Half Price Books

I don’t know why I haven’t written a review here! I love this bookstore. You can find things for next to nothing almost new that they sell at Barnes & Noble right up the street. I have sold quite a few books here as well from my collections. They pay me next to nothing for the true value of lots of them, but they are doing me a favor that I don’t have the wherewithal to do. I guess that’s just service cost being accounted for. Come here, don’t bother with V-​stock. V-​stock hassles you too much.

I love Half Price Books so much. Totally regret going here every time because I spend to much money on books. Just like the other Half Price Books on McKnight Rd., the selection of books is wonderful and very well organized. The staff is friendly and willing to not only help you, but also recommend books to you. My first trip there I sold a few books and got store credit, not a lot but a little something never hurt. The woman who bought my books also was willing to take whatever books she couldn’t buy and donate them, which I think is fabulous because it’s something I don’t have to worry about doing. Overall– both the Half Price Book locations are my favorite used book stores in my area. Totally worth the long drive with traffic!

This is such a cool store for so many reason and it always worth a visit, even if you just want to peruse. They even have a section in the front right of the store that has a selection of super rare and 1^st edition books in a glass case, most of the books in the case are over a $ 1000 but very neat to see. The store has a section that also will purchase books, movies, records, games, and a multitude of other items — have never used it so I do not have any personal experience with it.
The store itself is a large mix of used items that range from Comics, Records, Movies, Video Games, Board Games, Books, and many other items. This is a great store to get books for a infant/​toddler since its likely you can get some great board books for a great price. The staff is always friendly and helpful as well, not a bad experience yet. Would definitely reccomend a visit.

This is a dangerous place. Watch out. You can get lost in so many stories in this place. I get in so much trouble when I come here. Not only do I find what I’m looking for, but I find so many other things too!
Not that I want anyone else to know, but they have the greatest selection of vinyl! It’s a nice mix between new and used and there’s a large variety compared to other used bookstores.
Bring your bags of old books in and they’ll take ‘em! I brought in a few bags, got a large credit, and promptly spent it in the store. Always a winner when I leave!

Best store in TX now in St Louis. We lived at half price when we were in Austin. I am so gld they have come to St Louis. They brought with them not only the selection but the knowledge as well. What I mean by that is they seem to hire folks who not only like to read but read a lot! When my daughter could not find a book by one of her favorite authors the young lady helping her suggested another title/​author. Grudgingly she bought it but was happy she did when she finished it. she now has another author to follow.
The selection always is changing and sales and coupons can always be found in your in box. Give them an e-​mail address!
The only down side is while my home library grows by wallet gets thinner! Har!

As far as buying goes, the store is amazing. The deals are fairly priced and the books are in good condition. However, I would highly suggest NOT selling your used books here. I sold 13, gently used or new books and received less than $ 5 I know the point of the store is to sell books at a lower price, and they need to make money, but the offers they give are almost a joke. I only took the offer because the books were taking up space and I wanted them gone. I doubt I’ll be selling here again.

My husband and I recently visited Half Price Books for the first time. I assumed they sold a mix of new and used books, but other than that, I wasn’t sure what to expect. While most of the inventory is indeed composed of books, I was surprised to discover they also sell Blu-​ray discs, DVDs, vinyl, and CDs. Some items are new, but most of what I saw during my visit was used.
Another thing that surprised me was that the store currently has an average rating of 3.5 stars. I enjoyed my visit and feel they deserve at least four stars. There’s a lot to see here. They have a decent selection of movies and music, but a bibliophile could easily spend a day here without seeing everything. The prices are good, but there’s a clearance section in the back where prices are even better.
It looks like the low ratings have been written by people who were dissatisfied with the amount of money they were offered when attempting to sell their used items. I have not tried to sell anything here, but based on my experience with garage sales and consignment shops, people never want to pay me as much as I feel my items are worth. For example, I have dozens and dozens of cassettes and CDs from the ‘90s and early ‘00s that I haven’t listened to in more than a decade. They’re just taking up space, but I’d rather keep them than sell them for pennies. (However, if you are looking for the cassette single of «Are You Jimmy Ray?» by Britpop sensation Jimmy Ray, I can hook you up because I don’t know what the eff I was thinking when I bought that.)
Anyway.
Although sellers are integral to the existence of the store, it seems like Half Price Books might be a better value for buyers than for sellers. I didn’t expect to find anything, but I ended up leaving with two items:
1. Bossypants by Tina Fey ($ 3)
Because I consider myself to be an intelligent, funny female who enjoys the humor of other intelligent, funny females
2. A Hello Kitty coloring book with stickers ($ 1)
Because I consider myself to be an intelligent, funny female who enjoys giving color to the outlines of other intelligent, funny feline females
Both items were purchased from the clearance section, and there’s a point worth noting about that. I stumbled upon a copy of Bossypants in the regular humor section that was priced at $ 7.99. The book in the regular section did not appear to be new, as it was in slightly worse condition (e.g. folded pages) than my $ 3 clearance copy. Similarly, I found Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe CD in both the regular and clearance sections, priced at $ 7.99 and $ 3 respectively. There did not seem to be a difference in the condition of the two CDs. So, if you find something you want in one of the regular sections, I’d suggest looking for a copy in the clearance section. It might not be there, but in the case of Bossypants and Hellbilly Deluxe, you would have saved $ 4.99 on each item.
(By the way, as an intelligent, funny female, I did not buy Hellbilly Deluxe.)
(I already have it. :p)
(And in the spirit of Mr. Zombie, I’m «Never Gonna Stop» looking for great deals.)

I took in 57 books, mostly hardcover, in to sell. All in like new condition, the majority purchased in the last couple of years, several NYT best sellers. The Half Price Books purchase offer was 49.50. I declined what I took to be a very unreasonable offer and donated the books to a charity book fair. Too bad greed is so common place in this country.

Nothing short of awesome.
Friendliest staff ever. This was actually my last stop on my Black Friday bonanza (after refusing to do Black Friday for the past decade), and I found this place to be the nicest. It was the perfect end to my 5 pm-​7 am marathon of straight shopping. They even wheeled out hot chocolate and coffee to the people lining up outside before the store opened that morning!
Used books (and everything else) are literally half-​price of what you’d pay at say, a Barnes & Noble. Sometimes you find better deals, sometimes not. I do wish there was a better system to see if a title or author is in stock, but I mean… it’s a used bookstore.
My only gripes are that the entire clearance section of the store smelled horrific because there is clearly something wrong with the plumbing in their bathroom, but when you’re getting books for $ 3, I can’t complain.

Don’t take your books there for them to sell !! I brought in 19 books, several of them brand new, never read. The rest were pristine with no marks or creasing on the spines of the books. I RECEIVED EXACTLY $ 19 FOR ALL OF THEM !!
Had they not been so heavy, I would taken them all back to donate to a worthy nonprofit. What a joke ! Can you imagine how much they make off of those of us that they offer $ 1 per book, when you see what they sell them for ?!
There are much better online book resources with much better prices, like Daedalus or Edward R.Hamilton. They’ve lost me as a buying customer.

I enjoy browsing and buying the books. There are always good deals to be had and the selection is nice. However, as a frequent record buyer and collector I must say, their prices for used LP’s are RIDICULOUS. Often asking two to three times as much as they should be asking for scratched up common junk (think «Whipped Cream and Other Delights») with split seams. That said, there are some real deals to be found IN their dollar bin from time to time. When I visit I rarely even bother looking in the top bins anymore because I know it’s all going to be WAY WAY overpriced. I do flip through the mark-​downs though. .. but I won’t go out of my way to visit anymore because of the stupid prices on the majority of their albums.

The best used book store I’ve seen; a fantastic selection of books, DVDs, CDs, records, and games, at really great prices.

Teen 2 needed to read a book by a certain author for her Summer reading program. I thought we would stop here on the way to B&N and maybe save a little money. Not only did they have a nice selection of books by this particular author, we found a pristine hardback book for $ 2!
The whole point of her having to read this book was that the author is visiting her school next year, so now she can get a hardback signed as a memento. Thank you, HPB!

This store offers a huge variety of hardback and paperback books, music (yes, vinyl), comics, games (both video and board) and magazines.
All sections are well-​labeled and organized by author’s last name.
The general gist is you pay ½ the original price of the merchandise, if it is a used book. But they have many current NY Times bestsellers hardback new books for 40% off.
The day I went, they were offering a special of 40% off the most expensive thing you were buying.
There is a lot to see in this store. Take your time. Review the sections and get acquainted with their organization.
That’s the good part. Now…
I took 9 paperbacks to sell. I got $ 3. Their «buy» policy indicates they consider the author, the book, the condition of the book, and the demand for both the author and the book.
This policy makes perfect sense, because no one wants a book to sit on a shelf for a long period. I get it. I have patronized three used book stores that have gone under. And I seek them.
But I watched the clerk review my books, which were 9 and stacked. She never moved one book to see the author below or to check the condition of the books. She simply counted them.
And that’s how I got $ 3 for 9 books. I would have done better donating them.

First off, I am a fan of Half Priced Books in Seattle, WA. However, this store in St. Louis is one of the friendliest I have been in. The whole staff is amazing and the book selection is incredible. I was able to procure some awesome cooking books for a fraction of the price I could have paid somewhere else. Tons of selection. Haven’t tried selling a book here. So this review covers just the buying experience.

I wasn’t sure what Half Price Books would be like, especially being in the a plaza right next to a Barnes & Noble and a block away from a V-​Stock that also deals in used books and media. Right off the bat, the book selection is incredible and awesomely priced. The music selection, especially vinyl, is the best in the area. DVD/​Blu-​Ray is very reasonably priced, but not as large as B&N or V-​Stock, though this will probably change with time. The only real downside I found was their game selection. They had a small section dedicated to tabletop and board games, but their video game section was super small, mostly comprised of older PC games. That being said, I would still choose HPB for books and music over the others in the area. I have not tried to sell/​trade with them, but I hear their exchange on books is the best in town.

There is not much more I could ask for in a book store… A great selection of used books for a great price. Everything was clearly organized and the staff was super helpful.
I bought 3 books & 2 cds for about $ 25. Two of my books appeared to be brand new as well!
Also, apparently you can sell your used books for store credit… not something I would personally do, as my books stay with me forever, but a good idea for people trying to clear out clutter and make some cash.

I’m gonna go inverted pyramid with this review and hit you with the most important info: If you are one of the first 100 customers tomorrow, the next day, or the next day, you will get a free HPB tote bag, a $ 5 gift card, and one lucky person each day will get a $ 100 gift card. Additionally, each day there are coupons for either 20%, 30%, or 50% the highest price item that you buy. PLUS, if you are a teacher or librarian, you always get a 10% discount at HPB. And that’s on top of their books already basically being… half price.
If you’ve never been to a Half Price Books, get PUMPED. STL getting a HPB and an IKEA are the two greatest things to ever happen to us, and will be the greatest things to ever happen to us until we get an NBA team.
Half Price Books is a fairly large-​sized bookstore (smaller than Barnes and Noble) that carries really really cheap books. Most of their books are used, but they are extremely high quality. They don’t sell any tattered-​cover discards. They sell practically new books and have an AMAZING selection. They also sell new books at great discounts, plus «anything printed expect yesterday’s newspaper»… comic books… DVDs… They have a great selection of journals, bookmarks, and magazines. They even have a clearance section. I ALWAYS, always, always walk out of here happy as a clam with tons of GREAT finds for practically nothing. I’ve NEVER struck out at a HPB, and this is the 4^th location I’ve been to. I know I’m setting the expectations unrealistically high, but whatever, this place rules. I’ve even found REALLY rare books by a specific author here that you can almost NEVER find used.
On top of the stellar prices and great selection, the staff is PHENOMENAL. Über cool, down-​to-​earth, non-​pretentious, and wonderfully helpful. They go out of their way to help you!
I’ve sold books to HPB books before, as well. It’s not a ton of money, but it’s difficult to make any money off your own used books. It’s probably your best bet. Way better than selling them off piecemeal for 10 cents each on Amazon Marketplace. Be real.
It was uncomfortably crowded this AM because it was their «great opening», but on a normal day, HPB is the perfect place to come for a relaxing browse.
Oh, and P. S., they have a summer reading program for kids. Kids can earn a $ 5 gift card just for reading every day.

I like checking out Half Price Books stores whenever I am out of town. You never know what you’re gonna find, ya know? We were driving through Chesterfield and noticed the store and immediately turned back. Glad we did — it’s a brand spanking new store — and everything was 20% off during the Memorial Day weekend! SCORE! If you’re familiar with this chain, it’s pretty much the same set up — and this one is sparkly new! Now, because it’s new, the used CD collection was a little sparse, but I still managed to find a couple of gems. And I couldn’t leave without a cookbook and a book on crystals. I was very happy with my purchases — especially with the discount.
Next trip out there, hope to stop by again — to see what’s new!