The Lamps Time Forgot, shelf at a junk shop in East Vancouver. Copyright © 2004 Deborah McIntosh

10 great places to buy used books

In the interest of feeding my compulsion without going any deeper into credit card debt, I've developed some strategies for cheap book acquisition. Note that these strategies do not include making purchases from MonsterChain.ca, nor participating in online auctions (the crack cocaine for compulsive book collectors).

• Salvation Army Thrift Stores- most Sally Annes have their own sagging Billys at the back of each shop, with hardcovers selling for $2 - $3, paperbacks for $1 - $2, and kids books for 50 cents. It takes some hunting, but I've found some amazing bargains on these shelves.
• Value Village - not as cheap as the Salvation Army, nor is it a not-for-profit venture, but most Value Village stores have several shelves of paperback and hard cover books, priced between 49 cents (for all kids' books) and $2.49 (for hardcovers, and softcovers originally priced in the $18.99+ range). Like at the Salvation Army, you have to spend time pawing through a lot of romance novels and out-dated textbooks, but it's often worth it.
• BookCrossing.com - not technically a place to buy books, but you can acquire most titles you're looking for by doing a search at the site, then arranging a trade with someone who has the book you're looking for. The cost won't be any higher than the cost of postage, which -- for a paperback mailed within Canada -- will be less than you'd pay at a used bookstore.
• Advanced Book Exchange - an online database of used books from all around the world. The books are generally overpriced, but this is an excellent resource for hard-to-find titles.
• Powell's City of Books - based in Portland, Oregon. I could hardly believe it the first time I visited this mammoth independent. Both the store's online presence and its "brick and mortar" site take the same approach -- multiple copies of most titles are available, with the price determined by the book's condition and scarcity. What a great store.
• Garage sales - read the online classifieds and plan to attend these sales when they come up in your neighbourhood.
• Fundraisers - typically hosted by your local library, hospital or workplace fundraising campaign. A rich source of great, cheap books -- last year I got a signed copy of Jack Hodgins' Broken Ground at the Lions Club booksale in Maillardville for $2.00.