Trade-In Policy

We’ve put together this little guide for those that are interested in learning more about our used books trade-in policy. Please don't hesitate to call the store if you have any questions.

How It Works:

Books can be dropped off anytime but an appointment must be made first. We’re a small staff with a lot of events and community engagement so some days just won’t be ideal for us. We would prefer if you call at least 24 hours in advance of when you’d like to drop off but we will take same day appointments if we have the time to receive an order. A bag or small box can take as little as 10-15 minutes and can be done while you’re in the shop. Larger orders can be dropped off and you can come back later in the day to get your credit. We will not keep books overnight.

Once you’ve dropped your books off, our buyer will go through them as quickly as possible. If there are multiple orders to sort through, we may have a longer wait time than expected and ask you to come back later in the day. We ask that you please take back any “rejects” and can suggest other places in the community that would be happy to accept a donation, including the Watauga County Public Library and Ram’s Rack Thrift Store.

In exchange for the books we decide to keep, we will give you store credit to be used only on other used books. Credit never expires and is associated with your customer account. When paying for an order, you may only use credit to pay for 50% of the total. The other 50% must be paid in cash, credit/debit, or check. This ensures that we’re able to pay for all the things that allow us to keep our doors open (rent, utilities, cat food, etc).

Some Tips:

We are a general interest bookstore so we are willing to look at all kinds of books. However, there are some things that we simply won’t take. While we’re happy to sort through your boxes, we would appreciate if you saved us some time and removed any items that meet the following descriptions:

• Magazines
• VHS tapes
• DVDs
• CDs
• Library discards
• Reader’s Digest condensed books
• Multi-volume sets (such as encyclopedias)
• Abridged titles
• Books without a dustcover
• Books without a scannable ISBN

We don’t take these items because they don’t sell or we don't sell that type of product in our store. Whether or not we take a book is dependent on many factors. Condition is one of the most important of these factors. Books with excessive highlights or notes, book plates, severely broken spines, missing/torn pages, water damage, insect damage, or any other similar faults will not be accepted. Another factor is our current stock level, if we already have several copies of a book, we won’t take in another. Other factors include popularity, general interest, and section space.

What We’re Looking For Right Now
updated 4/14/19

While we are happy to look through all of your books, there are certain genres that we are low on and will be more likely to accept at the moment. We are ALWAYS looking for used kid’s books, particularly graphic novels and chapter books. We do not need used board books or hardcover picture books, unless they are recent releases in excellent condition, and we are completely full on mystery & self-improvement titles. We are seeking books for the following sections:
-Fantasy
-Science Fiction
-Southern Literature
-General Fiction
-Science
-Sustainability
-Area & Outdoor Guides
-Classics
-Essays
-General History
-Books in Foreign Languages, particularly Spanish and French

If you have any question about the process or would like to make an appointment, please call us at the store or send us a message on social media. A phone call will get the quickest response but we check our DMs on social media regularly.