Mr. Mike's Used Books — Local services in Cary

I sold to them recently and could tell I went during a busy hour/day and the girls at the counter were looking a little harried, so I don't blame them for that. They told me where to leave my books and asked for my name and number but never told me how long it'd be. Giving an estimated wait time is usually customary during these situations. It was only after I left that I realized I didn't get a wait time and had forgotten to ask. Fortunately I wasn't anxious about time crunches and was just able to just chill elsewhere for the afternoon while I waited for their call.

My biggest complaint is what came after. When I eventually got a call, all I was greeted with was, "Hi, this is Mr. Mike's Used Books." I said hi and waited for her to continue, but there was complete silence. After several almost comically awkward long beats, I was the one who initiated by asking if the books were ready to be picked up. She just said yeah. I hung up thinking how incredibly odd a call it was. Usually when businesses call they state who they are and why they're calling, not just who they are, leaving the customer hanging on the other end thinking, "Uh...aren't you going to say anything else?"

When I got to the store, I could tell the employee at the counter was the same one who called because of the voice and the fact she behaved the exact same way, leaving me hanging and making me be the one to initiate what she should've already started. She was reading at the counter when I entered and it took a moment to get her attention, then I told her I was there to pick up. After being handed the cash, there was another lengthy moment of silence wherein I looked around for my books. I asked if they somehow kept the books they didn't accept (perhaps to donate) because I didn't see them, nor was she saying anything about them, but then she said no and briefly directed me to where they were, somewhere behind me, before going back to the counter and diving right back into her book. I was annoyed I had to ask these questions when she should've been the one offering the information in the first place.

All in all, the employees weren't rude, so there's that at least. Rude employees can REALLY ruin a shopping experience. The employee I got just seemed extremely oblivious, to be frank, and neglected certain facets of customer service that, to me, seem straightforward and logical.

Still rating it pretty high because on average, I have pretty good...

Although it's not the biggest used bookstore I've ever been to, Mr. Mike's is not lacking in quality of books. I've been very happy with the selection of books that they've had each time that I've gone, and I've never had trouble finding books that I wanted. I also find their prices very consistent unlike other used bookstores that I have been to. Books are in good condition and usually paperbacks are around $2. I was also able to get a really beautiful hardback edition of Vanity Fair for only $6.

Trade in is not as important to me at used bookstores since I'm usually just there to get new books rather than get rid of old books, but the one time I did trade in some books I found the value in store credit I received similar to what they sell books for ($2 per book). I would never recommend taking books here to sell them for cash, but I think that applies to most bookstores that offer trade ins. You're going to get so much more value out of store credit (think more than twice as much value).

They were picky about what books of mine they took (they accepted 2 out of the 3 books that I brought) despite all the books being in very good/like new condition. I assume they rejected the one book because it was not a very popular title. To me, it's fair that they won't accept more obscure book titles since they are limited in shelf space and want to keep their inventory relevant to keep demand up, but I understand this could be frustrating to people who were just hoping to get rid of books.

I recommend Mr. Mike's to every book lover out there. I'm always excited to pick up new books, and I know each time that I visit Mr. Mike's that I'm going to come home with some good...

I have had very positive experiences with Mr. Mike’s in the past, and think it’s a great used bookstore! However I was frustrated with my most recent experience - I stopped by about 20 minutes before closing to drop off some books to potentially be bought. As soon as I walked in, the employee working at the register told me they couldn’t look at my books. I mentioned I’d be willing to come back tomorrow or later in the week to get any that weren’t bought, but she told me I couldn’t even drop them off because it required a lot of paperwork to be filled out and they want people to drop off books at least an hour before close. I checked the website, and it says books can be dropped off at any time. Mr. Mike’s is not in an area I drive by often, so I just figured I’d stop by while I was nearby, even if close to closing time, because they could take my phone number and name and call me later in the week. I think this issue could have been avoided by updating the website with this info or clarifying the policy with the employee in question. I’ll definitely return, but was disappointed in how I was treated, and how the policy communicated by the employee did not align with information on...