Used Books
St Helens Book Shop
Used Book Trade Policy
You have long asked for it, and we listened! Bring us your gently used books and trade them for store credit.
We will be shelving used books next to the new books on the shelf. Used books will be marked with a colored dot on the spine and a used price sticker on the back of the book. Our used book program will be open from February-October.
Used Book Criteria
- Books must be clean, odor-free and in very good condition.
- We are most interested in paperback editions of popular fiction and non-fiction titles, YA books and classics.
- We are looking for books that will fit into categories we already carry. We will consider the title’s sales history at our store and buy accordingly.
- We are not set up to purchase old or rare books.
- We do not purchase the following:
- Most mass-market paperbacks (these are the smaller, cheaper variety.
- Books with cracked, creased or broken spines.
- Most westerns or romances.
- Dated materials (travel guides, almanacs, magazines, etc.)
- Encyclopedias, computer books, textbooks, Book Club edition books, Reader’s Digest, condensed books, cassettes, VHS tapes, DVDs or CDs.
- Most books (except children’s or classics in good condition) more than 5 years old.
How it Works:
- Drop off one bag of books (per week) marked with your name and address during store hours. You will receive a claim ticket.
- Please let us know if you would like us to return the books we can’t use or donate them to the library. Books left longer than 7 days will be donated.
- Our buyer will evaluate them (considering both condition and sales history) and call or email you within a a week to let you know what we can use in the store. You will receive credit for 1/3 of the selling price of the book. We will take a limited number of mass markets, and you will receive $1 credit for each mass market that we are able to take. Hardcovers for which there is a paperback edition available will be priced like the paperbacks.
- Your credit slip will be waiting for you at the store. You will need to keep this slip with you and bring it in for redemption.
- You may use the store credit to purchase anything in the store except gift cards, or event tickets, but you may only use 50% credit for any purchase (the other 50% can be paid cash, check, credit or gift card). Remaining credit will remain on a credit slip and can be used at a later date.
