Reader’s Guide

I’ve browsed this bookstore for 15 years. The current location is laid out in a rational way and shopping by subject or genre is simplified. I perceive the strong suit is in classic fiction. If you want a novel by Anthony Trollope, say, this is the first bookstore I would refer you to. This trait is so distinctive I believe the owners practice considerable discrimination about what they shelve. Also very strong in local history, more than anyone else in the mid-​valley.
I don’t do trading. Prices seem eminently fair. Behavior of staff can be unpredictable and in that department I would grade rather low. The card selection is excellent, perhaps the best in Salem for stock not found elsewhere in town, and the selection is refreshed often. Not cheap, but nice and unique.
An open floorplan, very practical for handicapped people, including the toilet. This is a part of town with a great many homeless people and perhaps that explains why the toilet is locked and requires requesting a clerk for access.

I have been shopping here for years. They have moved three times and I keep following them anywhere they go. Great customer service and very nice people. They give you a fair trade in value.

Fantastic selection of books. Didn’t try trading but their trade policy seems legit. Just spent hours there. Love the place!!!

When coming to sell books, you’d think they’d be flexible on cash or trade for a new customer. They were not. The employee took 60 seconds or less to look through my books for cash and said there was nothing they could take, so when I said if be willing to do trade instead, she said it’s very complicated why they cannot go through the books again for trade. It doesn’t compute for me. I will not shop here.
Also, they practically bit a man’s head off for trying to look for a restroom. When he asked about using one, the employee made it seem like getting into Fort Knox.
Just saying.