Like several other reviewers here, I joined Citysearch specifically to bash The Strand. The place is a total triumph of advertising over product. Anyone in a dumb Strand T-shirt (or hoodie, or hat, or shorts) will tell you that this is a great independent book store, but the fact of the matter is that it's got a very unimpressive selection that's presided over by some of the rudest people I've ever encountered in retail. I guarantee that whatever you can find at The Strand you can find cheaper on the Amazon Marketplace, shipping included.

The people who work at The Strand comport themselves as if they were the high priests of a sacred temple, but the truth of the matter is that they're in customer service. And if they can't provide pleasant service and a good, low-priced selection of books, what's the point?

I've always bought my books at Strands, just because they are dollars cheaper than other bookstores I've encountered in New York. Unlike the others, I have yet to encounter the rudeness of their employees, probably because I have never bothered to sell my used books here, and after reading the numerous review, have no intention to. The only thing that bothers me about this bookstore is how unorganized it is : dusty books are stacked on top of each other, some books are not in alphabetical order/not in their best condition, and it's hard to navigate through the store, it's like a puzzle within itself (you go left, and then right, and then left again, and it would take you an hour to go back to the entrance. I'm exaggerating, but you get my point).
For me, their prices kind of make up for everything, even though I personally wouldn't spend more than 30 minutes there!

Established in 1927, the flea-market-esque Strand is the largest, cheapest secondhand-book store in town. It now claims to have eighteen miles of books and growingâ€"a second floor ...

I have never seen so many book in all of my life and this place tops it because not only do they have a lot of books but the prices are crazy. You can easily get lost looking at all the books that are in thei store.

We ordered a new book from Strand through Amazon and found it to have red ink on the bottom and to be in generally dingy condition.