Half Price Books — Local services in Blaine

I have been to many Half-Price Books in several states, but I have never been to one as confusing As this one. When I go to Half-Price Books, I like to browse for DVDs and Blu-rays. In every other Half-Price Books, and every other store that sells DVDs and Blu-ray’s, I have always seen them merchandised with the other DVDs and Blu-ray’s. Not in the store though, the staff felt it necessary to make it somewhat of a treasure hunt for any DVD or Blu-ray that is non-fiction. True, for all the fiction DVDs (movies), they are at the front of the store like many other Half-Price stores would be, but in the store, they are scattered throughout the store. To make matters worse, even the staff doesn’t know where they are. For example, a DVD on JFK is with the JFK books, And a DVD about traveling to New York City is with the travel books but not if it has a DVD about the history of New York City Might be in the history section or it could be in the nostalgia section, who knows? Part of the fun of searching for DVDs in other stores where they are all together, is that you may find something that you weren’t looking for, For example, there may be a great DVD about sharks narrated by David Attenborough that I might enjoy but I will never find it in this store unless I was specifically looking for sharks in the shark book section. True, some may argue that library’s are set up this way, but you also have a card catalog to look through, and aren’t relying on staff members telling you: “If we had it, it would be in the store somewhere.” Thankfully, I have a very nice Half-Price Books near me in the Apple Valley store that understands how people browse for DVDs, and I don’t have to shop at this coon Rapids store Because I don’t...

Less is More the 2018 tour continues with moving old fiction, non-fiction and textbooks on to new homes. There was an opportunity to donate them, but then I saw that Half-Price Books (HPB) buys used books. Half Price Books feel local but are a national chain based in Dallas, Texas. Their slogan is "Your Favorite Local Bookstore Everywhere" They do have a local "feel," and I was comfortable wandering around the store.

When we stopped in, the book purchasing section was up toward the front, and the employees were approachable and helpful. We had one large box, and one reusable plastic tote full of books and the counter staff took a dolly and rolled out to get them out of the car. I love it when customer service is part of a business model.

The selection was varied and had local flavor too. There was a decent cooking section; some locked up tarot cards, good collection of travel books, lots and lots of romance and mystery novels and so much more. It was fun to wander around while the buyer was evaluating books. The gaming section included some "vintage" selection that I recognized, but if you like those games, there are plenty there for you.

This is a fun place to browse with a casual vibe. You'll find a large selection if you want to add more to your home. If you're looking to get rich from selling books, this is not the place, but if you're going to send them off to new homes and have some pocket money, it should work...

They are only getting one star by default. It deserves 0 and negative as far as I am concerned. Do not sell any records to this greedy place. I had over 100 records including artists such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Kenny Roggers, Dolly Pardon, Loretta Lynn and many other good artists. I looked at their vinyls as they were looking through mine noticing Johnny Cash was selling for $15 and above, John Denver was$8 and above I had 4 Charley Pride and they were going for $5 AND above, and Neil Diamod $10 and above. They were willing to give us $10 for over 100 records that is less than 10 cents a piece. Understand my frustration now? I understand they are a business and mark up the items, however I consider this pure greed. It's hard to trust people and this place proves it. You're better selling your stuff at a garage sale then here. It's not worth your time or energy to waste your time coming here and this includes books as well. I got burned by them years ago when I tried selling them my books. I should have known better than to bring records in. I would try Craig's list or garage sell you'll get the money...