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Categories: Videos and Video Game Rental, Hobby Shops, Newspapers & Magazines, Music & DVD's [Edit]
1056 S Country Club Dr
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Bookmans is AWESOME!
The staff is really friendly and knowledgeable about their inventory. The store went through some renovations and looks great! Even better, they are adding a cafe inside.
My favorite part about Bookmans is that they allow dogs. My dog loves taking trips there!
P.S. And they have free wi-fi!
There was a time when I'd look down my nose at Bookmans, and I'll tell you why. I am a typical guy (read:slob) and yet I have some ridiculous idiosyncracies. Like books. I love new books. When I read them I barely open them so that the spine doesn't get all cracked. I don't write in the book. I actually use a bookmark.
But since indigence has shunted me down a few rungs on the socioeconomic ladder to the caste of the untouchables, I find myself open to new things. By new things, I mean old things. Like ratty books.
So my wife and I have a ridiculous amount of books at home, because I want you to come into my home and think I'm smart. Plus, we were both humanities majors, so we have a really strange assortment of books about totalitarianism, eastern european feminist writings, italian-immigration stories, you name it.
So we brought in six grocery bags of books. Here's what we learned.
-don't look for cash. they'll offer it to you but it's roughly 15% or less of what they'll offer in trade.
-they pretty much don't take hardbacks.
-they look for weird books, which surprised me. super-popular books are usually overstocked there.
-they want plays
-they want books they've never heard of
-if you let one person look through your books, sometimes another buyer there will buy a few of the other buyer's rejects.
-the books that are there for purchase have little prices written in pencil on the first page.
And while the prospect of in-store credit may make you cringe, they have a ton of possibilities. dvds, cds, even records! and lots of books. old magazines. you can definitely spend money there.
it is, admittedly, a bit ghetto. but we're in a recession, right? and on your dying bed, will you really care if the book you bought had already been read?
Do I really need to update a five-star review with another one? Probably not. But I am.
Most of the remodel of the Mesa store is finally done, and it looks swanky as hell. It's even got that new store smell.
Perhaps more importantly, Bookmans took the time to rethink a huge chunk of the store layout during the remodel. Electronics and video games now have a much larger, easier-to-navigate area. Most of the goods therein are now unencumbered by glass. (I do miss the ancient repurposed Nintendo display cases, though.)
The DVD section has also been reorganized and it's much easier to find what you're looking for now. All the bookshelves have funky new section signs. The checkout and buying counters are both much larger now, making for a faster buying (or selling) experience. There's also a "Pornoire" (an armoire full of porn) I don't recall seeing before. The idea of used porn kinda creeps me out, but the name's awesome.
Apparently at some point the Mesa location's getting a café, too, but that's still "coming soon" as of my last visit.
Like F.O. said, discovering Bookman's is like hitting the freakin' motherlode.
They have so much…
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Great used bookstore to pick up magazines (lots of current issues), craft books (I'm always trying something new), books for the toddler and kids DVDs (there's a point where the library demands their Disney DVDs back and you have to buy your own to satiate the toddler's appetite). My only desire is that they were a little closer but c'est la vie!
Bookman's has been totally remodeled and looks great! All the aisles are more easily navigated and the store seems to flow much better. Before it Not that I thought it was bad before but you can tell they've put a lot of effort into making the book shopping experience easier for customers.
The multimedia section has expanded too and is no longer cramped into a small area.
They've also added a lot more seating! There's tons of comfy chairs and couches to lounge on while looking through their enormous selection of books. Yay!
I really love Bookmans. Their huge selection of used books is the best in the valley. In many… Read more »
They have a great selection of books, I can usually find what I am looking for (as long as a movie hasn't just been made about it). The music selection is good too but not as reliable. They also have video games and used systems, you can find some real gems since they still carry past gen games unlike a lot of other game stores.
They recently remodeled and the place looks better than ever (and easier to figure out. One of my favorite parts of this place has always been the fact that they have immaculate bathrooms. They are so nice, especially for Mesa!
The people here are great, they are always helpful, the only problem is when they are already helping someone it can be pretty hard to navigate all the sections to find a boko by yourself if you don't already know where it would be.
They have great reccomendation areas where I have found a lot of books I didn't know I would like.
They also usually have a great selection of DND books! since the new version came out it has been more sparse but while 3.5 was coming out the new books were usually there a month or so after release which was great.
Hands down one of the best bookstores! The trade counter has come in handy from books to dvds. I did buy a cybershot camera storage disk once and had to return it because it wouldn't load in my camera. (huge error message) I returned it and I HATE returning things!
The saleman was extremely nice and gave me back my money without me having to show him what my camera said. He told me it happens and they buy the items at a risk, but he was just as bummed as I was considering neither of us benefited. I tell everyone I know that needs to sell or is looking for something to go here, and they usually have good luck with it.
I think this place has undergone a recent renovation. It looks pretty nice, but I kind of miss the old, homey Bookman's of my childhood. I've been going here since I was a kid, trading in and finding books. There is always something here, although I've found that looking for something specific is often fruitless. It is great for wandering around, picking out hidden gems and wasting away an afternoon.
Bookman's is the best for trades, though they can be picky - my normal technique is to take books to Bookman's, usually take B trade for them, and then take the remainder to Half-Price Books (at Half-Price, they take everything but pay pennies for it).
The best place for used books, movies, music, games (if you're looking for old school games, this is the place) and everything in between.
The prices are scary cheap and going in with fifteen bucks means leaving with an armload of goodies! The staff is helpful and actually know a thing or two about what they're selling.
They have a nice selection of records and very old National Geographic magazines - the biggest I've ever seen in any store.
They do very fair trades and you'll surely leave with something.
I miss you, Bookmans!
awesome place. i LOVE bookstores and while your typical corporate books are great, you walk out spending a ton! you can find so many new titles and even a decent selection of dvds and music all at decent prices here. my husband and i recently purged a lot of our old books and this was a great place to take them. we have credit to purchase new things to read without adding more to our collection. it's just a great way to reuse and recycle.
there were a handful of books they purchase from us, but we decided to leave the books anyway and the informed us that they would go to the prisons. hey, why not?
the staff here is friendly, the restrooms are clean, the set up is nice, and i heard they are even adding a coffee shop some time in the future.
Home of the nicest women's bathroom (thus best seat in the house) in existence!
Seriously.
Check it out. Ladies. Go to the bathroom here. You will find wallpaper, a chaise posh lounge, large quality framed reproductions, marble sinks, a place I have actually sat down to business, as well as to regroup. You may think I am nuts for this, but it is totally true. Especially when riding my bike from tempe to mesa, coming in to wash my hands and drink some water from the fountain to refresh. *Hobos Stay Out*
Other than that... I totally heart Bookmans. I really respect the manager here (it was her idea for the b-room, gurls!) for the great staff, and well organized selection. Is it a bit disarrayed and full of bizarre (sometimes hideous circa 1997 stationary?) knick-knackery? Yeah. But go to any bookstore and there is always disarray-always piles, things misshelved. You try to shelve some books and fend off customers at the same time in a place as buzzed as this!
I mostly go for random browsing (graphic novels, art, pop culture, cookbooks, business, children's books, sociology) for works that may be discontinued, but I really come here for magazines. I love they sell magazines! Magazines are my guilty pleasure b/c they are so expensive! Sure, I can rent some mags from the library, but will they have the Punk Planet issue w/found magazine in it? Hellll no! For most, ranges from 1.50-4.00. I get back issues of Domino, Dwell, Fast Company, Believer, Wired, ReadyMade...and my real guilty pleasure, Real Simple. You cant really beat it for quality airplane reading, plus at those prices you can leave it for someone else to enjoy.
Also, Bookmans is really part of the community-they sponsor a lot of events, like RollerDerby, The Loft events in Tucson, Midnite Movie Mamacita, and more...
Their booktrading is pretty fair, but if you have some items that are worth more than half of their cover price and they aren't rare, you may be better on-line. Be sure to take your books back to donate them (and tax refund) b/c rarely do they take all of them-and don't hassle or argue w/the booktrader-just not classy.
Oh, and I like the hot new used books to check out in the front!
If only a good coffee shop could open up inside...
i like this place. A lot. You should check it out! Will write more later.
Bookman's is the ultimate sanctuary for ADD-addled adults with an uncanny ability to justify purchasing magazine back-issues in bulk. No joke - this place caters to my easily-overwhelmed sensibilities and makes me feel like I need to own tattered Joycean hardbacks just to lend my apartment the smell of ancient books. It's like Park and Swap Jr. - there is pretty much the grandest selection of old junk, mixed with new junk, mixed with questionably-useless junk. All of this proverbial junk, though, seems completely necessary.
The staff rules, and the credit there never expires so you can trade in your unwanted garbage for some in-store points and maybe buy yourself a Gamecube or some elementary Teach Yourself Japanese texts. In any case, if you leave Bookman's without a claw full of relics, you have way too much self-control.
A typical trade in store, although bigger than most ive been to. I like this one better than their other locations mostly because the college kids tend to stay out of it so there's actually stuff worth buying by the time i roll out of bed.
They have a great literary selection, bad ass blues section, and i always find some random vinyl. My beef with this place is whoever does pricing has NO CLUE apparently how to look up values online. You'll have a brand new re-press going for 30-40 bucks! I love minor threat, but if im gonna shell out 40 bucks its sure gonna be original pressing.
Helpful staff, decent return policy, and, on occasion, the fact they dont know the worth of things works out in your favor. (yay body count 1st issue LP for 7 bucks!)
I have been going to Bookman's since it opened up. They used to be a lot cheaper, but that was almost ten years ago, so did a lot of things back then.
You can still purchase vinyl and cassette tapes, and their selection of off-beat books is unparalleled. Also, it is THE PLACE to buy magazines.
Besides the price hikes (mostly on the media) and the increased pickiness and stinginess involved with selling, I definitely frequently recommend Bookmans, if for nothing other than the ambiance (and the lady's restroom). The sales people are nice and helpful and nobody is pretentious at all.
A good place if you're looking for obscure books or to get rid of your pile of unwanted books, with maybe some money in exchange.
I love the smell of bookstores - new or used it doesn't matter - you can smell the stories in the air. I love to read, and can easily read a book a day, more if I'm sick or it's the weekend. But I hate the cost of new books. That's one of the reason I love Bookman's.
First, they have great prices on used books, and a huge selection. There are all the bestselling authors you would expect, but also many hidden gems. They also are very fair with trades. I'll bring in a box or two of books, and while they are deciding which ones to buy, browse the isles. It's very easy to get lost in there for hours, while I go through all the shelves. Most of the books are in good to excellent condition, and by the time they have sorted my books out, I've usually managed to find enough to eat up the earned credit.
They also have a HUGE selection of magazines, DVD's and games. The store is well organized, but because it's a used bookstore, also like a treasure hunt. I love to scan the shelves for that unique looking binding (Who cares if I'm judging books by their covers!?!) There are some chairs scattered throughout the store, so you can grab a pile and dig in, to see what you really want to get.
About the only thing I don't care for is the random crap they have - knick-knacks and paddy-whacks and random garage sale items. Those take up space that, in my opinion, could be used for MORE BOOKS. I'd rather buy crappy dust collectors at a regular second hand store. They are still interesting to browse through, even if they aren't what I'm looking for.
Overall, it's good for your wallet and the planet - recycling books is a winner anyway you look at it.
I've been to Bookman's a fair amount, both selling and buying. On the selling side, sure I feel a little stiffed, I know that the books I sell to them are sold at twice the amount. However, those are books that I know I no longer want, and are simply taking up space on my bookshelves. Selling them to Bookman's gives me a chance to recoup some of the initial cost, and also gives me an excuse to browse around and acquire other books.
The only reason I'm not giving Bookmans a full 5 stars is because... well... I'm somewhat of a snob... and I wish I didn't feel such a compulsion to clean myself whenever I walk out of there.
Best used media store in town, hands down. Open late (til 10pm), and dog-friendly to boot (leashed, of course). How cool is that? Me and my pooch like to hang out here a few times a month, browsing the stacks. They've got everything here: books, magazines, comics, video games for all platforms, action figures, sheet music, music on CDs, records and tapes, movies on DVD & VHS - think I might even seen a few laser discs... And porn of course (in the brown cabinet left of the entrance), if that's your thing :D
Got some trade? Drop it off on the counter on your left. They'll give you a playing card to identify your stash and an E.T.A. I don't think I've ever had to wait more than 20-30 minutes for the verdict - of course I'm usually browsing for a lot longer than that. They pay pretty well. Not as much as Zia for music and movies, but they'll take stuff that Zia won't. Your choice of cash or trade credit, which is broken out into 'A' & 'B'. A is good for anything in the store, B is just for books.
You know how some people are in desperate need of help for their gambling problem, or their problem with alcoholism? I have a huge problem with purchasing books constantly, at a faster rate than I can read. The end result? I have holes in my pockets from where my money was, prior to going to the book store. The solution? A bad ass book store that sells used books!
Bookman's is an orgasmic haven for bibliophiles alike. They have a huge selection, with books I have never thumbed through in places that I usually frequent (i.e Barnes and Noble.) Whenever I have the chance of going, I always end up with a satisfactory smile on my face. You will not be disappointed with the vast selection of books and movies, and computer games. It's like an oasis in a barren desert.
So, if buying books is your vice, and the prospect of going into rehab doesn't appeal to you, go to Bookman's. The prices can't be beat, and you'll be able to pay your electricity bill again, enabling you to be able to read at night.
Bookmans is the media geek technofile book hound pop culture Mecca in the Valley of the Sun. The store is wall-to-wall used books, CDs, tapes, records, DVDs, VHS, magazines, computer games, console games, electronics, comics, etc. It's everything one should expect from their used media store. Looking for your used music store to have a guy in a tie-dyed shirt? Check. A punk rock chica with tat sleeves and cool piercings? Check. A section of the store dedicated vinyl? Check. NES and Sega Genesis carts? Check.
Whenever I've gone to Bookmans, it's been a beehive of activity. A surprising number of people are always browsing, buying, selling, trading, etc. This is part of the reason I give Bookmans only four stars. As a victim of their own success, Bookmans is always slightly in disarray and that the staff overwhelmed by customers to the point that they can't restore order, e.g. it always seems like some idiot has decided to dump all the CDs he couldn't afford into A "Pop" and not a trip has gone by where I haven't found fiction books in just about every other sections of the store. There is almost always a line to pay and if you have a large box of things to trade on the weekend, it's going to take a while for them to review it. I think of this as my time to browse, but I have to make sure I'm planning on spending an hour or more in the store.
All that being said, the staff is the best I've ever seen in a store of this type (especially considering it's largiosity) the prices for buying, selling and trading always seem to be reasonable (especially when the alternative is putting a lot of time and effort into eBay) and the return policy is one of the most liberal I've seen in the business (especially in this day and age when CDs are so easily ripped to computer).
Oh... and although I've never seen a customer using it... they have free wi-fi.
WOW!
Thank you fellow Yelpers for enlightening me on this Literary Wonderland!
I have to say I was really impressed when I walked in, not only at the vast selection but the fact that everything was so neatly organized and clean looking. (see pics)
I took my daughter and a bag of books, so that she could get some new reading material. She got $24 for her trade and was thrilled to walk out with a stack of new books to keep her busy.
I enjoyed walking around looking at all they had and being taken down memory lane as I saw alot of things I haven't seen since I was a kid.
All the staff were friendly and helpful and they get pretty busy, you wouldn't believe the boxes and boxes of books and things that had accumulated since we first got there. It took them awhile to tally up our credit amount but we didn't mind, we were too bust taking it all in.
We have a ton of books that we've read and will definitely return to trade them when we need something new to read.
I finally got a chance to stop into bookman's and check the place out. The place is really big, with a huge selection of books, tapes, records, and all kinds of good reading. I was pleased with what I saw.
The place is organized like a traditional bookstore, by fiction, travel, etc with signs above for easy location. I also think they have authors listed in alpha order, giving some kind of sembalence to find what your looking for.
On the downside, I felt that I couldn't find a place to sit and read. I do like to sit and grab a book off the shelf and read a bit if i have time. I felt that I could not do that here.
I only noticed one couch located in the front of the store. It was literally in front of the registers. Not very relaxing to try to sit and read when you have a milion people walking in front of you. Plus, if someone sits down on the couch, forget it! I like some seating throughout the store for random reading sessions.
I am a big fan of Bookman's. This is THE go-to place for used books, music, magazines, and even video games. My mom used to bring me here all the time when I was a kid reading all the Goosebumps books because they always had at least one book out of the series that I was dying to get my hands on. Then I graduated to the Animorphs series... I totally miss that. Again, they always had what I was looking for, and always at under 4 bucks! Unbeatable. I don't come here as often anymore because I have one of those fancy eReaders and my husband downloads books for me, but I will probably stop by sometime to check out their cookbook selection. I've always found the staff to be pretty helpful too. The best part is, when you go to trade in your books they always give you a fair and honest deal, allowing you to trade for cash or in-store credit. Hooray for used book stores!
Best place in the east valley for gently used books. I make this my first stopping place when it is time for another book.
I'm a big fan of this place. you can often find me in the Bio, Graphic Novel, travel, music, and cooking sections. great selection of magazines, too. Bookman's is kind of a victim of their own success in a way; they are getting overstocked and now they will barely buy anything as far as books go; your best bet there is Half Price books, which will take almost anything. Still, it's a great way to spend a couple of hours and you can find some treasures here.
I have been going to Bookmans since I think middle school. As far as used CD/DVD/Video Games, this place beats all. Even though I no longer buy hard copies of CDs, I still go here looking for video games and DVDs for real cheap. They have an awesome selection of everything. I also collect vinyl records and Bookmans has tons of vinyl. My wife likes looking through their huge selection of magazines. They even have toys and stuff that would interest the kids. Oh yeah and the endless amount of books. Reading is not my bag of chips so I know nothing about their book collection. Reading is lame. They also have a 18 yr. + closet for all you perverts out there.
Wow... it's just so... BIG!
I can't walk through this store without finding at least 5 books I want to buy, and usually also games for my DS or GBA. The staff are helpful and friendly, the selection is HUGE, and the prices are tiny.
Trade in your stuff for new stuff or just go buy more stuff, this is the place to do it.
Visiting this place is like hitting the motherload. Seriously. I can't leave without finding at least 10 books to take home for, like, 5 cents total. Plus, the staff are highly knowledgeable and there are rooms for community events and classes you can go to. If they paid more than $7 an hour, I'd say working there would be my dream job.
Bookman's is so... big... I couldn't even believe it the first time I went there! I was first mesmerized by all the toys, like Star Trek action figures and random stuff like that, but eventually found my way to the science fiction and fantasy section. Likewise, it was huge. They seem to have a lot of books in more narrow categories than you would find at most used book stores, and they also carry non-book items like gifts and video games. (of which my boyfriend bought several) This place is so much fun, but far enough away from home that I don't come nearly enough.
Mesa, AZ
Category: Chinese
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