They no longer have the physical location in the Village so you have to call or text the number in the header of their business and ask if they have the reader you're looking for. After I texted the number the same day, I met the couple in front of the Dunkin's and got my reader for about 60 dollars. The quality is good for what it is. It is bound nicely and the words were legible. I really have no complaints except that I was suspicious at first. But it all turned out okay! read more

**pre-covid review that was in my drafts :)** I always buy textbooks used but my accounting course required a booklet that changes each year and can't be purchased separately, so I came here. I was dreading it from reading the reviews, but you just go in, tell them what you need, pay, and get out. Some of the owner responses on here are... strange, but all this grief should be redirected onto UCLA and our own professors for making things inaccessible, not these sellers. I was greeted by an older gentleman who got me through quick and graciously urged me to take more candy lol. I felt safe. $90(?) was painful for a bunch of half empty, black ink only pages, but I knew what I was in for. It'd be nice if things were $50-60 each considering all the traffic they receive. read more

Can anyone truly be proud of price-gouging students for a living? They seem to take pride in alienating their customer base, too. Look through reviews, and every honest review that has negativity is responded to in a crazy manner. The owner calls everyone leaving negative reviews sexist and anti-Semitic. That's hilarious and sad. Having no returns is a sad sale practice that would not survive if not for the monopoly they somehow have on course readers. Funnily enough, the paper and binding they use is low quality, so they can't even justify it by claiming that they deliver a good product. I could get better printed near home. They also manage to raise prices by wastefully printing single-sided on their materials. There's no reason for this. This is sad. They have a valuable service but choose to hurt instead of help and contribute to the community. I hope they change their perspective someday. read more

My review magically disappeared, but since I paid this scammy business hundreds of dollars in my time at UCLA... I feel it's my right to write a review. I went here many times each time spending a minimum of 120 dollars on some pages printed and bound with a plastic spine. I believe that is called price gouging, we as students have no choice but to buy from this specific store unfortunately. Extortion much? I have never met anybody that had a good thing to say about this shady establishment. Two instances I heard an employee use aggressive offensive language toward a patron. Once regarding a young man's sexuality and another time regarding a young man's racial background. This is unacceptable and very unappealing to the consumer. Every time I felt taken advantage of. This place is a SCAM! No dignity or respect for students. It's hard to believe they haven't been shut down. The people writing 5 star reviews must be associated with the business or something. Because this is one of the biggest jokes of a business I have ever seen. Disgusting low level SCAMMERS! read more

I was really nervous to come here because of all of the negative reviews, but it was great. The people were super quick. Everything seemed organized and they got what I asked for right away. The kid at the counter was nice and they take debit/credit. Wouldn't hesitate to come back read more

This place is the definition of awesome. So the premise of this, by the way, is that I am an Asian American. Right after the incident with the Alexandra Wallace videos on youtube, I go into this store, ran by someone named Alibaba (maybe he was BSing me). And for my own reasons, I needed to speak with the business owner. When I asked them who that was, they say "Go back to China". Needless to say, I loled, and then got kind of angry. That was extremely unprofessional and unnecessary, not to mention ignorant, considering they had just mentioned they were afflicted directly with UCLA. read more

First of all, I hate course readers because they are so overpriced. Why don't professors just post their slides/notes online to save us students some money? I just bought a course reader for $80. YES. $80 for a spiral bound book of notes. You don't have a choice but to buy the books here though. Oh yeah, some professors are extra crazy and request their readers to be printed on DARK PURPLE paper so that we, students, cannot photocopy the readers for our friends. Problem? It's so freakin' hard to read black ink on dark purple paper. How ridiculous is that? But, I suppose it's the professors' fault and not the actual store. I don't think the service here is that bad as everyone says. The cashiers always ask me how I'm doing. I've always had funny experiences here. One time, a 6-year old kid rang me up. I thought that was cute because that kid was pretty pro at what he was doing. Another time, I was buying a chemistry course reader (for the second course in the chem series). The cashier asked me, "Do you also need this piece of s***, honey?" while pointing at a laminated periodic table. I couldn't stop laughing. The lines here are ALWAYS super long during the first 2 weeks. BRING CASH and you get to go to the front of the line. If not, you could be in that line for a good 20-30 minutes. I learned that very quickly after my first quarter at UCLA. read more

They're rude, and money-grubbing. I called them about a course reader for Management 1A, and didn't describe what the package was like when I asked them about it. They said, just come in and buy it and hung up on me in 10 seconds. -- You can seriously that all they care about is getting their money despite. No care whatsoever about having a good reputation with good customer service. Seriously, the things they charge for are ridiculous. I can bind myself better course readers if I had the PDF file to do it myself for probably less than $15, but no, they charge 6x that price. There's no labor when you let the machine run printing everything, and all you have to do is bind the cover on. Oh well, sucks for me. I'll just wait until people drop the class and buy it off them possibly cheaper. read more

This upcoming first week is Course Reader Cancer Awareness Week. ARE YOU READY TO MAKE A STAND? --- It starts when they're young. UCLA freshmen have no idea what they are about to get themselves into as they walk into those double doors of 1133 Westwood Boulevard. The writing is practically on the wall. That price your professor told you in class? Marked up by 25%. Oh you want one course reader? It comes in a package, you need to buy both. You want customer service? Here's a fat cashier dude that loves stealing your money. Unsuspecting freshmen come here to just buy one. But this is where the problem lies... ...Course readers. Multiply. Over time. You can't stop it. By the end of your senior year, you have accumulated thousands of puke lime green and bright neon orange books that you cannot resell. You haul them around everywhere, hoping that one day that a cure will come. But it never comes. They continue to collect infectious dust, making you not even want to come near breathing distance of them. Your favorite classes - Phy Sci 5, Management 122 and more - have been tainted. Forever. My fellow bruins. This is where we make a stand. THIS is the time for us to spread awareness of this evil. Because this problem will not solve itself. WE ARE THE ONLY CURE FOR THIS EVIL IN THE WORLD. read more

If I could buy course readers from ANYWHERE else, then I would. Simple as that. My advice for anyone who HAS to go here.. Tell them your class name, hand them your payment, and get out of there as quickly as possible. Don't feel the need to be extra nice. Sure, don't be rude.. but there's no use in smiling. If you happen to be in a good mood before going to buy your course reader, I suggest that you go another day. Why have your good mood ruined by the employees here? read more

If we, students, try to buy used books of current edition or even of previous edition, or print research articles/lecture slides/problem sets with multiple copies per page, then it does not follow the logic when we have to purchase a package of black and white lecture slides/readings/ or whatever it is from a place off campus. Every quarter I have to walk to this place to purchase one or two packets of just black and white power point lecture slides for more than $30 each. Why can't the professor just upload the files online via the class website so we can just print directly from there? All booklets are non-returnable after you purchase, so make sure you are certain that you will be taking the class, or else you could be wasting $90 on some random GE class. These people are making profits and ripping off students like us Tips: Whatever address they display 1133 Westwood Blvd, you have to walk around and enter from Broxton Ave. read more

I really wish faculty would just hire a TA to scan the course reader and make it available in PDF form. I know some people still prefer to read on paper, but for me I'm fine reading from a screen and that is FREE and much better for the environment. Course readers suck in general and they are very overpriced at this place. I'm not a fan. That being said, even though it was busy and there was a line when I went to get my course reader this morning, they had 4 lines open so the line moved very fast and I had no problems. I got my readers, paid, and left. The guy was friendly so I have no complaints about the service. read more

I called in and they said my course reader is 35$ and I go in and he says its 60$!! They are liars there. And I asked the guy at the cashier ( african American man) to see it for me to know if it's worth the price or for me to bind it on my own. And he's like NO. Either you buy it or you don't. I'm not showing you until you pay. And then he has the darn nerve to yell at the CUSTOMERS telling us where to line up. Who the heck does he think he is yelling at us. Which is why I didn't move an inch, he is extremely disrespectful and has no manners. That dude needs to get his self fired. The prices here are ridiculous, and that man is rude, and does not know how to do his job. read more

Two words: Extortion Racket The saddest part about this business is that they have no competition and students will be forced to frequent them indefinitely. I will second the other reviewer in the complaint about single-sided copies that waste tons of paper. CHALLENGE: Can anyone beat the $115 text I have to buy for my Summer class? read more

I would give zero star if there's that option. I have no problem with the price cuz everything we bought is made of paper...but! the staff there is rude, unfriendly, not knowledgable. On the "credit card" check-out counter, I tried to use my platinum VISA card which was denied by the cashier. The reason is that the card is a foreign card...ok, I've been used this card thru countless stores and spent about 10k dollars a month. He was so confident that the card could not be read...WTF I had cash and domestic debit card to solve the problem, but the weird experience made me feel disgusted. Also, I hate the store where "no returns/exchanges/refunds/whatever" are posted everywhere. Feels like black market. read more

Over priced and unfriendly staff. They wouldn't even let me look inside the compendium I was supposed to spend $50 dollars on. Places to get textbooks in order of preference: Amazon UCLA bookstore Liquor store This place read more

I've gotta be honest here-- reviewing this place is nearly futile. The fact is, if a professor needs you to buy a course reader, and from a specific place, then you MUST do it. Unless you can share with a friend. Sure, the service here is horrible. I receive one-word answers, no eye contact and straight faces from the employees. BUT I GET MY BOOKS. They know where everything is; you ask for a reader and it is fetched and handed to you. I am usually in and out in a minute and a half, tops. This place is alright. People come here to buy course readers, not lunch. read more

I had never purchased a course reader in my other classes before so I perused all of the yelp reviews for this store. I had a really bad impression reading all the reviews about bad customer service and outrageous lines. So with that in mind I was really not looking forward to the endeavor of picking up my course reader. I went in on the second day of spring quarter at noon and there was no line contrary to all the other reviews that said the line would be out the door. The woman cashier told every customer "good luck" after purchasing their course reader and she gave a smile. I guess that was their attempt at trying to work a little harder at customer service and it was a nice touch. I left with good experience contrary to everything I read. TL:dr not as bad as everyone says. No complaints with my service. Tip: There's 3 cashiers for credit card and 1 for cash so have both ready. I heard the cash line can be much faster on busy days. read more

this place is very confusing. Not only does it profit off of students who don't have the $ to spend on overpriced printing, they also are open 4-5 hours a day, much of the time during classes, and never update their hours on google so it is impossible to know when to stop by. I've stopped by twice for one course reader which I have yet to obtain. read more

I'm so curious who owns this business. The price is far too high and they have franchise to sell these stuf. I bought the course reader of Mgmt 1a with Gardner there. It cost me 80 dollars. I couldn't buy a used one because there is a thin assignment workbook come with it and everyone who takes this course have to turn it in. I carried this heavy reader for the entire quarter. This quarter I'm taking 1B with Ravetch and there's no more evil overpriced reader but materials on class website read more

I would give this place no stars at all if I could. The fat guy is really rude, the course reader was optional material for my course and he was like pushing it on me saying I should just drop the class or fail it since I didn't want to get the course reader. Like I honestly have not met such a rude and obnoxious person till today. UCLA should really look into changing the course reader supplier or at least make them stop charging exorbitant prices for just a couple of black & white pages, with such poor customer service. read more

Like the other UCLA Yelpers have said, you really have no choice of going any where else for your course readers because THIS is the only place that has them. That's a huge unfortunate circumstance. You'd think that with the prices they're ripping you off for that the workers there would have SOME customer service skills - nah, you're not going to find that here. You get in, give them your information, watch them rip you off, pay the money, and leave. It's a pain in the ass but there really is nothing to be done about it (HINT.. HINT.. UCLA). Augh, $117+ down the drain for just 2 course readers. Rip off... It's okay, just 2 more years... read more

Terrible store! It only continues to exist because students "need" it. Just like the previous reviewer, I created this yelp account just so I can review them. Unfortunately, these reviews don't serve much of a purpose until they get competition in the printing business. I entered the store near the end of the business day. They said they could only accept cash (no credit card--some excuse, I forget what). I had to go to the next block's atm quickly. If their excuse is valid, then they should not shut down systems until after they close. If it was a lie, then I question where my "cash" went. Perhaps lower their cost in royalties or even taxes. read more

I've bought 3 course readers from here. COMM 118 COMM 120 COMM 101 I haven't had any problems. They seem to help me out fine every time. Course readers are really expensive though. If you would like to buy any of those course readers off me for much cheaper (Each for $40) contact me by text (310) 689-6869 read more

Just came back here at the start of the quarter and am still happy with this place. The lines moved even faster as I feel that this place is only improving by the day. The service was incredible especially considering how busy they were. They really treated me well which is only going to make me come back in the future. The price is really worth it because my books from last quarter are still in perfect condition and are good quality material. The price is very understanding because of the long lasting and important information stated in the book. EVERYONE SHOULD GIVE THEM A SHOT! BEST COURSE READERS IN WESTWOOD :) read more

I was a TA and we used course reader for two years. They are reliable, fast and friendly.

The staff is friendly and chill. It's the easiest thing ever. You walk in, tell them the professor and the course, you purchase the reader and you're outta there. I don't know what everyone is complaining about. They're all upset about having to buy a course reader, so they're taking it out on the store. Service is quick and easy. Plus the free candy basket on the counter is a nice touch. read more

Course Reader Material is a convenient and affordable place to purchase course readers for classes at UCLA. My cashier, Seyma, was extremely polite with me and the customers before me. She made the transaction quicker than what i thought it would've been, all the while being incredibly kind. Five stars! read more

This place isn't quite as bad as people are saying. I do admit that the course readers are really super overpriced though. -__- However, the employees are nice, which is why I'm giving this place three stars even after it ripped me off so badly. For those who complain about the service, well, I think it's unreasonable to expect the employees to be happy and bubbly after working long hours busily serving unsmiling and/or obnoxious college kids all day long. And they probably don't get paid that much. Try not to forget that they're people too...if you smile and are friendly towards them, chances are that they'll smile and be friendly back. At least that's been my experience. :) read more

Okay, yes, the course readers aren't cheap. But whenever I go to Course Reader Material Inc, the people are actually very nice, especially if you aren't going during peak hours at the very beginning of the quarter. Everything costs money, so if y'all don't want to pay for a course reader, it's the professors that you should be directing your anger/frustration at for not providing a PDF of their lectures or whatever. read more

lowkey a sketch building, signs are hand written and everything. the cashier was actually pretty nice and funny, he let us take some good candy too. i guess the only downside here is price, but i dont think the owner/cashier is able to do anything about that since a lot of these books are here under professor's directions. read more

A lot of these reviews focus on the price of the course readers. I think it is important to remember that the prices are driven by the content *in* the material. For example, if your professor insists on publishing countless periodical articles, your course reader is going to be much more expensive since the printer has to pay for the rights to republish copywritten material. Most professors add material each year with very little "trimming" with little concern of what this will do to the price. If your course readers are $80 or more, blame your professor, not the print shop. Most course readers with original content (generated by the professor) are not as expensive. Furthermore, I would add that the employees here are very friendly and work quickly. Sometimes the line can be quite long but from my experience, the cashiers do their best to keep the line moving along. The cashiers are also very knowledgeable about the history of the course readers. I found a conversation with one of them quite fascinating (when the line was not so long) where I learned that certain professors have had next to no inflation in their course readers over the years due to the "pruning" mentioned above. Buying textbooks and course materials can be quite painful, I'll admit that, but I do not believe Course Reader Materials charges anything but a fair market price for the content we'll be using in class. I commend them for their respectful attitude despite students' natural resentment of paying for text materials on top of tuition and other expenses. Thanks Course Reader Materials for making start-of-quarter expenses a little more tolerable. read more

If my classes didn't require me to obtain my course reader all the way from here, I would stay far, far away. This place is a joke. Not does it look super sketchy - their policies are as well: no refunds or exchanges, no opening the course readers prior to purchase, etc. I've been here thrice for my course materials and all three times the service has been extremely subpar. read more

They sold me an outdated course reader but failed to inform me it's out of date and would not suffice for my class.

I had to pay $200 for 1000 pages. There are other much cheaper copy places in Westwood and some profs put their stuff on course websites.

great service the owner is always friendly and knowledgeable and his staff are nice also. a lot of people complain about the price but it's similar to a textbook only it's presented differently. never had a problem getting what i needed from them in the 4 years i attended. read more

I bought my course pack from course reader. They were very nice people and very polite. Their customer service my my expectations and they have free candy so I got my free lunch. God bless read more

[Reposted because I think it's valuable, and humorous. The price of these course readers is not the student body's main complaint, but the customer service and eccentricity of some of the employee's comments toward students. This was in 2008. It's now 2012. The (un)professionalism of the course reader shop has not changed since then. The discrimination might've increased, actually.] I had such an awful, awkward experience here that it actually inspired me to create a yelp account just to comment. Frankly it's the single WORST customer service experience I've ever had, I mean shockingly rude. As one employee went to get the book I needed, another at the register (middle aged white? guy with a slight foreign accent I think) finished with another customer then pointed at me and mumbled something inaudible. Assuming that he had asked the obvious "may I help you?", I smiled and said "no thanks, the other guy's got me." Suddenly the cashier's entire demeanour changed, as if I had just insulted his family. Apparently he had mumbled something about paying for the book, and then he misunderstood my reply as some sort of wisecrack I guess. He became extremely rude with me, to the point where I literally thought he was about to throw me out of the store before I could buy the book. "So you're telling me you're not going to pay for this book?" he asked in a very impatient tone. I was confused and started to chuckle nervously until I realized he was dead serious. "I tell you this book costs $57 and you say he's got you, what's that supposed to mean??" he demanded almost angrily. Now I understood the problem. "Oh, I'm sorry I must have misheard you. Yeah, here, I'll pay for the book. It's cool, no need to get upset." But it was too late for that, he was clearly upset. "I said you owe me $57, I don't know what YOU heard," he snarled. I resisted the temptation to point out that fact that he was mumbling so much I had no idea what he originally said. At this point I turned to the other employee and said "Look, was I being rude to you? I'm sorry if I was, I didn't mean it. I don't know why this is such a big deal now. I'm just trying to be polite here." The other guy just shrugged, but the angry one would not let it go, saying "I say your book costs $57 and you tell me you don't want to pay, how is that polite??" His tone of voice was surly, condescending, even angry, and certainly unprofessional. I have no idea how this minor miscommunication somehow escalated in his mind into full-blown a confrontation with me, but for some bizarre reason it did. He went on and on about it. Finally with the book paid for and in my hands, I said "Look, all I wanted to do was buy this book. You don't have to be so rude about it." Then as I was leaving I added one more statement to that effect, except more strongly worded...but I won't print that one here. :) If this was not the only place I could purchase my course reader, I would've thrown the book on the floor and given him a piece of my mind before leaving. I was just shocked speechless that this man was so furious with me over absolutely nothing, and there was nothing I could say to repair this apparently egregious offense. I've worked in retail and the service industry before, and if I was this man's manager I would've fired him on the spot for talking to a customer that way. (Not like I was being particularly difficult anyway.) Fast food drive-thrus have better customer service than this. Seriously, I've had more pleasant experiences at the DMV. If you've ever seen the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, you know what I mean. I just hope I never need to buy another course reader here again! read more

shitties bookstore in all of los angeles. shitty customer service and terrible pricing for simple course readers. such a huge rip off!!!! do not go here for any reason at all cost!!!!! find course readers from friends instead!!!! read more

I had such an awful, awkward experience here that it actually inspired me to create a yelp account just to comment. Frankly it's the single WORST customer service experience I've ever had, I mean shockingly rude. As one employee went to get the book I needed, another at the register (middle aged white? guy with a slight foreign accent I think) finished with another customer then pointed at me and mumbled something inaudible. Assuming that he had asked the obvious "may I help you?", I smiled and said "no thanks, the other guy's got me." Suddenly the cashier's entire demeanour changed, as if I had just insulted his family. Apparently he had mumbled something about paying for the book, and then he misunderstood my reply as some sort of wisecrack I guess. He became extremely rude with me, to the point where I literally thought he was about to throw me out of the store before I could buy the book. "So you're telling me you're not going to pay for this book?" he asked in a very impatient tone. I was confused and started to chuckle nervously until I realized he was dead serious. "I tell you this book costs $57 and you say he's got you, what's that supposed to mean??" he demanded almost angrily. Now I understood the problem. "Oh, I'm sorry I must have misheard you. Yeah, here, I'll pay for the book. It's cool, no need to get upset." But it was too late for that, he was clearly upset. "I said you owe me $57, I don't know what YOU heard," he snarled. I resisted the temptation to point out that fact that he was mumbling so much I had no idea what he originally said. At this point I turned to the other employee and said "Look, was I being rude to you? I'm sorry if I was, I didn't mean it. I don't know why this is such a big deal now. I'm just trying to be polite here." The other guy just shrugged, but the angry one would not let it go, saying "I say your book costs $57 and you tell me you don't want to pay, how is that polite??" His tone of voice was surly, condescending, even angry, and certainly unprofessional. I have no idea how this minor miscommunication somehow escalated in his mind into full-blown a confrontation with me, but for some bizarre reason it did. He went on and on about it. Finally with the book paid for and in my hands, I said "Look, all I wanted to do was buy this book. You don't have to be so rude about it." Then as I was leaving I added one more statement to that effect, except more strongly worded...but I won't print that one here. :) If this was not the only place I could purchase my course reader, I would've thrown the book on the floor and given him a piece of my mind before leaving. I was just shocked speechless that this man was so furious with me over absolutely nothing, and there was nothing I could say to repair this apparently egregious offense. I've worked in retail and the service industry before, and if I was this man's manager I would've fired him on the spot for talking to a customer that way. (Not like I was being particularly difficult anyway.) Fast food drive-thrus have better customer service than this. Seriously, I've had more pleasant experiences at the DMV. If you've ever seen the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, you know what I mean. I just hope I never need to buy another course reader here again! read more