Selling Us Books

Yes, we buy books! If you have books you would like to sell, please read the following information. We receive a high volume of inquiries about buying books and do not have the time to respond to every single message. 

We buy books by appointment only. No drop-offs at the store without prior arrangement, please! We are a small space bursting at the seams with books, and we buy books very selectively. Send us an email with more information about your books, including a list of titles or photos of the book spines, and we'll let you know which ones we're interested in reviewing them in person. Thanks in advance for your patience as our response might take at least a week. We're a two-person operation and reply to messages in order of receiving them.

We pay up to 30% of our listed price in cash, or up to 35% in store credit. For mass market paperbacks, this generally ends up being around $2-$3 per book. The actual amount we're able to pay will depend on demand, condition, rarity, and current inventory.

We also accept book donations. Get in touch via email or phone to confirm your books will be a good fit and to schedule a time to drop-off. Thank you for the support!

Our Book-Buying Critera

The best way to get an idea of what we would buy is to come into the shop and check out our collection. If your books would fit in well with our existing authors and titles, it's likely we would buy them.

We are always looking for:

  • Theory and philosophy
  • Leftist political books, including ephemera
  • LGBTQ+ books (fiction or nonfiction), no matter how old
  • Books on nature, ecology, and climate crisis
  • Literature in translation
  • Indigenous works
  • Contemporary literary fiction and nonfiction
  • Classic and subversive sci-fi and fantasy (Tolkien, Pratchett, Butler, Le Guin)

Some presses, publishers, and imprints we're always interested in:

  • Radical presses such as Haymarket, Verso, AK Press, and Between the Lines
  • Indie presses like Nightboat Books and Feminist Press
  • Penguin Classics
  • Semiotext(e)
  • New York Review of Books
  • Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, Taschen

We do not generally buy books that are in rough condition, unless they fit in the above categories. We also do not accept popular fiction and thrillers, old magazines or cookbooks, or encyclopedias. If you have these kinds of books and are looking to move them along, we recommend donating to the Bissell Centre Thrift Store on 118 Ave, or other thrift stores.

House Calls

We do offer house calls for larger collections, especially academic ones. Please get in touch with more information about the books you have, and we'll make arrangements.