Mercer Street Books & Records

A New York institution. This is a great place to browse alone or with friends, or to pick up a book to bring to the park. It’s not glitzy. It’s not the place to go if you have a specific book in mind or if you want to find a title immediately.
It’s the kind of place where you might find an old Phil Ochs record, run into a former college professor (who teaches 500 miles away), find a book that an ex recommended to you long ago (but you never read), a work you hadn’t heard of by one of your favorite historians, or a place to walk the aisles with a friend (tip: buy each other $ 6 books that you promise to read in a month).
Look at the titles and remember old conversations. It’s also unfortunately sometimes a place where you’ll see on the shelf the book you’re currently reading, but at a fraction of the price. There’s also a strong poetry section and really nice staff. Browse when you’re looking for perspective, when you’re feeling down, when you’ve exhausted your phone contacts list, and with your partner after breakfast on Saturday.

Walking town Mercer from Bleecker, I found this wonderful bookstore. I’m always finding something I like. The prices are good too. It’s hard to find a store like this any more in New York City.

I struggled with the heat and humidity of Thursday July 30 and carried 160 books to be sold. Thank very much to the no e gentleman who helped me the last leg of my journey. Upon arrival at Mercer. I put the books on the counter. He looked thru them taking all but appprox. 30 titles. He offered me 35 $ cash or 42 $ store credit. I thought perhaps I didn’t hear correctly. So I verified…$ 35? I said that he was taking approximately 100 books and paying me 35 cents a book. He said that he didn’t understand my logic. He said he would only give me a pittance of amount because these books won’t fly off the shelves. I attempted to escape this establishment with $ 50. But the miser said all he would give me was $ 35…Take it or leave it. So as I was not equipped to carry those books any further i took the $ 35. I told him that he was robbing me. Also that I’d prefer to be robbed in the street by knife or gunpoint. He said he was sorry I felt that way but he wasn’t trying to get over on me. I beg to differ. He was a condescending man who I guess thought I should be ecstatic over his cheapness. told him… ok, you won this time, but I will have my time at the plate. I will win the round. I would, never, ever step foot in that establishment again. He will hear again from me though. Book sellers beware… avoid this store! I’ve bought many books going back to the early 90’s…no longer will I spend one thin dime at Mercer Books. Zero stars for the bookstore. I attempted to remove the one star as I rate this place zero. Was unable to remove the star.

Always sonething of interest here for the LP buyer. Records are cheap and clean. Stock doesnt change that often, but worth a visit every couple weeks. No turntable for listening but the dude with glasses is happy to play from counter. Owner not so happy to play records for you, but ask anyway!

This is place is like my home planet or something. I could stay there forever. They have so many books that it can come across as disorganized, but it really isn’t. This isn’t a Barnes and Noble. You can’t just walk in f**k s**t up and walk out. You really have to take your time and look. Most off the books aren’t duplicates so if you blink, you just might miss it. The prices are definitely not two dollar signs. Most of the books are under 4 bucks. As a college student myself, I’d say that’s pretty darn cheap. I would definitely recommend this place to a friend. But it’s like I said, only go if you have time because although it’s basically just two long aisles, you will get lost in a sea of literacy.

This place reminds me of the stores that my father used to take me to when I was a kid in the 70s. Sure it’s a bit disorganized, but that’s part of the fun — not knowing what you might uncover amongst the stacks and piles. Great selection of used lps too. Nothing pleases me more than spending an evening browsing in Mercer Books. May they live long.

One of a vanishing breed — the independent book store — and a fine representation of the genre. Sells used books and records. I can’t vouch for the latter but the book selection is excellent. Prices are reasonable, and some really great bargains are to be found here and there.

Selection here is unique & I saw less attitude than at some other bookstores. If you’re looking for something specific, though, I would suggest calling first since I’m not sure they’d have it here. Browsing here is fine since you aren’t literally on top of people & can get around if necessary. Overheard some interesting conversation here so if you’re smart, you may get more of a kick out of being here than someone who just got here from Redneck Town.

Sunday’s in New York are days I like to wander around, usually downtown, to discover and savor new places. Practice following kismet.
This unflashy dumpy bookstore near NYU, was musty, a good thing, with the first spin rack full of a hodge podge of classic modern crime novels by
Phillip K Dick, Patricia Highsmith, Elmore Leonard and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiel Hammet (one book each). A creative totem that whispered something good was going on. Reminded of my bookstore browsing days back at UT Austin circa 1988, when a bookstore trip was a relaxing event in and of itself.
One bookshelf was dedicated to a some random fellow sparsely filled with books he either did or might have liked.
The selection was random, cheap and, I think, entirely used. After some debate, I chose a small worn Rilke paperback for $ 2 as my souvenir, eschewing a fee glossy contemporary art surveys, an Egon Schiele print book among other things.
Stay awhile and search, don’t expect to be sucker punched with best sellers, just classics. That’s what makes it so nice.
And his figure lovingly shrank into the infinite void.

I like this place, got some good vinyl, and they had a lot to choose from. Great staff!

When I lived in New York this was a regular stop for me on the weekends. I loved the messy stacks and potential finds. This place has been the standard of all used book stores for me since I left New York.

Worth a browse but it wouldnt be my first stop. Great for the value though.

My husband and I like to stop here when we are walking around the neighborhood. We only «discovered» it a short while ago, but my husband has already found several books that he wanted for a good price that were hard to find elsewhere. I am more of a browser than a buyer of books, but I enjoyed browsing through their shelves. It isn’t a large book store, but there are some good finds to be had and it is worth checking out to see if it stocks items you’d be interested in. Plus, the Housing Works bookstore, which always has interesting stock, is just one block down and two blocks east, so you could have yourself a bookday. Happy hunting!

I love this place. It’s my favorite book store in the city.
It has an old time bookstore look, unlike the chic boutique look other bookshops have adapted.
The shelves are always well-​stocked with goodies, and the staff is usually very helpful. There is also a nice selection of music.
In my experience, this is also the best place in the city to sell books. I’ve always gotten the best offers for used books.
I

Eh. Just eh. Nothing much here worth looking at. Call first, don’t go out of your way.

NEVER take your used books to these guys for sale. They are pirates and rip-​off artists of the first order. You will get 3 times what Mercer offers by taking your books to the Strand… guaranteed.
BE FOREWARNED!

This place rules. I love non-​corporate book stores with rare/​used books, heavy in arts and design. The first time I went there, I got 3 very rare books– Hunter S. Thompson, 1^st edition, Ralph Steadman’s book on Hunter– which was the un-​corrected copy prior to it being printed, and an insanely hard to find Richard Brautigan book. Loveee for Mercer Street Books.

I’m a huge bookworm so I was more than thrilled when I found this little gem during my lunch hour. I really racked up on books that I have been longing to read or add to my collection. I love that their selection is diverse, reasonably priced and includes collectors books and records of most genre.
The staff is pretty knowledgeable and the hours are also good. They will also hold books for you (but only for a few days!) if you’re like me, and your book stack is larger than your wallet. I would recommend this place and I go there often.

Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you to pick up all your crap and put it away, so you took your books and shoved them onto the shelves in no particular order? That’s the main idea of Mercer. Yes, there are categories here — fiction, lit crit, poetry — but some categories are more organized than others (mercifully, fiction is very well organized and alphabetized, though there is a strange system of leaving books in crates on the floor) and some categories are just barely contained chaos. But that’s sort of what makes this place great — it’s a bit cluttered and a bit messy, but you’re guaranteed to find something good if you poke around for a few minutes. What’s more, the guy who owns the place is a sweetheart, and the book prices are very reasonable.

Perhaps my most enjoyable book flea market around this area; weeded out selections as opposed to it’s *larger* competitor in nearby Broadway…
I can’t remember one time when, walking from seeing a movie @ the Angelika, I haven’t been lured to browse through the little bargain stack they have outside. And what books I’ve found! Excellent bait for the big fish and the small fish. Inside it’s more of the same; really simple layout and no particular identity or flare whatsoever. Just books, no drama.
Come and browse, and take some very great books at really great bargain prices and selections; Mercer has Mercy on those of us who are not thrilled by thrillers. So yeah, come.