MY HAPPY PLACE!! Every business owner should be like Talia. She's so friendly, inviting and excited…read moreabout every customer who comes into the store. It's so obvious that she loves and cares about her work. This store is adorable - always a solid offering of trendy and timeless clothing, quirky/fun gifts, plants, accessories, etc. Sort of like Target x10000 (you go in for one thing and walk out with 30). So much thought has been put into each product and detail of the store itself. I normally have to steer myself away from boutiques because I'm a poor young person and can't afford boutique pricing, but everything here is fair, affordable, and (yes it's true) high quality. I've been shopping here since it first opened and this place has always been quality/lovely! Whenever I'm back in Ames I have to swing in. If you're in the area, do yourself a favor and visit :)

Although the owner is very kind, after my best friend made a purchase, I searched for the brand,…read moreand they sell the clothing for less than half of what it is priced at in the store on amazon. I only hope my review can help other college students be smart about their money and realize, as my friend did, that instead of supporting a small business that she thought she was, it still supports unethical fast fashion. I also know how hard my friend works for her money, which is why I was prompted to write this. Even if it is legal, I find it wrong to upscale and mislead college students.

My last couple visits to BAM have been accented by a really friendly and engaging guy who has come…read morefrom behind the counter to help me find a particular book, magazine, or gift. And last week, he was wearing a cool Puerto Rico baseball jersey (Santurce Cangrejeros) with Roberto Clemente's number (21). BAM also has an extensive magazine collection that you just don't see anymore. It's right next to the coffee shop, which accentuates the book and periodical browsing experience.

I love that there's still a bookstore in town. There used to be that amazing bookstore over in the…read moreLincoln Center mall, and we had Borders, but now this Borders has closed and turned into a Books a Million. Everything is laid out about-ish the same that Borders used to have it laid out. There's music and movies in the same spot, the children's area in the same spot, the coffee and seating in the same spot, and of course, the bathrooms haven't moved. Shopping here is nice. They have a ton of clearance, but that seems to be standard for a lot of bookstores. Prices are pretty standard for books (higher than online), but they also are lower than prices I've seen at Barnes & Noble, so that's a positive. It was easy to locate the area that I was looking for. There are large signs on top of shelves that let you know what type of books are on there. They have a pretty large biblical/Christian section which I found surprising. It's larger than quite a lot of the other sections, and I think it actually might be getting close to the size of some of the fiction sections. Over in the Transportation section, I found what I was looking for pretty easily. They even had a good selection. However, the books were not in order like they should have been. Books about airplanes were strewn throughout and between books about motorcycles, trains, and cars. They were in the right section (Transportation), but definitely not organized how they should have been. So if you're looking for a specific book, make sure you look through the whole section. There were quite a few Clearance books, and I came out with 5 books instead of the original 1 I was looking for. Most of their clearance is very reasonably priced at about 50% to 75% off the original price. The books are in decent shape too. I had a really fun time looking through clearance. Check-out was nice and simple. They asked me to sign up for their membership program which I declined. They also offered me to sign up for their "3 free magazines" deal, but none of that was particularly pushed on me. They were really friendly about it and didn't push when I said no. Staff was extremely friendly and I was greeted on multiple occasions. Didn't try out the coffee area or look through the Children's area. Final thoughts: I'd definitely come back. The prices are higher than what I could get online, but there's something to be said for in-store book stores. I love being able to buy a book locally and help support the local economy as well. Plus, looking through Clearance is easily one of my favorite aspects of bookstores. I came out with 5 new books at least than $40; that's definitely amazing for book prices. I'm glad Ames still has a local bookstore.

Looking for a fun holiday gift for a close friend, I turned to Ames' Five Below because I knew they…read morehad a vast array of options to draw from, making the task something that could get completed. Thanks to Taylor and Leah, I got several terrific prank gifts because of their awareness of the store and excellent sense of humor. I am grateful to both, especially Taylor, for her creativity and demeanor with my task.

This shop is great. I'm an older woman who wants to stay stylish and attractive. This is the…read moreplace to go for a great selection of clothing. The sales people are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I can't wait to go back!

My sister and I were shopping in the area and happened to find this unique shop. It had such great…read morequality clothing and at a reasonable price. I will be back!

The store is disorganize! I am not sure what they have done to the toy section but it is a joke!…read moreit's all on top of racks or below racks in totes! if you try to dig through the piles on top of the racks, everything falls off or you have to bend over for hours digging through totes! Honestly, going to the bins would be much better! Taking out the shelving for the toys is the worst thing Management did! Then I paid $29.99 for a tote a Duplos, a good majority were chewed up by a dog or had bite marks in them! Bcuz the entire top of the tote was covered with tape, there was no way to check them without removing it! Do better Salvation Army if you are going to charge steep prices! Maybe the items should be checked before just throwing them out with tape on the top of the tote!

Worst shoe store ever. I went to go buy some shoes but didn't find what I was looking for. When I…read morewas about to leave, the staff was SO disrespectful. They were calling me all types of names and overall being so rude. The store smelt like musty feet. I would rather pick up some 30 year old shoes on the street than come back here ever again.

The staff was very rude did not expect him to be that upset when I didn't want to buy shoes. I can…read morenot explain how disrespected I felt being there. Worst shopping experience of my life. Everyone there is a rude person. Definitely should not be working retail if they are not going to be nice to all costumers.

This place hasn't changed at all since I was a little kid and I'm so glad because now I can take my…read morekid there and get the same lovey feeling I did when I was young. It's always reminded me of the book store in You've Got Mail and just that lovely old school toy store feel. It was the only toy store we had but it was perfect. The marbles were always one of my favorites and the large stuffed animals of lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Worth the trip every single time

Pumpkin Patch is one of my favorite stores in all of Iowa!…read more It's a wonderful local independent Toy store, with fun for the whole family! I always loved walking by the huge stuffed animals in the windows when I lived in Ames! They have classic toys from the 50's, to modern stuff kids today would dig! Great selection of stuffed animals, books, nut crackers, games, toy cars.. you name it they got it! They also do a fantastic job of wrapping those Christmas gifts for the little special ones in your life! The store is a fantasy world of fun, for all ages and I highly recommend stoping in here if you make it to Ames ever! I feel like JOSH from the movie BIG when he walks into FAO Shwarz for the fist time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yu62StlsMY