We take in used books for trade credit or cash, depending on the condition of the book and if we need it. Keep in mind you can take books to both Bob’s Beach Books and Robert’s Bookshop, we need different books at each store and each store buys their own inventory so if one store doesn’t need them the other might. How does it work? People bring in books, we go through them to see what we need. More specifics for this location (Robert’s has their own policies):
What books do you buy?
We’re looking for what people are asking for, we’re buying what people want to buy from us. We tend to mostly need paperback fiction and regional topics, but we’ll take a look at anything as long as they’re in very good condition; we generally don’t take ex-library books or textbooks and never take Readers Digest condensed books or magazines. No books with missing pages, no water damage, no extensive underling or highlighting, no odors.
What do you pay for books?
The basic (not hard and fast) guideline for current books in print is: we sell most used current paperbacks for half of what they are new, you get half of that in credit or a little less in cash. Once hardcovers come out in paperback we don’t have many people wanting them in hardcover. When we do take these we usually price them like paperbacks or a bit less. It can vary based on condition and other factors, but generally speaking to figure what we might pay for a current paperback book take the cover price and divide by 4 for credit and 5 for cash. Older books are figured differently, based on current value rather than cover price.
What hours/days to you buy?
We usually buy everyday we’re open (Tues-Sat), though there are exceptions when a staff member needs to change their schedule so please call ahead if you’re making a special trip just to sell or trade books. We look at books until about a half hour before we close so we have time to process them. There are exceptions; we rarely buy on event days, for example, or busy holiday weekends (I’m looking at you Small Business Saturday, Indie Bookstore Day, as well as the day before both days because we will be prepping for them). Please call ahead if you plan to bring a large quantity so we can make sure to have space available to go through them. We always encourage you to call 541-994-4467 to make sure the buyer is in if you’re planning to make a special trip just to sell or trade.
Can I drop off books to trade/sell and pick the leftovers up another day?
Unfortunately no, we simply don’t have room to store books after we’ve gone through them. This is also for your protection so they don’t get lost in the shuffle. It usually doesn’t take long to go through the books as the buyer is very knowledgeable about what we need. If you’d like to run quick errands in the neighborhood while we go through your books that’s fine, but any books still left when we close will be donated.
How does store credit work?
Our discount offered on special orders and clearance items is not applicable with payment by store credit. Trade credit can be used towards new and used books as well as gift items. Trade credit is no longer transferable between stores. Credit accumulated at this store can be used at this store. (Our policy was updated in 2019 because the stores don’t share a bank account and we had too many people accumulating credit at the other store to use here on high-end new items.)