2nd and Charles

Similar to Half Price Books, this is a store that sells second hand products. Unlike Half Price Books, this place is much more expansive with their products.

Stopped in based on Unilocal reviews and was not disappointed. I purchased a tube powered stereo amp along with some used books and games. Great selection and very well organized. Justin, Bear and the rest of the staff gave me great customer service.

Great variety of EVERYTHING entertainment and great prices!

I’m here for the comics. Where else am i gonna get rare comics for $ 1-​$ 3? Can spend least an hour or more just browsing comics every couple of weeks (they do replenish their comics which is a plus).

This place is really cool. They sell anything from books to vinyl to DVDs and CDs and toys and collectables and some instruments. A lot of stuff is used but they also get new stuff as well. There used stuff though looks like brand new. They also have a comic section. You can also sell your stuff there like video games, books, comics, CD’s, etc. Now they won’t take everything because of condition and/​or how much of it they have in stock. They will offer store credit or cash and of course the store credit will be a lot more. But I’ve found a lot of cool stuff here and its spacious and clean and a nice atmosphere.

What’s going on here? Last 3 visits have been poor excuse for a music shop. Empty vinyl shelves, poor selections– not good. Appears like even the knowledgeable employees have left also.
The vibe feels like a very uncommitted store. Too bad seemed promising and now really less less reason for me to stop in…

I LOVE the fact that they have not only a large selection of books, comics/​graphic novels, movies/​Blu-​Rays, CD, and LPs, but… they also have figures, games and, posters. I mean, when I walk in… I’m there for hours! Plus, the staff there is super cool!

Favorite place to go! Most of the staff is a bunch of radical cats and they actually know what they’re talking about when it comes to music/​books/​comics/​games! They actually help, give great recommendations, and do their job to the max. I love it here, its like my toy store. I recommend this store to any dork/​nerd/​geek/​reader/​writer/​gamer/​movie watcher etc. Forget disc replay and game stop, go here.

I adore this place. It’s huge and they have it all. You need books? They have TONS, and at good prices. You may know this used to be a Borders, and sometimes you can find books that never got sold from Borders’ closing. Their books take up about half the store, and they run quite cheap. I’ve even found a few good ones on the clearance shelves. Pro-​tip, if you’re looking for popular books at good prices, check the high school reading list section, as they have tables of popular books old and new at good prices. I also recommend looking at the classics, as those can run really cheap. They have a table of classic books that go for like $ 2, but they’re quite old ones, like Alice in Wonderland and The Secret Garden. Every time I come here, I just wanna stay for two or three hours and really just take it all in. If books aren’t your thing, they have basically everything else. I enjoy picking up some records here, and their clearance section usually has some nice finds (I’m giving away all of my good secrets here, shame on me!) I wouldn’t really recommend getting their new records here, as those run really, really pricy. They have comics, t-​shirts, all kinds of music, video games, kids stuff and toys, nerdy stuff, knick-knacks…and the list goes on. Just come in for yourself and check this place out. It’s slowly become my personal happy place.

This place has a oat load of everything. Books, games, action figures and the list goes on. You can definitely track down some great finds here. It’s like the TJ Max of books and a game store. I found a few books here that I so happened to come across. They were on Abraham Lincoln and would be perfect for my coffee table. I love coming here to see what new and old school stuff they get. It’s never the same finds so I like the challenge in seeing what I can hunt down.

When I have more time to kill, I’ll be back at 2^nd and Charles.
I stopped in while running errands in the area. I expected only books and more books, but 2^nd and Charles is books, children’s books, vinyl, video games, gift items, and more. The books I picked up were mostly popular titles («Hunger Games,» and «Fault in Our Stars,») and were very inexpensive, all less than $ 6. I thumbed through a business management book ($ 4) and flipped through a large hardcover about the Hilton family ($ 15).
Apparently they buy books as well. I was more impressed with the selection at 2^nd and Charles than that of Half Price books though. 2^nd and Charles feels more like a real bookstore with less of that warehouse feel.
There were a few books on my «wish list,» but I didn’t find any of them. It would be nice to have a computer available to look up titles like Borders used to have.
2^nd and Charles is conducive to a Sunday afternoon book binge when I am not looking for anything in particular.

Fantastic selection. Staff was super friendly, location was real clean. Great prices! We spent over 2hours browsing their vinyl selection and didn’t even realize that much time had passed. We got 10 records and spent just under $ 30. We didn’t get the chance to browse everything else they had to offer, can’t wait to go back!

This is a review of the vinyl record selection only…
The selection of rock and pop here is very good, as is the r and b section. It’s nice they also have dedicated sections for rap, electronic, and hip hop. The classical and especially the jazz and blues sections leave a lot to be desired though, so this is not a first stop destination for those.
Prices and quality of used stuff is about comparable to the area Half Price Books locations. Depending on what your looking for this will mean either fair or slightly pricey for what it is given condition (in this respect this makes them more like the HPB in Naperville rather than the one in Bloomingdale). New vinyl is carried but it is overpriced here. You will get a better deal on the new stuff at places like Reckless or Oak Park Records. HPB if they have it will be cheaper too.
The combination of the selection of vinyl books and DVDs (used and new) as well as CDs (mostly used) makes them a strong competitor with area stores like Reckless and HPB, so even with some of the pricing issues, overall, I give them a healthy 4. (See my reviews of other area record stores for comparison/​contrast of other places with this store.)

Shitty customer service. I will never go back to this story. I bought a tv series and it was missing one of the discs and they can’t do anything to return or exchange it.

I buy most of my books and music from used book stores. I was excited to see this new store in the Westridge Court plaza. They sell new and used books, dvd’s, music and more. The store is clean and organized unlike some other used book stores I’ve been to. They have a good selection and the prices are typical of this type of store.

Serious vinyl collectors caveat emptor… despite the claim of the store staff and manager, this is NOT a «Record Store Day» participant! I was told it was… even called the day before Record Store Day — speaking to a manager — to confirm. He said their FedEx shipment had arrived but they had no idea what was in it. So, I chose to go there instead of other «known» Record Store Day shops in the Chicago area. WHAT A WASTE! THEY HAD NONE of the Record Store Day releases. NOT ONE! They are NOT an RSD participant. Maybe they wanna be. I felt I was lied to, and I’m pretty peeved about it. Sure, the friendly teenaged staff attempted to get me to buy some of their vinyl off the rack. I felt I was «bait & switched.» I had to jump in my car and drive 30 miles away to another RSD shop, getting there late, and had to wait in line for 90 minutes before finding out that all of the limited edition RSD releases were already snatched by those who’d arrived there earlier. I’m pretty pissed at 2^nd & Charles for the bullcrap they fed me. Had they told me the truth, I’d gone elsewhere and probably got what I wanted.
In regards to their regular stock of vinyl, they do carry some. And, they have some new pressings. But, when gas is $ 4 a gallon, I’m better off buying mail order because postage is cheaper than gas, travel time, etc. Most of their used records are finger-​fucked to hell (bent and creased corners, writing, fingerprints, etc) — in a condition that I would never bother with. I did score a copy of The Guess Who «Road Food» from ’75 that was still sealed (with original hype sticker affixed). That was a nice find… but the used/​open reissue of The Zombies «Odessy & Oracle» required me to shell out twenty buck, when I could’ve scored a still-​sealed copy on the internet for a few dollars more. So, their prices aren’t great. But, I’m a seasoned vinyl collector; not a college student trying to be old school phony. I was buying vinyl when these 2^nd & Charles employees were still semen.
They do have a large selection of used video games. But, it wasn’t cool to buy a few only to find, when I got home, that one of the game carts was missing (I’d bought an empty case). Required me to drive all the way back… to find they didn’t have the same title in stock. Received a refund but spent another ten bucks in gas for a ten dollar used video game is a shitty experience.

i love you 2^nd and Charles, i wish i lived closer.
I love your huge vinyl selection even though i don’t own a vinyl player…
I love your huge selection (and great organization) of your dvds
I love your huge selection of games and books
basically, i love you and i wish i had unlimited amounts of money to spend there
also i like that you can sell your used books and get store credit =)

We were on our way to donate at Saver’s when we saw this new store to our right. Something about it caught our eye, so we took a hard right and went to explore. So glad we did! 2^nd and Charles is an awesome spot for book lovers, video game lovers, deal lovers, and anyone that is feeling a bit nostalgic.
From Nintendo to Sega games, vinyl records to Blu-​Rays and kids toys to a plethora of books, this is a mix of Half-​Priced Books meets Game Stop meets Barnes & Noble. It’s like a consignment nostalgic boutique. So much fun and great staff, too!

I found out about this place from a mailer and had to check it out. Its large selection of merchandise (books, music, video games, toys and gifty items) has an appeal to a broad range of shoppers. They do buy from customers, like Half Price Books (further south on 59), and like HPB their book stock is in quite good condition (though there are often many multiple copies of a given title, leading me to believe that they also get overstock from elsewhere).
The shelves are tidy, but the organization is confusing: signs are very hard to read (they stick out like tabs from the shelves — think the tabs on file folders — and the skinny white letters on bright orange background was nearly impossible to read with my terrible vision from much of a distance. From the ceilings large signs with letters and numbers were suspended in each aisle; if this code was supposed to mean something to me, it wasn’t obvious.
Prices were reasonable, for books as well as sideline items; I found a great selection of very lovely Christmas cards for $ 3 a box. Lots of geeky gifty items near the video games for the gamer in your life.
Definitely a worthwhile addition to the shopping experiences along 59. In a time when bookstores are all shuttering, it’s nice to have a new — and cool — one to check out. :)

I was killing some time before a movie and happened upon this new store that just opened in the shopping center adjacent to the theater. I was not expecting the awesomeness that this store has when I stopped in to kill a few minutes.
This store has music, video games, movies and books — mostly used but a great selection and in great condition. They have everything organized so nicely. There are also lots of other things sprinkled throughout the store such as: kids toys, board games, guitars, t-​shirts, etc. Lots of things are used and at a great discount. Some things are new — but everything is unique and awesome.
The store is pretty huge and they have a huge selection. You could easily spend hours here so I will need to come back when I have more time. The store also buys your used stuff — but I didn’t find out the details of that. Also a plus was that all the salespeople were super friendly and eager to help you find what you were looking for. Very thrilled about this place.