and a store experience that I believed would be a great one. First off, I want to point out that I was wearing a Hatsune Miku shirt, who is a pop artist popular among anime/manga fans. I walk directly to where Patrick is standing, with my books visibly in my hand. He, slightly rudely, asks "Can I help you with something?" I was a bit shocked by his tone, as he appeared to be a pretty nice guy. However, I just wanted to pay for my books and leave, so I held them up and said "I need to pay." He makes me walk all the way to the beginning of the counter, where I was at first, and I put my books up there and he scans them. He, then, begins talking about a certain membership club, asking if I had ever heard of it. Given that this was the very first time I'd ever been to a BAM, I said no. Patrick began to say, "Well, you can save lots of money with it." Then, I asked if it cost money. No, I didn't ask how much it cost, or expressed any sort of interest. All I asked was if it cost money, because obviously if it didn't or if it had a free trial, I would sign up for it just to save a bit on my purchase which I usually do at other stores as well. Patrick told me it costs $25 a year, which is the exact same price as a Barnes and Noble membership. So I assumed it'd be the exact same thing as B&N, which I didn't want. So I, politely but assertively, told him that "I'm not interested in it at all." The rest of the conversation went like this. Patrick begins on, "Hmm, at all, huh? Hahaha. Well, usually, customers let me tell them about it before just rejecting me like that." I'm just standing there like, what? Although a VERY thick majority of my manga collection has come from Amazon and such, I am still someone who's shopped at B&N a good number of times to know exactly how their membership program is going to work. So I decided to, slightly rudely, let Patrick know again that I'm not interested. He, then, goes on a spiel about how I can save "tons" of money, and "especially manga collectors will enjoy this. I can tell you are one rocking the Miku shirt," trying to be sly. Which he wasn't at all. It was at that point that I told him I live over 50 miles away from the store. Patrick then says, "That's okay. You can use it online too." Guess what else I can use online? Amazon Prime. So at that point, I just decided to tell a bit of a lie and say that I only have $40 on me, and my total was $27. Even after THAT, saying I have NO way to pay for it, Patrick decides to continue on by just throwing out a quick "Well, just to let you know, I got $200 worth of manga for like $75." Which was an OBVIOUS lie, or was done because of huge discounts that had nothing to do with the membership. I really don't like talking to people at retail stores a lot, because it just makes me feel so awkward. Patrick did nothing to help that at all, just a lot to make it far worse. If it weren't for the items being unreleased, I definitely would've just walked away after his first spiel. The store itself isn't that bad. However, if the other employees are like Patrick, then they are what ruin this store. If not, Patrick should definitely be fired for the sake of the store. As harsh as that sounds, it's true. I'd never recommend this store to anyone for that sole reason. Everything's cheaper on Amazon anyways, with no awkward employees to deal with. read more