2nd & Charles

Giant seemingly-​chain store with alright book selection, miserable record selection, and okay prices. Soulless. Used books are a steal, at least.

I got to blow into a nintendo cartridge. Nuff said! Take me to a happy place, back when I ate ceral from the box playing Zelda on NES. They have a great selection of animé, comics, video games (new and old) a store that caters to us all born in the 70’s to 90’s. Some items seem a bit garage sale-​ish, and others are overpriced. Still, this store is a compilation of all things «awesome» for us born in the video game era. This is a legit toy store for grown ups who enjoy hunting retro and vintage treasures.

If I could give this place a half of a star I would. They sold me a used gameboy advanced SP that was broken and when I went to return it a couple days later they refused to take it back. The manager was very rude. I even offered to trade it in and they said they wouldn’t take broken items. So then why did they sell me a broken item? they argued with me and said it worked when they had it. Nice. Way to keep it classy. Also you can’t even get a bag when your getting checked out cause they claim they are a «green company». They will sell you bags though at a jacked up price. Don’t waste your time here.

Been to this and other 2^nd & Charles stores and each time I return to the Harrisburg location I’m reminded how pitiful the vinyl section is… the rest of the store I can’t speak to…
THE PROS
–flexible hours of operation
–lots of parking
–pretty clean store
–friendly staff
–big selection of new/​used vinyl
THE CONS
–beyond overpriced (titles that should be $ 1 – 2.99 are priced at $ 6-​$ 8
–so many records are scratched and warped
–organization is poor, appears nobody maintains the section well
–budget bins are primarily thrift store records or ones that should practically be given away or sold for a quarter
–major price gauging on reissues, especially anything 90s
Overall this location is very weak when it comes to quality over quantity… too much filler, damaged goods and not really worth digging through unless you’re a vinyl junkie like me and need a quick dig/​fix when traveling on business with hopes to find a diamond or two in the rough!

Book selection can be hit or miss. If you’re looking for Harry Potter you can buy the full series several times. But if you want something that wasn’t a longtime bestseller you may not be able to find it. I have found some gems and I like the hunt.
The organization in the book area is a mess. The signs are orange with white text which is very hard to read. And the way they categorize books means you may have to search several sections to find it.

I totally appreciate the fact that there is a business that will sell compact discs (such as Averrett Brothers for $ 3.49) for significantly lower than you would find on
. They are used, but inspecting the packaging is key. Books are cheap as can be, and there’s a great selection. They run promotions on both music & books.
Big selection of calendars, shirts, music equipment and the like. Worth a stop if you’re in the area. One of the freshest ideas I’ve seen in awhile. This is usually my hang out at lunch time.

this place rock! they have great selection of… everything: movies, books, games, gaming systems, instruments, a lot more. this place reminds me of when i was a teen. going to trade games in. now i trade books, movies and music. they check the movies before you take them (looking for scratches), and if you have a problem just bring it back in the first 14 days.

Yes you can sell your old vinyl/​books/​electronics here… but be prepared to wait hours for what may turn out to be one or two bucks for a bag full of books. It’d be better to donate… at least you’re not wasting your time. And if you do decide to leave the store and pick up the cash for your items the next day… you can’t…it immediately reverts to store credit.
The store basically has rows and rows of «popular» authors like Danielle Steel, Stephen King, and Dan Brown… but if you want anything out of the norm, you’re out of luck. And you’ll find no assistance from the sales staff in finding items. The computers aren’t kept up to date with what’s in the store… so it’s basically up to you to find and seek what may or may not be there.
There aren’t any real «deals» here… it’d be cheaper (and a million times easier) to just order a .99 cent used book on Amazon and pay the shipping.
Also they don’t provide bags, a fact you aren’t made aware of until you’re being forced to buy one (ranging $ 2-​$ 10) from the nagging sales staff. I have a friend that works there that says the managers expect a certain quota to be sold… so really it’s not about being «a green company»…but rather making money at the sake of people’s convenience and trying to pass it off as «doing the right thing.»
Also, there are NO RETURNS. Even if you immediately return to the store the same day to say that you forgot you already had a copy of what you’d just purchased. Even on damaged items… the store must test to see if it’s «really damaged» …meaning if a CD doesn’t work on your CD player but it works on theirs… that you’re a liar and must keep the broken merchandise.
Save your time and $$…

WOW. Do your research before you buy anything other than a book in this place. If you buy any used merchandise without first researching prices (as I suspect many do), you are part of the problem here. 2^nd & Charles remain one of the MOST OVERPRICED shops I have seen in a LONG time. These folks make a pawn shop look like Dollar Tree. Selling beat up equipment for more than the new MSRP. No thanks.
Be ye warned.

What a find !
By far one of the best used bookstores I’ve been in. Great books. merchandise, DVD’s CD’s, Comics and Vinyl. Hey if ya want pristine vinyl ya gotta go to record collectible shows. used joints usually are «used». Honestly I thought their record selection was quite a find. The first time I’ve ever come across any Hip Hop, granted they were mostly new records or 7 & 12 Inch Singles… But that is saying a lot not being bombarded with throwaway records I find in most thrift shops. Lot’s of bargains too. Very cool concept. If I am back this way I will be shopping here again.

Glad there is a second hand book/​media outlet as large as this in Harrisburg. I have only visited once. I went mainly for the vinyl section, so I can’t attest to the quality or selection of books.
As far a cd’s and vinyl is concerned, I was pretty disappointed. Tons of selection, however they obviously are don’t look at anything before they purchase. Almost all the vinyl is completely overpriced considering most of it is scratched/​dirty beyond being able to play. $ 5 records are worthless unless you can listen to them. Sadly, it’s just as much a crap shoot as going to garage sales. I am not being a snob here, the records are beat!
Second, the alphabetizing and organization is pretty poor. Artists are in the wrong genre (I can kind of understand this) or put by first name, rather than last. Example — Ike and Tina Turner under «I». In addition, their collection is overwhelmed by beat up classical records and other flea market junk.
I wish they had a music section manager. Someone who knows their stuff and weeded out a few of the throwaways vs. keepers. Plus, the new vinyl you can find there is a tad overpriced. If they get a dedicated few folks who are able to put the music section in order, I’d be rather excited to have this place in town.

A very good bookstore with a large selection. However many of the books that I was looking for were listed as being in stock but couldn’t be found. As I was looking on my own, I saw several books that were mis-​shelved. I do want to add that eh salesperson that helped me was personable and kind. At the same time, she seemed to be frustrated with the shelving/​misclassification problems.

Very happy one of these opened in Pennsylvania, been to the Woodbridge, Virgina location several times and was impressed. The store is reasonably sized with both an outdoor and indoor mall entrance. For a recently opened store, has an excellent selection of Books, Comics, and Video Games. DVD selection is fair but will probably get better over time. The store is very neat and clean but the organization of the books is confusing, there using an odd system. Just be aware they don’t give out bags and it’s $ 2 to buy a 2^nd & Charles reusable bag.
Free bins outside have books customers could not sell to the store, always worth checking even if you take nothing.
You can easily lose an hour browsing all the selections. Be prepared!

Looking for a clean used bookstore with an excellent selection of books, movies, albums, games, and CD’s? Look no further! 2^nd and Charles offers
book/​music/​movie-​lovers a plethora of options for buy-​sell-​trade options. This specific location is large and open, with clearly marked aisles and sections. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and the selections change daily!