Half Price Books

The downward spiral continues… what was not long ago a really great place to buy used books, cd’s and vinyl, is now a shadow of its former self. The prices are 300 – 400 percent higher than even just a year ago, and the money they pay for used items is quite honestly… insulting. Five to ten cents on the dollar, and I’ve researched this thoroughly over the past two years of doing business here. You simply cannot keep mistreating your customer base like this, and expect return business. They are very much steeped in the «take it, or leave it» mindset of many big box retail operations. They have seen the last of my patronage, and hopefully… yours as well.

Inspiring atmosphere to spend an hour in. And if you need a hard-​to-​find book fast, it’s worth giving them a call.

I loved this place! Just went to it for the first time, and received a fair payback (in cash, not store credit) for the number of books I brought in. I only waited about 15 minutes while they sorted my books, and I spent that time looking though their large selection of books!
I honestly feel that they had a good selection. I found a few newer books, and loved their collector’s section. I would definitely go back!

Twenty dollars got me what felt like over hundred pounds of books. Steeply discounted books. Wide selection. Great way to spend a couple hours.

Stopped in for the first time. I had several new releases for books to sell. One of the book’s was on there new release shelf, supposedly discounted. I paid $ 18 for the book new and they were selling it for $ 20. Total rip off. You can buy cheaper and new at Walmart.

«Half price» but totally 100% worth it! I could drive down the street to any other bookstore/​retailer and find the same thing but at «full price». I ask myself… WHY? – when shopping at Half Price Book will save you a few bucks here & there, enough for a fancy latte or small treat.
What I really like about Half Price Books is that although they carry many of the latest and greatest, they also carry some obscure items too. I bought a birthday gift here for a friend who loves Dr. Who, and I found a small section of really unique items. For another, I found some nice CDs of classical music, and although they were «used», it didn’t matter because the CDs were in perfect condition! And finally, I have been in to purchase toys and puzzles and cards and even a dictionary.
The employees are extremely helpful. Their knowledge is amazing! Every single one of the employees who have helped me over the years has been helpful and tuned-​in to the merchandise. It’s so wonderful to shop at a place where the employees really care about the business!
The return policy has been pain-​free. No hassle when I returned a used game set that was missing a couple of pieces, and no problem when I returned a CD because we didn’t like it.
As a seller, I have sold boatloads of items, mostly books and DVDs. Truthfully, you don’t make much on these, but it’s only fair as they do need to make a profit.
I’m looking forward to perusing the aisles for more gems! Half Price Books, I’m so glad that you are in my neighborhood!

My children love this place. My pocketbook also love this place. The establishment is not as big as a very popular bookstore chain but it compensates for the lack of size by its quirky charm. The staff is very helpful and it is easy to find whatever book you are currently looking for. You can also «sell» them your gently used books. I have never done it personally BUT that might be a checklist for this summer’s getting rid of clutter goal.

Lots of good selections, but I couldn’t find a manga or comic book section. It was a little disappointing because they had lots of books I liked for good prices but they didn’t have that particular selection.

Sell back process was quick, easy, and felt like it was decent compensation for unloading all my old classics on them!

Really a neat place to visit and every once and awhile I find a treasure. Thank goodness for places like this to take us away from the electronic age and take us back to thumbing through music, turning the page of a book, and finding out of print memories of earlier days.

This place is great. they carry everything from antique books, to out-​of-​print games, to mass-​market paperbacks. Usually the books are pretty inexpensive, but prices vary widely. I have never sold any books to them, so I can’t say how that goes.

I love these stores. Especially for kids books. The selection here is great. It’s not just about books, either. The music, the DVDs… and I found an amazing pair of headphones here for $ 10. And when in doubt, a gift card for my book lovers will do nicely!

i brought my little sister here to buy books for her summer reading (aka books you’re required to own so you can annotate but you will probably never read ever again). I was pleasantly surprised at the selection at this location and the customer service. I gave an employee the title of a book I was looking for and he walked me straight to it. Amazing.
Their prices vary depending on the book, the edition, whether it’s been written in, etc. Books are mostly organized by genre, then alphabetically by author. There’s also a clearance section where most items are $ 3. In addition to books, you can find vinyls, DVDs, VHS, CDs, notebooks, typical book store items– I was inexplicably drawn to their collection of vintage books. We unintentionally spent two hours here and were late to dinner. Oops.
As we were leaving, my sister noticed that one of her books had a lot of intelligent annotations in the margins and how it potentially means that she has one fewer book to read this summer. So, I suppose if you had too much fun over the summer and find yourself in a time crunch, that could be an option? Not that I’m advocating it, of course…

If you are looking to sell otems back, you’re better off just donating them. There is no set sell back price and it usually ends up being $ 0.25/item. NOT WORTH THE GAS $$

Found the HPB here in naperville, a bit bigger than the one in palatine, a lot more dvd’s and movies and video games!
Ryan got an N64 game here for 4 bucks!
Biggest pet peeve: mean (ish) customers. The lady ahead of us came in here and somewhat rudely explained that the DVD discs were mismatched, she kept going on and the employee was waiting for her to finish so he could kindly tell her that they would give her the correct discs.
Good customer service and next time, check the DVD’s before you walk out (just in case)

I lugged in 2 milk crates full of CDs. 25 minutes later, I walked out with $ 40 cash. I didn’t count how many CDs were in the crates, but $ 40 was better than dusty copies of the Vengaboys, Nickelback, and NSync collecting dust in my basement.
The employees here are friendly, mostly guys in their early/​mid-​20s. They thoroughly explained their selling criteria to me: Must be in good condition, what they pay you is based on demand, and they take everything. That’s right, unlike Disc Replay, they took everything in the 2 crates, including the previous titles as well as Beatles «Revolver» and a Chumbawamba «Tubthumping» single.
The one drawback is that you have to stay in the store while they look through your items. I’m not completely positive, but my guess is so that you don’t accuse them of stealing your junk later on, and so that you spend time browsing and re-​investing whatever money they give you. So, I browsed, but vowed not to touch anything since I wanted cold, hard, cash.
The worst part is, there’s a clearance section. That’s supposed to be a good thing, but this aisle is very narrow and just wide enough for one person to browse. There were 2 employees shelving books, and 1 customer browsing. Each time I passed, someone was occupying the space. I never got around to browsing the clearance.
Books are reasonably priced compared to Barnes & Noble list prices. Most of the cookbooks were between $ 10 – 13, and these were thick, hardcover, fancy pants cookbooks. I picked up a copy of «Little Miss Giggles,» I love Roger Hargreaves childrens books, and these were $ 2/​each. From fiction, non-​fiction, memoirs, history, animals, sports, sci-​fi, it’s all here. Even a copy of a book about the history of farts.
When I went back to the counter to collect my loot, the guy said, «you’ve got some good ones here!» I guess my horrible box set of club mixes, solo Spice Girl projects, and Vitamin C, he was taken back to his high school days.
As S.M.‘s review pointed out, you can’t expect a lot of money for whatever you’re selling. But the $ 40 was worth more to me than something I wasn’t going to use. If you’ve ever sold at Plato’s Closet or Disc Replay, you’ve already experienced the sting you feel when offered less than expected — so go in with LOW expectations when selling!

I always find cool things here I never expected to find. Don’t go for something specific (or just call ahead to check) because they’re stock is always rotating and there’s no guarantee. I go with a few things in mind and usually get about ¾ of it and then come home with a bunch of other cool things I didn’t even know were out. If anything, it’s a lot better than paying full price for a book.
And no you’re not going to get a lot for your buy back. I don’t know what people mean by «fair market value» for used books, there isn’t one unless it’s a current best seller or vintage book. If you’re actually in the reselling market for books, you do so on Ebay or Amazon. Books can’t be resold for profit; if you’re looking to make money you’re better off with the tax write off by donating them.

Saw the sign their grand opening weekend and stopped in, thrilled that we now have a Half Price Books. Found a couple of herb books I’ve been looking for for a while, enjoyed the heck out of the sale section in the back; appreciated the fact that the cookbook section is big enough that there’s a vegetarian section.
It’s a pretty standard HPB; good-​sized. It’s like shopping at a Borders or a Barnes and Noble except the books /​music are used so there’s a lot more variety. No comparison with places such as «Bargain Books» that are all remaindered items, but this isn’t your Mom and Pop bookstore with a friendly proprietor, either. Don’t come here looking for amazing bargains (though you’ll find a few in the back) but do plan to enjoy the hunt. (For example, in addition to my herb books, I found a The New Avengers paperback book, based on the 1970s TV show with Patrick Macnee and Joanna Lumlee, and a bargain book giving a survey of silent film, with DVD — both of these for less than $ 2 each. Yup, they got variety.)
Not sure why people are complaining so much about resale prices; most used bookstores, including independents, won’t give you jack for what you’re selling. And I’ve never had any more trouble at a HPB finding what I was looking for than at a regular chain bookstore, and when I couldn’t find some of what I wanted, the staff was helpful.
Sells used magazines too.

Pros: Lots of books, vinyl records, etc, many interesting and some even reasonable.
Cons: Chain store with VERY high profit margins and misleading pricing.
The name of the store is actually false advertising. Most books are not half priced.
Example: 30 year old best selling sci fi title that originally sold for 4.95 in 1984. Now it’s marked at 3.95, yellow pages and all!!!
FYI, if the book has no bar-​coded price on it, they will indeed charge you half the original SRP, so yes, I just pulled off the sticker. Sorry HPB, but I just wanted to pay half price like your store says! $ 2.50 for a yellowed 30 year old paperback is plenty given that you paid somebody else around 10 cents for it.
Oh and no, don’t take books there to sell.
I brought in a huge box of mint or totally unused titles and received around $ 15 for more than 30 books!!! I went back to see how they would be priced and sure enough, they’re all now at least half of SRP. One little box set of Narnia books alone is now $ 25, so these guys are cleaning up but good. I don’t mind people making money on used books, but come on already, you didn’t even take my best titles. Go to places like Myopic in the city if you really wany to shop for cool treasures.
Worst of all, they only make you an offer on the whole lot you’re selling, and reject what they don’t want. They politely refuse to tell you what any one book is worth (unless you only bring in one). «Oh just leave them and we’ll recycle them for you.» Yeah, right. I brought the rejects to Goodwill as they were mostly kids books that someone willl love to buy for way less than half price.
In the future I will bring ALL my books to Goodwill as the tax write off is worth more than the money you’ll get at HPB and the prices Goodwill charges are far less than half price. Everybody wins and I will feel better too!
Avoid this place like the plague.

HPB is based in Dallas, where I used to live, so after shopping at the warehouse-​sized flagship store the little neighborhood shops are kind of a let-​down.
BUT! I am still glad to have this store!
Why?
For one thing, I’ve missed having a convenient location. One nice thing about HPB is that you can sell stuff (books, music, dvds) and they will give you money OR credit. You get more if you take credit, so if you’re buying something anyway that may be the way to go. But don’t expect to get a fortune back for that stack of assorted old hardcovers and used DVDs, even if they are in good shape. Be glad that’s an option at all; most places that I know of ONLY offer credit.
Speaking of things being in good shape, I generally saw the stock to be in good condition. They seemed to be picky at this location, which isn’t always true. Maybe it’s because the place is new. HPB doesn’t just rely on purchased items to fill the shelves; they also get overstock so there are «new old» books too.
As it was, the shelves were JAMMED, maybe a little too much so. Books need a little space to breathe. And then when someone tries to pull one out, decides they don’t want it and forces it back into the space, THAT’s when you get the damage.
As it is, the cost you’re paying for items in very good shape is quite reasonable. Yeah, you can buy used stuff on Amazon etc., but you can’t SEE it first, and there’s not the immediacy either.
I like some of the places in the city too, but well, they’re in the city. This is just a lot closer.
Customer service was great (again, still riding that new store high; I hope they will keep it up).
Overall, it’s a fun place to shop on a boring day because you know there will always be something different among the ever-​rotating stock of titles. So keep your wish list handy. It’s not the flagship, but having this stripmall location isn’t half bad.