Best places to find used books in the Puget Sound region

The following organizations regularly hold used book sales in the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan region. It’s a great way to donate books you no longer want to the local economy. Be sure to visit their website for information on what books or other materials are acceptable, as well as dates, drop-off locations, and other information. If the host group is a non-profit organization, your donations may be tax-deductible–so be sure to inquire.

Book Fairs & Sales

Friends of Seattle Public Library

Friends of The Seattle Public Library is a non-profit, grassroots, volunteer organization dedicated to supporting Seattle librariesas an essential institution. The Friends hold several Book Sales throughout the year and sell hundreds of thousands of used books, DVDs, CDs and other media items each year at bargain prices. They’re fun community events for friends and families. There are many ways for you to get involved besides donating books: become a member, join the board, volunteer at the book sorting facility, help out at book sales, and work in the FriendShop store at the Central Library. Missed a sale? No problem. You can shop for books online, as well as music, souvenirs, gifts, and other items. All of the proceeds support Seattle Public Library needs that can’t be met in the city-funded operating budget, including the many free community outreach events.

Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair

Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair has been the premier Pacific Northwest old, rare, and second-hand book event since 1987. Whether you are an avid reader, artist, book collector, or just plain curious, you will find thousands of unique, collectible, and unusual books, prints, maps, photographs, and related memorabilia (such as cover art, posters, and postcards) for sale.

Used Book Stores

Here are some of the popular, longest-running used booked stores in cities and neighborhoods throughout the Puget Sound region.

BLMF Literary Saloon, Seattle

BLMF Literary Salon, located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market “down under” has a well-curated selection of used books in classics, history, literature, travel, popular and historical genres.

Eagle Harbor Book Company, Winslow

Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island near the ferry terminal is a full service independent bookstore offering new and used books, including a local author section, journals, cards, and gifts, plus book groups, author readings, and community events.

King’s Books, Tacoma

King’s Books, located near Tacoma’s Wright Park is a large bustling independent bookstore offering reader book clubs, author events, community gatherings, and the annual Wayzgoose letterpress and book arts festival. They offer popular genres along with comic books often neglected themes like nature, science, travel, and history. I picked up a stack of cheaply priced books about Ancient Egypt Don’t the clearance section.

Left Bank Books, Seattle

Left Bank Books Collective, located at the entrance of Seattle’s Pike Place Market is owned and operated by it’s staff. They offer new and used books, specializing in anti-authoritarian, anarchist, independent, radical and small-press titles in over 70 sections, among them fiction, feminism, immigration studies, race & culture, “dis”ability, deafness, poetry, graphic novels, parenting, labor history, science fiction, sexuality, environmentalism, and native studies.

Lion Heart Book Store, Seattle

Lion Heart Book Store, located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market next to the gum wall in Post Alley, Lion Heart has a diverse selection of new and used books, including many great children’s titles. They also carry calendars, stationary, postcards and greeting cards.

Magus Books, Seattle

Magus Books, located in Seattle’s University District, is one of the oldest and largest independent used bookstores in the city. Friendly, knowledgeable literary staff and great prices keep many people coming back to Magus for years as satisfied customers. They don’t typically hold used book sales. However they have over 80,000 books in-store for browsing and buying, plus 12,000 titles online. The offer books in all fields and hundreds of carefully selected new arrivals every day, specializing in many hard to find, out of print, used, and rare books.

Open Books A Poem Emporium, Seattle

Open Books in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood specializes in new, used, and out-of-print poetry books and other titles about poetry, plus readings, workshops, and discussions.

Ophelia’s Books, Seattle

Ophelia’s Books in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood provides an eclectic selection of reading materials dating back to the 1800s for the bibliophile or light reader. Genres include YA, classic literature, history, mystery, true crime, science fiction, non fiction, sports, and new titles.

Park Avenue Books, Tacoma

Park Avenue Books women-owned store located in Tacoma’s Fern Hill Historic Business District has new and used hardback and paperback books, including hard-to-find and out-of-print titles.

Tacoma Book Center

Tacoma Book Center, located near the Tacoma Dome is the city’s largest used book store offers fiction and non-fiction titles in every genre: literature, poetry, mystery, science fiction, suspense, children’s, westerns, military, history, science, transportation, gardening, home remodeling, religion, crafts, philosophy, self help, and metaphysics.

Twice Sold Tales, Seattle

Twice Sold Tales, located in the heart of Capitol Hill specializes in books about plays, poetry, literature, sci-fi, horror, gardening, children’s books, and rare and collector’s editions. Browse in the store during happy hour from 6-9PM when all of books are 25% off. Or shop online via Amazon or ABE Books–TST books sold online are higher-end and collectible; the online inventory differs from what’s in the store.