Find a Quality
Used Paperback Book

Need some help figuring out where to get a great used paperback book for your paperback book club? I can help. 

Name a title, any title. There are quite literally hundreds of copies of most books in a discount paperback book bin somewhere. You just have to know where to look, and not be afraid to strike out once or twice before you get the hang of used book searching.

Used Book Stores

There are plenty of them, but the good ones are hard to find. Just a few key points will help you decide if a store is worth your time. Here is what you are looking for in a good quality used paperback book store: 

  • Check the paperback book covers. A good store will carry books that have in-tact covers. You may find a ragged copy here or there, but the majority of paperback book covers you find should still be in fair condition. Run screaming from any store that rips the paperback book covers off their books. 

  • More than just a romance paperback book collection. Yes, we know that a romance paperback book is probably the easiest to find, but a good store will have way more than just this genre.

  • “Buy, Sell, or Trade” is the motto. Quality used book stores offer all three services and stand by their motto.

  • Prices less than half the original cost of the book. A used paperback book should never cost more than half it's original price, and a good used book store will offer them for NO MORE than $5. Yep, you heard it here first. If it's more than five bucks, keep shopping.

I happen to live near one of the best Used Book Stores around but they are also online. Check out Wonder Book and Video for a great example of a Quality Used Book Store.

The Library

So the library is not just for checking out books. Most libraries, you'll have to contact your local one, have a couple of “hidden gem” events for getting a good discount paperback book. 

  • A shelf in the library designated for finding and buying a used and cheap paperback book. People donate them to the library, you can buy them for usually less than $2. No kidding. 

  • Book Sale. This is the absolute best gem if you can find one. For example, in Jacksonville, FL the local library holds what they call “Friends of the Library Book Sale” twice a year. They collect donations all year long, and then open a special book room for the weekend full of tables and boxes of many a great discount paperback book. In April last year I spent $50 US, and came home with 17 books. A good deal? You tell me!

Other Places to find a Cheap Used Paperback Book

Need some other, very random but valuable, ideas for finding a great discount paperback book for your paperback book swap? 

  • The Bank. Some local branches will have a “donate and take one” box by the door full of paperback books. 

  • Yard Sales. I found a mint condition copy of The Lovely Bones about a year after it came out for 50 cents! Definitely the cheapest way to buy, but the condition can be sketchy. 

  • Goodwill. They take everything else, why not books? And the money you pay goes to a worthy cause. 

  • Free Little Libraries.  This is a new phenomenon where neighborhoods build a tiny house on a pole that's weatherproof, and the deal is 'take a book, drop off a book.'  It costs nothing and you can often find new titles as your neighbors finish with them!

  • Golf Course Clubhouses. Much like the bank, plenty of clubhouses will keep a box where you can drop off your old paperback book.

Hope this helps you on your quest to find a cheap used paperback book for your paperback book club!

Return to Used Paperback Club main page, or continue your genre club investigation by clicking on book themes below!

Return to Book Themes main page.



For Book Clubs

Some books are meant to be discussed in detail.  Here are some we recommend: 

the women
remarkably
black candle women
metropolis