Half Price Books — Attraction in Town of Grand Chute

Looking for that special gift? Book or bookish realated? Your chances of discovering it, or something else that catches your attention, is very good! Seriously! Prices are what you should expect, nothing to complain about as a buyer. Alas! That said, let me give you an example of selling your valuable books. I had the original white box edition, plus the other supplements, from the 1970s D&D. I considered selling it on eBay but decided to see what I'd receive at Half Price Books. I was offered $300. What the..! I knew from online, including eBay, just the Dungeon Masters Index written by Dave Arneson by itself was going between $1000 to $3000. Again, seriously. Now add ALL the other books, plus the original box set (going for $3,000 to an absurd $10,000). Oh, plus, don't Give Up The Ship for around $275 to $300. And what kind of an offer is this business given me for this lot!!! Beware, they will dead pan expression you on those offers for your VALUABLE books. Totally down playing the actual value when you attempt to debate with them. 🤣 Yes, I sold those books on eBay for $3000.00 with a bid war. No regrets, save the time to watch the bid war, payment, and then shipping off. This was why I tried to sell it locally. Today, those D&D books have either gone up to ridiculously high value or are totally unavailable at any price anywhere. Sellers remorse...I'll get over it. But consider this review a warning of,...

They don't give you much for your books - not worth the trip there. The clerk who went through mine knew absolutely nothing about quality books for young people, and rejected some nearly new hardcover Newbery award winners and other middle grade hardcovers. Most books were hardcovers; in good to excellent condition; all were quality literature. Four bags of books (kids, teen, AND adult) and I was only paid $22. I even asked if that was the best they could do, and the young girl waiting on me just shrugged.

I'm sure there are more knowledgeable clerks there than the one who waited on me. I understand that they are probably trained to accept certain items and reject others, but to pay only $22 for nearly 40 books, more than half of which were quality hardcover picture books and middle grade chapter books, is just a cheat. Especially when they will turn around and sell those picture books for upwards of $8 a piece!!

While waiting, I did some shopping. I found books with yellowed pages on the fiction shelves, marked at half their original cover price! (None of the ones I brought in had yellowed pages.) In the children's section were lots of series fiction, but very little else.

Like most everything else these days, quality is lacking. But whatever sells, right?

Honestly, sell your books online, or just donate them. Many libraries will...

I am at this store at least once every week...with the exception of one particular girl, the staff are very knowledgeable of all their different products. Every time I haven't been able to locate what I'm looking for, staff (except for that same girl!) have been able to either help me locate it or order it from another store. The only downfall is that their prices are on the higher side for used items (i.e. I wanted to purchase Star Trek Enterprise seasons 1-4...they were priced $19.99 each season but I was able to find all four seasons online for a total of $27.89 which included shipping!)...yes, I fully understand it's a retail environment and they need to make money; however, based on my past experiences in selling stuff there, they low-ball their buy offers and triple or quadruple their selling price (i.e. sold a season of Dexter-they offered $4 but charged $19.99 + tax). Overall, I DO recommend this place for a wide variety of "all things media" and nerd gear including comic books, collectables, etc....and YES, I AM one of...