Half Price Books

Fantastic store that I barely discovered a year ago after growing up in the valley! They have a great book selection and I occasionally get my textbooks from here too. I have a ton of nieces and nephews, so I enjoy going to the kids section often to buy them educational gifts! I love the notecards and they occasionally have some games for sell here. They always have different items there, which is great for gift giving.
They buy books, DVDs, games, and other electronics. You do have to wait at the store while they sort through your stuff, but the staff is fairly quick. If you get on their email list they will send you some coupons. Great store, friendly employees, and fantastic selection of books and other goodies!

This is a solid used bookstore. I’ve been to amazing used bookstores, where they seem to have every book that you could ever ask for, and I’ve been to horrible used bookstores where the only books you can find are ones that were obviously picked up in bulk from someone’s estate sale. Half Price Books has a pretty strong selection. I’ve come several times, and although they don’t always have the book I’m looking for (ex: they were missing Red Mars a few weeks back, but they had the sequels), they always seem to have at least a few books on my Goodreads list. If they don’t have a specific book, they’re willing to help you look up the nearby competing bookstores and figure out if any of them have it — that’s a class act.
Overall, this is my go-​to used bookstore for when I need to grab a few fantasy and sci-​fi novels for an upcoming vacation.

Half price is a blast if you go in with an open mind and the willingness to leave with nothing or five books. Can’t say no to old obscure books in a subject of interest for only like $ 2.50

I live all the way out in the west valley and I fequent this place. I get out to half price at least once a month. As a bookworm everytime I visit this place I find something to read. Love their clearance section. Love their cheap paperbacks and also the condition of the books for being used. Staff is super nice especially the guy with the glasses, sorry I dont know his name. Best book store in Phoenix. If your a fan of reading and don’t want to spend a fortune at big business bookstores like B&N, this is the place.

This place is great especially if you need classics for literature classes or are looking for older popular books that are super cheap. Or if you hate paying for shipping on Amazon. It’s a fun place to explore and see what you find! The staff is always friendly and happy. They always help me if I can’t find something and are happy to!

I love the selection they have here. It is my favorite half price books loaction in the valley. You can find things here that you would never expect and I love that when looking for new book to read.
The only issue I have had here (and it is not really the locations fault) is that sometimes there are some truly strange people shopping here too. Which wouldnt be an issue is they left others alone. But, I have been followed around by people who would not stop talking 3 times. Not talking about books either but things like the Vietnam war, jury duty, and their sobriety, random things for the situation. Not threatening just not something easy to deal with when book shopping. Again not really the locations fault but I have had this issue.
Basically, I really enjoy this place just don’t be too friendly with people shopping here with you. It is worth it to find an inexpensive unexpected book!

I have never been into one of these stores that had so many customers! Found everything I wanted except a place to sit! Prices are ok and I did sell 2 of my hardback books. Obviously you won’t make a ton of money selling your used books, but the pocket change helped. All set for a summer of reading!

DO NOT SELL YOUR BOOKS HERE!
I like this bookstore. It is close to where I live and work, it is a bookstore (many have gone the way of the dodo bird), it is clean and not smelly considering their books are used, and the staff and the customers are mostly normal or at least don’t let their freak flag fly while in the store.
I don’t frequent this store too much because most of my books nowadays are purchased via Kindle to reduce clutter. Nevertheless, this place is a nice way to waste your time on a lazy afternoon.
All that said, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT SELL your books and other materials here. I took a box of books there today and all I got was $ 7. One of the books was a new version (pages barely turned) of a book that they had very used versions of for $ 8. One of the books was a picture book bought from them for $ 16. I didn’t have any expectation of the value they would give as I usually just give my books away to Goodwill or to people, which is what I should have done, and what you should do if you should find yourself with books you no longer want. It took me 5 minutes to get there, 5 minutes to turn in the books and show I.D., 30 minute wait for the valuation of the books, 5 minutes to get cash, and 5 minutes to get back home. That is 45 minutes for $ 7. If I had given the books to Goodwill, I could have been done in 10 minutes and would have felt better knowing that some bargain hunting person would find my books and get them for $ 2 or less. Also, they said that they couldn’t take two of the books, one of which was from them, so I’m going to have to go to Goodwill anyway.
DO NOT SELL YOUR BOOKS HERE!
The kicker is they tell people that they need to evaluate the books (the condition, the availability, popularity, yada yada), where what they really need to say is that they will give you between 25 cents to 75 cents for your book. I’m not saying that their practice is crooked. I’m just saying it felt like a royal screw.
So come here to browse and occasionally buy, but DON’T SELL.

Great prices and selection of all sorts of books and staff stays out of your way with no up selling. It’s the perfect small chain bookstore without hipster attitudes– or even worse tattoos– or pushy corporate fake smiles and «find everything you were looking for? Care to join our email list? No? Why the hell not?».

I was in here again a few weeks ago, and once again the staff was lovely. Something else that hasn’t changed? The religion section :/​It actually seemed worse. A lot of paranormal books stuffed in with «alternative» (read: not Christian) religious material. It was, again, rather insulting.

What I love about Half Price Books (having just stopped by Changing Hands down the street) is that it doesn’t feign to be modern, quirky, or fancy. It’s, in my opinion, an old school, used bookstore for people who simply love books. The smell of books, the wooden bookshelves, tons and tons of books, a humble, cosy atmosphere, a clearance section for books under $ 3. It was glorious, and everything I was looking for. Unfortunately, I was in a rush and only had 15 minutes to spend here, but I’ll definitely be back.

This is the Hal Price Books store closest to where I live, so I go there quite frequently due to its convenient location. There are some things about this store that are good, some that are bad, and one that is downright ugly.
The Good: They have a good selection of books and great prices on remainder books. The store is well-​organized and clean, including the restrooms.
The Bad: They only off cash for your items and not much at that. If you are not looking for cash, you are much better off trying Zia and Bookmans first.
The Ugly: The vinyl record section is awful, and almost unbelievably, it is worse than it was a year ago. They recently instituted a foolish policy of taping certain used records shut in plastic bags. I was told by an employee that this was due to customers «turning $ 50 records into $ 5 records.» This is pure bunk! Some of the records they have taped shut are under $ 10! When I asked to see one of the records outside of the bag, the employee was unable to figure out how to remove it. Another employee had to intervene and managed to get the tape stuck on the jacket, damaging it. I have been to over 30 different Half Price Books stores across the southwestern United States, and this store has the dubious distinction of having the worst managed vinyl section of any of them.

As a used record store: Not good. Another place that prices used records to sit rather than sell. Basically any currently popular classic artist (Bowie, Jimi, Beatles, Zep, etc.) will be priced at maximum market value. Why do this? They may catch the random shopper with a coupon who doesn’t know records, but collectors (mostly disheveled old men) will pass. Maybe that’s the plan? To keep these unsavory indiduals away? Hmmmm.
Like Bookman’s, I’m sure the vinyl sales only count for a tiny percentage of overall sales, so in their defense I’m sure they don’t put a lot of effort into it.
But at these prices, they are guaranteed to keep vinyl sales to a minimum.
2 stars for a friendly staff and a nice used book selection, but I will probably not return anytime soon.

I took a stroll through the neighborhood during my lunch break yesterday. I live not to far from this place and pass it just about every day. finally gave it a shot! I LOVE IT! I scored Coltrane’s «My Favorite Things» album for 10 bucks and The Autobiography of Malcolm X for $ 3 … which has been sitting in my Amazon cart for a the price of $ 7 for about 2 months now). My procrastination scored me big time :)
I still like really, really cheap books so I purchase a lot of my books from the Goodwill (books are usually have price there on Saturdays as well. FYI) so I know I’d mainly come here to check out the half prices albums

One of my favorite places to go for book hunting! Not only is the stuff friendly and always helpful but I always find gems here! The clearance section is the bomb and always filled with new stuff. So engines within days I’ll go and find completely new things on sale for only $ 2-​$ 3. They have an wide selection in all genres. I love the DVD selection. So many reasons I love it here. Sign up with your email and you’ll get coupons on top of an already great deal for books, etc. Can’t find something? Just ask the staff! I’m here several times a week getting lost amongst my passion for books.

I am not a bookworm and reading is not my cup of tea but I am a frequent shopper at this location to pick up books for friends and family. I am very impressed with the selection of books they have to offer. The store is organized neatly with a wide variety of offerings in each subject, category or readers taste. There is a large children’s section for the kiddo’s.
You need video games. They got some. Yes, besides books they have some entertainment items.
Teachers need to pick up some good reads for the class? They offer a discount to educators with proof of teaching that will save you 10% off your purchase. Be sure to inquire at the checkout. The staff is always friendly and helpful at this location which makes the shopping experience rewarding.
Half price is defiantly well suited for the book store. There prices are super reasonable for the quality of items they sell at the store.

Walking in, it reminded me of Barnes but with Border prices. They have a huge selection of Paranormal Romance (yes I read those, bite me!) and Mystery Thriller.
The name basically says it, you get half off the listed U.S. Price. If you didn’t, there are little stickers on every SINGLE shelf that tells you this.
They have several other selections, religion: westerns:crafts:philosophy: so on and so forth. They also have a Clearance corner. I just took a quick peek but they had DVDs in there for $ 1.00, not bad.
They had little do dads like Barnes, finger puppets, mustache coffee cups… etc…
It was clean and fairly ordered. like really good alphabitezed.
BUT I still head over to Books first. Than make my way here if I can’t find a used book I’m looking for.
Oh! I came across a new book 20% off… atleast thats what the sticker is — its really good! Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher…$ 8.79 but standing there and reading those two random pages, I had to «splurge». LoL Yea… I dislike buying books over 5 bucks.

Do you like to read? I don’t. But I love books. Kinda weird, right?
I read a lot actually, but I’m not very good at it. I’m a slooooow reader, and it takes me a lot of time to get through reading material. I tend to get bored or my mind starts drifting, and I begin thinking of other random things. It can be a bit frustrating when I keep getting side tracked, and have to read the same page 35 times.
So that said, it’s not reading that I like, it’s knowledge, and thus, I love book stores. The smell, the vast amounts of information they hold, the general quiet environment.
When I saw Half Priced Books Records and Magazines I felt compelled to stop in and check it out. It’s a big store with many things to offer.
I’m moving to Phoenix soon so I stocked up on a bunch of AZ, Southwest US and Phoenix travel books. Could I get most of that info on the internet for free? Yeah probably, but I tend to collect books even if I never read them. I think it may be a sickness…
I didn’t wander the store long since I pretty much knew what I was looking for, but from what I did see, they have a good variety of books. I also glimpsed a Culture Club vinyl record for $ 3.99. I don’t even own a record player. However, having a story where I tell people that I own a Culture Club LP seemed to have great allure. I somehow resisted the urge to buy it. Perhaps another day.
I enjoyed my stint at HPBR&M and will certainly go back. If I could make one recommendation it would be this; do some research on the prices of the books you’re buying. Some of the books I found were a little older and probably a bit outdated so I passed on them. Although, the prices may be half off the publishers recommended price, you may actually get a better deal online for some books.
I don’t like choosing online companies over a brick and mortar store for many reasons, but when I was shopping, that thought crossed my mind a few times and so I feel the need to pass it on.
All in all though, this place is definitely worth visiting.

What a fantastic place for cheap books, hence the name Half Price Books. Although I do wish that the authors would get a small cut of the resale it still serves it’s purpose very well. This place was a great thing during my time in Phoenix.
The Pros:
1. Easy to find off of Camelback Road, just before the Wendy’s. Plenty of parking but it is definitely a busy place so you may have to take a space in the way back.
2. Very organized store based upon genre. Easy to find items but it will take some time to look through their stock. They even have a video game section with some used classics. I also found a section with DVDs and Blu-​Rays. There are also some rare items at the store under lock and key.
3. Very friendly staff if you have questions. They were always at work and seemed pretty quick with customers that were bringing in books to trade in for cash or store credit. They have free wi-​fi for your smartphone if you need to look something up.
4. You’ll have to take the time to look through the stacks to find a book you might want. Remember it’s a used book store so it all depends on what people bring in for resale or what they get from surplus. I got luck and found a number of hardcover books that I or my wife wanted.
5. The prices are exactly as they state, half price or better unless it’s a rare copy of a book, or signed by an author. I was definitely pleased with what I saw in the store.
The Cons:
1. Not really many cons but I did hear people gripe about the store’s offers on book trade-​ins/​sales. They are a business and need to make money so it’s a tough call. I’m selective with my books so I most likely wouldn’t trade any in.
2. Right turn only as you leave due to Camelback being a very busy road. Beware of drivers.

Half Price is a decent bookstore. They do not pay well for books or CDs, but they do have a great clearance selection to make up for it.
The store is on the smaller side, but it is well organized and the employees are very friendly and helpful. I wish they had more places to sit and read, but at least you can bring in dogs to help you find stuff.