I am quite lucky that I have an incredibly extensive personal library. (My shelves and storage areas use a different word…) While I do have a lot of books on my Kobo, I do still have a lot of physical books. And like many people, there are certain types of books that I want in a physical copy. Types of books that happen to be on the more expensive side, or even simply out of print now. Going secondhand can be the answer, though! Today I’m going to be sharing my tips on how to find the secondhand books you want, and to make the most of your book budget.
As you might expect, I tend to be on the lookout for physical copies of history books, including royal histories and biographies. I also like having style and fashion history books in a physical format, as well. Many of the history books that I’m looking for are out of print, as the less popular books only seem to have publishing runs of a few years. The fashion history books tend to be slightly easier to find, though they can be quite expensive (because they can be photo-heavy). After a while at it, I’ve figured out a pretty good system for sourcing the secondhand books that I want, with the budget that I have. So, how do you find the secondhand books you want?
If You Are Looking for Books in General
These are my recommendations for when you are simply looking for books in a specific subject matter or topic. I’ve found some of my favourite books this way, so I wouldn’t discount looking without a particular book in mind.
Secondhand Book Stores
I don’t think that a secondhand bookstore is a mind-blowing tip for anyone, but it had to be mentioned. Unless it is a specialist bookstore, I find that this is the best place to look for more popular books. If you like picking up recent fiction books, you will probably have the most luck. I do always check the history sections- you can typically find the Erik Larson type history books and QEII biographies that have sold many copies (and been given as many gifts). If you do know of a specialist or niche secondhand store, I would skip general stores and only go there.
Charity Book Sales
I am quite grateful that twice a year the local children’s hospital has a massive charity book sale. It takes up most of the walking space in one of our malls, and for three days in the spring and autumn, it is a book lover’s dream. If you know of a regular sale like this and want a particular genre, I would recommend going to the sale as soon as it starts. I find that history and biography sections get picked over quite quickly (by people like me…). Even more niche areas like arts and culture aren’t huge sections to start with, so you have to try and get them while you can.
I know that in some places, these sales get bombarded by re-salers who quickly scan book after book to take for resale. Ours often have a lot of teachers who are looking to maximise their classroom budgets, and get a little intense/physical about it (blocking people from looking). Remember to be kind and polite, and that at the end of the day they are just books! Also, make sure that you donate the books that you are done reading back to the sale for someone else to enjoy.
Local Re-Sale Groups
If you type “royal books” into Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji for my city, you can find several people selling lots of royal biographies and souvenir books. This is the most time intensive method, as you have to look through a lot of pictures, or hope that the seller will give you a list of the books included. I personally haven’t bought any lots, because I didn’t want to take on twelve new books for only one or two. However, there are some gems out there if you are willing to look. You also will have more room to negotiate than at a book sale or a book store. (People also seem to post them for very high prices, so negotiation is quite necessary.)
If You Are Looking For a Specific Book
A lot of the time, I am not just looking for books in general, but a specific title. Sometimes it is out of print, sometimes it is too expensive, sometimes it is a shipping/customs issue. In any case, I can’t always find these books by just randomly searching through local bookstores.
Amazon and eBay
I know that people rage against Amazon and eBay (Amazon in particular), but there are a lot of secondhand book re-sellers on those sites as third party sellers. And they tend to be sold for dirt cheap- I’ve been looking for different Historic Royal Palaces books, and I’ve found several for $2-3 CAD, when they were originally $10-20 CAD. The shipping is usually quite affordable, but it is long-term shipping- expect 3-4 weeks. I would highly recommend NOT paying for expedited shipping for these. If you look at the dates, regular shipping for $6.49 will have a date of March 1-21, and $18.99 expedited shipping will have a date of March 1-18. This isn’t a feasible option if you need it by a certain date, but if you are simply looking to acquire the book, it is an affordable way to find them!
Note: I’ve had it happen several times that the book just does not arrive. It’s frustrating because you’ve often waited 5-6 weeks, but the re-sellers on both Amazon and eBay have all refunded my payment no problem. The book is not a guarantee until you have it in your hands.
Social Media
Never discount the power of social media! If you are looking for a particular book, share it on social media to see if anyone knows of somewhere that you can find it. I’ve also seen several cases where someone on social media has it and is willing to sell it to the person who is looking. The worst thing that happens is that you don’t get a response. I’ve also had a few people purchase books for me from their local secondhand shops and then mail them to me. (I paid them by PayPal, but I’ve also seen a swap.) There is a lot of garbage that comes from social media, but harness it for the good of books!
If you are looking for more reading posts, check out my guides on the best ereading and audiobook platforms!
How do you find the secondhand books that you want?
Cheers,
The Historian
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