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Mon-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I love, love, love this place!
So many bargains and tons of stuff to check out. They offer free coffee near the front door as well (I'm not a coffee drinker so I can comment on the taste)
Outside they have a selection of clearance items (books & DVDs)
Be sure to check out the back left of the store - clearance section!
I've scored some great items back there such as a few PS2 games for $2 each.
You can easily spend a couple hours in here, its relaxing. I rarely go to Barnes & Noble or Borders, I just cant see the point of spending full price on a book.
The last time I was here I was noticing people bringing in their books, magazines & dvd's/records to sell. So that's what I'm doing today - I don't care what they offer me on my stuff - its not like I was getting any use out of the books here at home, they were just collecting dust on my shelf.
Half Price Books is a pleasurably priced paradise of everything ever printed or recorded (excluding newspapers).
I have found a lot of hard to find, collectable, and sometimes exceedingly odd treasures on those shelves. It is, by far, my favorite bookstore (the location in Berkeley isn't half bad either). HPB is constantly buying books from people just like you, so you never know what kind of bodacious book bargains that you may stumble upon.
If you are a literati, like me, visiting Half Price Books is a must.
I didn't know about this place until I was in the shopping center. From the outside it looks like a discount stationary store that has random things, but it's nothing like that!
I was shopping to kill time and I decided to go in and look around and I was amazed at the selection. They have a lot of used books in great condition. I was really shocked! If you are looking for a book that amazon sells for a lot of $$, check here first. Most of the books they have are newer (they do have some books that look like they are out of print) and they are the same price on amazon (minus the cost of shipping).
Also, when I went they were giving an additional discount on purchases because it was a holiday. So definitely stop by there on any major holiday.
What a miracle a place like this exists. They don't have everything, but just about. I recently bought a lot of old covers/hard to find/out of print Isaac Asimov novels. They even have many college books (i saw some amazing college physics and chemistry textbooks for like $5. C'moooooooon thats a fucking steal!!!) in Physics, philosophy, electronics, psychology.....overall I now love this place and cant get it outta my mouth. In fact, i think i may go there right now and see what i can find.
Go and buy as many books as possible and expand your mind.
Great place to find unusual or out of print books. I bought a couple of great hard to find books that usually aren't available in US stores for birthday gifts for friends. And for half price to boot! Also bought an old edition of a Raggedy Ann book. I haven't had time to peruse the DVD or CD collections but I plan to one day. Just sold books for the first time here as well. They pay you in cash. It may not be huge sums of money but it beats nothing. I usually end up just giving the money right back to them since I buy more books. Their clearance items are $1. I love to come here for older or unusual This store is about half the size of the Berkeley store but it's a 10 minute drive from my house rather than an hour plus the cost of parking. If you are looking for the most recent bestseller here, you may not have much luck but if you are looking for items that you may not find at the large chain stores then this s a great place to try.
I was just writing to my niece, the Phd. in English (oiye!) that it IS sad our local bookstores are under threat from an evolving market. I love this place. Why buy at full retail when you can get perfect, near perfect, or don't-care-if-it's-perfect copies of generally any book I want?
The CD selection is huge too! I've found many a copy of a favorite I've lost or scratched up for about $5-9. Very nice!
Well organized, staffed by people who know where everything is and can help you find whatever you need, a great location, huge inventory with fresh books arriving all of the time, deeply discounted books, and the ability to sell books back to the store.
Everybody! Go here! Buy books! Save money and help your local retail store stay in the black! That is all.
In the east bay, as far as used book stores go, this place is pretty good. I am used to books being a bit cheaper than just half price, but I was still happy overall. I am glad this place is here. Just wish they served coffee too. :) I am done with the chain stores since I can get books that are basically almost like new for 1/2 off here.
I must say, it's been quite awhile since I've visited this place, and certainly not since their moving to Pacific Commons. Not only have they expanded quite and bit, but things have improved and some things were just weird.
They have certainly cleaned up a lot, perhaps due to the large size of the store, with the exception of the purchase area. Not only was that section of the store a madhouse and constantly busy, but they also had the DVD, CD, games and kids sections there, so all sorts of folk were bustling about aside from trying to get cash for their used stuff. My wife heard that it was an hour wait for books to be bought, and people--well, they waited I guess.
The kids section was pretty full, but some of the books were in strange shape, and by strange I mean they were used kids books so sometimes you just never know exactly what had happened to them before they were sold. I passed up a few books just for that ambiguity. But we did find a few books, plus some great Lego PC games I wanted for my son at a great deal. We did have to deal with someone with strong pre-shower odor, which was multiplied in that tiny CD/DVD space. Ugh.
On our way out, we got in line which was a friendly, take your time, get to know you but not process customers quickly sort of line. I made the mistake of kindly asking a fellow if he was in line, which opened a floodgate of discussion about his acting prowess, his common sense, and how no court could hold him because he could reason his way out of it, all due to common sense. Meanwhile. a woman who he partially engaged in that dialogue started telling me about her 10 year old Nokia phone and how amazing it was. Evidently, tonight was the night for conversation of the aberrant kind. We were accosted by additional odors while waiting in line as sort of a "here's something to keep your mind off of the wait" alternative.
One great thing though, it was 20% off night, so we got a nice discount upon our already low-priced stuff. I can't say it made up for unsolicited experiences in the store, but it was nice nonetheless. A strange little visit and I'm sure I'd find another just like it in the future.
This place is great. It's the whore of used bookstores. They'll take anything. I once brought in a box of CD's that Amoeba rejected and they paid me $50 for them. That promptly went into a happy hour fund.
They buy at any time the store is open and they take books, cd's, dvd's...anything. I just sold a bunch of law school books and supplements to them so if you want those for cheap, get the steppin.
I would like to thank you, Half Price Books, for supporting my alcoholism.
I went in yesterday with a pal of mine, we discovered every aisle in the book store. We got to the Metaphysical Section and soon realized how many books where available there was a whole row and a half dedicated to Silvia Brown. I picked up a book it looked rather interesting at a whopping 9.98. I figured it was a good price considering its half priced. After arriving home and actually opening the book from the cellophane plastic bag - I saw all the writing on it made from the previous owner :( I'm not sure what the return policy is but oh man that's why I don't like to shop at resale book stores.
The store itself has a huge selection of books and stuff.
I've only gone here once but it left a everlasting impression for one reason and one reason only - hella cheap PC Games.
No seriously. I went here once and was mesmerized at the amount of literature they had for the cheap prices they were able to offer them, but it was the section of PC games that had me saying "OMGWTF!" I picked up one of the best RTS games of all time - Supreme Commander for the PC for 10 dollars! 10 DOLLARS!!! Hell, the game retails at best buy for 19.95 now. Now...here in the present. Half Price Books had a lot of other really good PC games for ridiculously low prices, but Supreme Commander was the one that caught my eye.
This place is loaded with books. Most are in good condition, some look like they were used to beat down someone...but hey, you go here knowing what you'll except so keeping you standards high...well you're doing it wrong basically. But yes, the place has a large, wonderful selection of books, and apparently they have CD's as well? I don't remember that, but then again I was too focused on the OMGWTF PC game section because I'm a nerd, and I like video games. And you show me a place that sells good PC Games at the price they offer, then I have nothing but good things to say. Of course, most people come here for the books, which sad to say I didn't pay much attention too except during my initial stroll. I heard that you can find what you're looking for a good portion of time. Which is good.
My only gripe - This place will always remind me of someone who is a terrible person who I really, really hate simply because of their extremely selfish ways. But oh well...they keep selling PC games at that price and I'll be going back.
Good work, Half Price Books.
Here's the thing.
They have this clearance section; 10 books for $5.44 or something?
Yup. It doesn't even matter if I'm not familiar with the books or whatever, as long as they still look new with no creases or smudges of folds or anything, i am buying.
10 books! for $5.
i love this bookstore.
neat, old-fashioned bookstore=] great prices, good selection. id go here if i had to buy a book. but… Read more »
When this place first opened, I would mainly go to expand my DVD collection. As time went on, I started noticing more books that sparked my interest...i.e. more knitting, crocheting and sewing books. Now I can't visit the place without some pretty unique finds and excellent deals!
Before I moved, I weeded through my book collection and was able to fill two boxes of books to bring in and sell. I normally would have donated them, so I was thrilled to get $25 for the lot!
I'm often in this area and knew you could purchase books at a discount (it's called Half Price Books for a reason) but I didn't know you could also sell book too.
On Selling:
Since I had a traumatizing experience (attempting) to sell (brand new) clothes at Crossroads, I wasn't expecting much when I dropped off my bag of books (7 books, 1 magazine). Some were "classics" and good/new condition, some I had never heard of... I just somehow accumulated them over the years. I was offered $6.50 and the way my books were sorted on the counter, you could tell which were the "big money" items. The good thing is, they will make you an offer on everything you bring in, the bad thing is that they don't itemize the offer so you don't know what you are getting for each item.
On Buying:
If you have time on your hands, I'd recommend taking a look because I'm certain you'll find something that catches your eye. The only negative thing I can see is that if you are looking for specifics, it might be difficult to locate (assuming they even have it). In addition to books, they have a decent collection of records, cassettes (wow, haven't seen one of these in 10 yrs), comics, and lot of knick knacks. Definitely worth a look!
Primary points of interest in Fremont, one of the more boring cities in the East Bay, to me are its used book/music stores ..
Nice selection of classics and modern lit. I was surprised by the great condition of many of the books here, considering that they make an offer on everything you bring in. I brought in a bunch of philosophy/history books + a few novels to sell to them and walked out 23 bucks richer than when I'd walked in. So yeah, if you have a bunch of books that are now useless to you, you can definitely turn them into cash here. They don't attach a price per item though .. it's just a bulk amount which you can either take or leave. So you might be getting ripped off, but then again, if you cared enough you'd have tried selling them on eBay first, right?
Usually I only sell my books/cd's here but today I managed to score a book I wanted for under $6! Cheaper than eBay, Half or even http://Amazon.com, so I'll definitely be back to browse whenever I need some new reads.
Their selling policy is cash only; I wish they also had a store credit option (for example cash = 35% of resale price and store credit = 50% of resale price, or something similar). I brought in a whole bag of old books from high school and some rap/pop CD's and would've walked out $20 richer, if it weren't for the book and sushi kit that caught my eye while browsing when I was waiting for them to price my books. Overall everyone wins - I cleaned out my bookshelves and came home with stuff I'd actually use, and HPB gets some new inventory to sell.
LOVE this place! I hate buying books full price so I'm constantly going here and they almost always have books that I'm looking for. It's also a really nice way to be able to try different authors and genres since you're not going to waste money if you don't like the book. It's also open late which is very convienent.
Also, the staff here is awesome - seems like they're all book lovers so they understand you lol. One lady, I believe her name is Sarah, always remembered me and recommended books that I might like based on what I bought.
This place is great to find a used book, duh right. I came here because I love vinyl records and this is one of the few places I anywhere near where I live that I can find vinyl. They have a decent selection of used vinyl in varying conditions but they charge the same price for a excellent and a poor condition vinyl so look closely when you purchase one here.
The bookstore caters to paperbacks a lot more than hardcover or limited/special edition/hard to find books. This is place is bright and has plenty of books for a good price.
Being that I'm horrible at returning books when I check them out from the library and I end up paying way more than retail by the time they charge me for the books that I've lost...I've resorted to buying my own books.
I really liked this place when I went in here for a ganter! They have lots and lots of books....at half price! Har har har. Get it?
They have bargain books too that are super cheap, as well as shelves and shelves of books stacked into multiple genres. Their staff is pretty nice too and when I asked about their CDs, they said they would take down my number and call me if the CD I was looking for came in. Too bad it hasn't. Oh well.
As for buying books, I asked them how much you get back on books and they couldn't really tell me. That was kind of sad face. I don't know if I want to lug down all my embarrassing books to just get rejected. I paid full price for these books I should have you know!
Short-n-Sassy Review.
In a rut?
Get off your butt...
and visit this incredibly fantastic used book store!
Book worms will go nuts here in a happy nutty way.
The selection of very low-priced books is phenomenal!
Whew-Wee!
Most books are in brand-spankin' -like-new condition.
One suggestion for the place is to somehow have the register
line detour in another direction so it does not block an entire
aisle of half priced books.
This place kinda feels like a library but with price tags.
Half Price has a good collection of books at prices generally hovering around $12 (hardcover) or less. Most of the art books I looked at were dirt cheap, but that's because they're mostly outdated. That's not to say that these books are in fairly good condition and a good resource. The more recent they are the pricier they get. They even have some art magazines and art annuals; although outdated as well.
They also have a $3 clearance wall where I oddly spotted a Beyonce album. Has she really sunken to the bottom of the barrel already? You can sell your used media in the back.
I'm just glad there's a used bookstore in this area. New book prices are insane.
The good:
1. Cheap books. Most are below half price
2. Good selection
3. Extensive selection
4. Most employees know books. There is nothing worse than patronizing a store whose employees don't know what the store is selling. (which is not the case at Half-Price Books)
The bad:
1. The store is crowded on the weekends
2. Not many places to sit down and review the books before you purchase them.
3. Very low bids on books sold to them. I sold them a book for 50 cents that I know they sold a week later for nearly $14.
I never could understand why I would spend full price to buy a novel that I would read only once- besides having that new book smell. Not worth it for me- I just go to my local library to get these books. But when I travel, I come in here, go to the clearance section and grab a few paperbacks for 2-3 bucks a piece. Score, and these books will keep me company during the boring long flights!
I like this new location better- cleaner and in a bigger/ newer plaza.
Never, ever sell your books here (it's a complete rip-off). (I sell my books on Amazon; it's pretty nice, even if they do take a little commission.)
Buying is a different matter entirely. I've expanded my collection so much by being a fan of this place. If you don't mind used items, you should definitely check this place out.
& if you're archaic about me and still like CDs, they have a pretty nice collection. I usually find something I've been looking for for ages here. It's really chill here and on a particularly good day, you could possibly get 6 books for the price of two in a regular bookstore.
I miss the old location though. It was a lot closer. I could walk there and murder my wallet with more ease.
So maybe it's a good thing that it moved farther away. But still.
We were in the area to go to Claim Jumper when we passed by this bookstore. We love to browse a good bookstore, and "Half-price" didn't exactly deter us. I've never been to a recycle bookstore before, and as soon as we arrived, I was amazed. DVDs for $5, a plethora of books, great staff... I come back here all the time, sometimes for hours at a time. I found a Dreamweaver book for $14 that I bought at Borders for $39 ($49 if I didn't have a coupon). I agree that the selection could be better, and that the books could be more up-to-date, but I like to come here and buy books that I could sell online for a lot more than I paid for :)
This store has saved me tons of money! I go to Ohlone and I was able to find 4 out of 5 of the required books I needed! I saved over $100 from buying my books through Half Price Books. Its fairly neat and the staff is very helpful. I wish there was more selection but you cant expect much.
I was able to sell my collection of DVDs, CDs, and they even gave me an offer on some old textbooks that my school wouldn't even buy back! I think that's pretty awesome. It's nice to find these kind of stores around the area. They've inspired me to do my best to avoid buying new books or media...EVER! I can find somewhat new titles everywhere in this store, and for more than half of what it would cost at Borders, Best Buy, Barnes, etc. How can you NOT love that?!
I love this place! I could wander the aisles here all day. This place carries tons of books and all the employees are well informed and super nice. I am usually able to find whatever books I want here.
The only reason they didn't get 5 stars is because this place is horrible at buying books, cd's, etc. I once sold them a ton of books, very expensive textbooks, some brand new DVD's (popular ones in good condition), video games, and some cds and all I got was $12.
With the new gas prices, getting to this new location is like driving across the country. I usually tag along to Costco with Mom and dash across the street while she waits in line for Costco gas. This place pretty much had every obscure book/dvd/cd/vinyl I ever needed and wanted. I got a New Radicals CD (big fan) for $2. I got Lord of the Rings 2 ext. edition dvd for $12 (I'm a big costume movie junkie), and I even managed to find the Marie Antoinette book that inspired Sophia Coppola's film for $5. My bf found some books he needed for his college classes for cheap too.
This place poops on Borders!
Hi, This store is the worst bookstore in the universe! Their purchase policy is absurd, especially since they know nothing about books themselves! I brought in 4 boxes of books to them today, and they gave me a whopping $9! Then I came back an hour later, and at least 5 of them were marked $25 each! Fraud on the hoof!
Online/Intenet shopping vs. physical stores:
I usually buy my books online, but sometimes I need a book quick and dirty...and Half Price Books is the first place I check before heading on over to Borders in Fremont. I've sold my books here, and I've received more money through http://half.com and Amazon.
I guess the trade off in prices and selection is always going to be better on the internet...but actually holding a book in your hands is always a nice experience.
I do like the old location better. But the new location is closer to me, so I guess I can't really complain.
Actually i give it a 3.75.
The selection here is great. They have all kinds of books from new to old. You can even find some textbooks from school here as well. They have a vinyl collection if your into that as well as a great used cd and dvd collection. Everytime I come here I find something that interests me. The service here is generally pretty good. It can be a pain if your looking for a specific book and ask for assistance only to be told that they dont have any files on system so you have to venture out and look yourself. Also one of the old guys in the back is a prick. I had a book on hold and they called me to let me know it was in. I asked for the book and it was paperback and i specified for hardback. I told him thanks for calling but im not interested and rolled his eyes at me and told me that next time I need to specify hardback or paperback. Only to tell him I DID SPECIFY....sheesh. Other then that though I really enjoy this place. It makes absolutely no sense to shop at Borders unless your looking for a brand new book.
This review is for the new location of Half Price Books in Fremont.
It has only been open a month or two but the place was BUSY!
The staff was friendly and helpful despite the mob scene atmosphere.
Their collection is smaller than the Concord and Berkeley stores but there were plenty of things worth buying. Books in every category possible. My son and I found some DVD's for less than $6 and they played just fine.
My husband traded in some reference type books. He got about 20% of their value.....$20 which he quickly used to buy more books.
Tiny complaints....very warm inside; ventilation system needs some help. There were a couple of rude, pushy people who kept reaching in front of us (hello....please say excuse me when you reach in front of us and bonk on us on the head). But most of our fellow shoppers were just there to have fun!
Very nice staff! I hope they get bonuses for handling the crowds so nicely!
I LOVE HALF-PRICED BOOK STORES!!!!!
So I borrowed Barbara Bush:A Memoir from my English teacher at the beginning of the year and my dear dog has chewed it and made Barbara look funny. So I asked around at Borders and Barnes&Nobles, but they don't carry that book (probably because it's not in print anymore) It would cost $15 to order the book. Then I went to Half-Priced bookstores just to waste some time and I saw Barbara on the shelf! I screamed out, "BARBARA" and went on my tiptoes to reach the book from the high shelf. Barbara came with a plastic cover and when I opened up the front cover it said, "To Stanley" and then at the very bottom, it was signed! Signed by Barbara Bush! I clutched the book close and went to the cashier and asked if that was really Barbara's signature. He gave me a monotone: 'Absolutely' and then I was ecstatic! For $20 I got a autographed copy! My English teacher was quite impressed!
You want to know why I love this place? They leave their comic books in the bags with boards. I love that. That's pretty much it. They organize their comics categorically by Marvel, DC/Vertigo and Etc. I love coming here or the other two locations because I know I'll find something crazy. I can't believe some people sell their valuable comics.
I love this place!
But their Scrooge landlord increased their rent after their lease ran out and now they have to move!!! [Uncontrollable stream of tears] albeit only four miles away to Auto Mall Parkway but not within cycling distance and I can't pop in after a couple of coconut margaritas in La Pinata next door. This is truly a great loss. All because the greasy landlord wants a couple more dollars.
Love this book store! I get great deals here on books for me and for my classroom. Where else can you get 4 picture books and 8 videos for under $30???
It's moving over to Pacific Commons! I'm curious to see how much bigger it will be. Too bad Pete's coffee won't be around the corner anymore! =(
I wish they had more of these stores in the Bay Area. I've only recently started buying a fair amount of books, so it's nice to find a place where I don't have to pay full price. You can usually get books here at half the published price or less. My only complaint is that there doesn't seem to be much of a selection at this location (compared to some of the other ones I've been to). How come nobody in the south bay trades in used books? I swear it's not a new concept.
When I was 16, I sang in an acoustic duet & we performed here. They paid me in a gift certificate.. I don't think I ever used it.
I like their Makeup & Beauty book selection, but since I like to stay far away from my birthplace, I don't go here often.
In with the new and out with the old isn't necessarily bad. I'm still a fan of the collections of books, music, and movies Half Price has. I've visited this place twice this week in a row and I'm addicted to hunting for books. Feels like a diamond in the rough when I discover music I haven't listened to in ages or books I didn't think I'd find. Definitely a good place to go to.
I'm sad that they moved! Their old location near Washington Hospital was such a nice spot. I'll… Read more »
Newark, CA
Category: Bookstores
Fremont, CA
Category: Music & DVD's
Neighborhood: North Oakland
Category: Bookstores
Berkeley, CA
Category: Bookstores
Fremont, CA
Category: Libraries
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