When we hop in the van to take a road trip, we always make sure that everyone has at least one or two books to read. Since there are five of us in the family, we definitely have to find a way to save on the price of books. That’s why we love used books stores. But some used books stores across the nation are better than others. Here are two of my favorites.

Mckays Used Book Store

Used Books Stores across the Nation

McKays Used Book Stores

One of our favorite used book stores is located in Tennessee. We love Mckays Used Books, CD’s Movies & More.  There are 3 Tennessee locations – Knoxville, Chattanooga & Nashville.  Several times a year on the way to see family, we make our stop in Knoxville.  We always walk out with stacks of ‘new to us’ books and media and almost NEVER pay a penny!

Here’s how it works:

  1. We save our unwanted books and media.
  2. Take them to the trade-in counter at McKays.
  3. After browsing and waiting for about 30 minutes, they give us trade-in credit. (or cash if you prefer but you don’t get as much)
  4. Then we make our ‘purchases’ with the trade in credit we just got.

They accept almost all books, cds, video cassettes, dvds, all electronic games and even vinyl records.

 

mckays used book and media

Tips to make the most of your visit:

  • They won’t take older books or really used looking books.
  • What they don’t take, you can either take back home or donate to the free box out front.
  • You will get more ‘bang for the buck’ if you take trade credit instead of cash. (We always get trade!)
  • If you don’t take any books or trade materials, you will find that the prices are (in my opinion) a little high for used books and games.

 

mckays used book and media

Half price Books

Last week I took a quick trip to Lexington Half Price Book Store with a stack of books I was done with. In about 20 minutes they were ready with an offer. They gave me a ticket worth $20.00! That ticket is good for any merchandise in the store or you cash it out and walk away with your money. Since I was already in Lexington for errands, I was able to turn 20 minutes of time into a $20 bill! (Located on Nicholasville Road before you get to the mall)

Half Price Books are located all across the country! Click here to find a store near you.

We love used book stores!  This is a great way for us to get books at a great price! What’s your favorite way to save money for your books? I’d love to hear!

Unknown source

 

17 Comments

 

  1. May 7, 2013  12:38 pm by Kiera @easytravelmom Reply

    We love Half Price Books, both for selling and buying books. Although now that I have an eReader we've been buying less and less hard/soft books! Can't read the eReader on the beach though!

  2. May 7, 2013  4:12 pm by michelle Reply

    We had a Half Price Books in Des Moines when I was growing up. I did love going there. Now my favorite place for used books is this small little cottage where a lady just sells things she comes across. There's not always a huge selection, but the atmosphere is just like being in your own house looking for something new to read. Fun times!

  3. Pingback : 4 Cheap Things to do in Knoxville | Blog By DonnaBlog By Donna

  4. July 28, 2014  2:12 pm by Cami Reply

    I love to visit used book stores on vacations because I can find the local histories and books unique to the region.

  5. Pingback : Four Ways to Enjoy a Solo Road Trip | Blog By DonnaBlog By Donna

  6. August 23, 2014  4:45 pm by Robin (Masshole Mommy) Reply

    We have a used book store about 5 mins from us and my husband is an avid reader, so he frequents the shop. He gets credit for all the books he has read towards new books.

  7. August 23, 2014  4:52 pm by Tammy Litke (@threedifferent) Reply

    I have sold a lot of my books at stores like this in the past! Now my daughter is a frequent visitor of used book stores hoping to score books she needs for her college classes.

  8. August 23, 2014  6:35 pm by Meagan Reply

    What a great way to save a little money on books! However, I find that we don't buy books near as much now that we have our Kindle.

  9. August 23, 2014  7:47 pm by Angela S Reply

    I haven't been to a used book store in forever. I love the idea of swapping out my old books. I'll have to see if there is a used book store in my area.

  10. August 23, 2014  9:54 pm by Ann Bacciaglia Reply

    I like to go to the second hand book store and buy used books. I also donate any books that we are no longer using. It is a win win.

  11. August 24, 2014  1:17 am by Stefany Reply

    This is my kind of place! I hate spending full price on any book and am not a big fan of keeping a bunch laying around either. This would help with both of my issues in one sweep!

  12. April 6, 2015  10:03 am by Scott Reply

    We have a couple used book stores in our city. They're rather small (and a bit overpriced), but sometimes you can find a treasure there if you look hard enough.

  13. April 10, 2015  11:51 am by harriet Reply

    We use to have used book parties and swaps when my kids were young. It is such a good idea.

  14. April 10, 2015  9:20 pm by Lenze Reply

    Half price is a great option for saving money.

  15. April 17, 2015  3:30 pm by Lavende & Lemonade Reply

    So smart - green and thrifty!
    We love "recycled" books too - they're the best!

  16. April 18, 2015  9:34 pm by Victoria Reply

    My oldest son loves getting new books. I definitely have to consider checking out a used book store.

    • April 20, 2015  6:23 am by Dawn McAlexander Reply

      They really are a great way to save money.

Leave a reply

 

Your email address will not be published.
http://statebystatetravel.com/used-books-stores-across-the-nation/
statebystatetravel.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2017-51
109488
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:AJ7S2URVIM35COJUW5XV5TWXJHZ6BRPY
<urn:uuid:190f7d67-db84-4be7-a5bb-c1f76db4a4e4>
2017-12-16T03:15:48Z
67.222.1.238
application/xhtml+xml
sha1:D3D2ONO6EIFWQMONODVY75TVHQRR7Q77
<urn:uuid:000dc00a-6480-4e55-9b4c-8f731a15b4b8>
http://statebystatetravel.com/used-books-stores-across-the-nation/
length
response
<urn:uuid:acdd064d-67df-4a79-bf02-896cf274fce5>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-143-216-181.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-51
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for December 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf