Half Price Books Shopping Tips

Half Price Books is a used bookstore chain with locations throughout the United States. The name of the store, Half Price Books, rings true for what they sell--all books are marked half the retail price or lower. But there are some things to watch out for when shopping at Half Price Books; not everything is a good deal.

How does Half Price Books work?
Customers may bring in their books to sell to Half Price Books. Each store has a selling counter where you can bring in your books at any time (no appointment necessary). An employee will look over your books and make you a cash offer.

Looking for a specific book at Half Price Books?
It might be hard to find, especially if it's a newly released book (as in released in the last two months). But it doesn't hurt to try. Books are arranged by author (fiction) or by subject (non fiction). All new releases are kept in a section of the store near the front. You might be better off ordering a used copy on Amazon.

Scope out the clearance racks at Half Price Books
Half Price Books places fiction books in wheeled carts or spinning paperback racks. Books on the carts are $2 and paperbacks (on the marked racks) are only $1. Non-fiction clearance books are usually near the back of the store. These books are usually $2-$3. Check the clearance racks first-the book you're looking for just might be on one! Clearance racks chance frequently-new books get added all the time, so check back often. Fiction books on these racks tend to be mass market authors, like Stephan King, Nora Roberts, Sophie Kinesella, James Patterson, or the Davinci Code, etc., so if you're looking for books by these authors, there's a good chance it'll be on the clearance rack at Half Price Books.

Are there multiple copies of the book? Check all of them!
If there are several copies of the book on the shelf, check the price on each of them. Sometimes there's a dollar or two difference on the price. I'm not sure why this happens.

Does Half Price Books sell new books?
Yes! Most of the new books Half Price Books sells are publisher overstocks. You'll see a lot of these books on the shelves. The good news is that even if they're new, they're still half price. Bad news? They're publisher overstocks, so the new books you'll see on the Half Price Books shelves aren't bestsellers or even a book you'll want to buy.

Know what you're buying
Even if the book is half price, remember that you might be able to get the book even cheaper off Amazon, including shipping. For example, I recently wanted to purchased "My Fair Lazy" by Jen Lancaster. Half Price Books has it half off the publisher's price. I go to look on Amazon and find that I can get it for about $8 shipped.