Little Horse Vintage Louisville — Local services in Louisville

Pros: This shop is in a really cool spot and the vibe in there is great. People were sitting on the couches listening to records and hanging out and the decor and selection of antiques, records, and books was great. Definitely a cool place to walk around in.

The BIG Con: The prices, at least on books, are way way too high. I was an antiquarian bookseller for 3 years, a job which required me to research, price, and sell rare/scarce books, so I do speak from experience. The big example I saw: in the “rare books” section was a HC 1st/1st copy of “Hannibal” by Thomas Harris. They had it priced at $75. The harsh reality is that this book is a certified thrift store shelf warmer. It came out after the success of Silence of the Lambs, so the print run was high. It was one of the top 3 highest selling books of 1999. So, already I’d be suspect of seeing it in a “rare” books section; it’s a high population print. However, the price is the real issue. The fastest way to get a read on an average sale price of a modern book is just to genuinely check eBay sold listings (check AbeBooks for older/rarer titles). There was a recent sale of this exact book, same condition and printing, for $4 plus $5 shipping. There was one outlier sale for $40 (and I’d say they overpaid too). A SIGNED copy sold for $90. If you want a first edition of this book, you can basically check any 3 thrift stores and you will find it at one of them. And no joke, I went to a thrift store (TRU Thrift) 10 mins down the road in Boulder immediately after, and they had this exact book for $2 (admittedly not in perfect condition). There was another eBay sale for the entire original trilogy, all first edition hardcovers, for a total of $100. You can get the entire trilogy and have a set for the price of this one (the least desirable of the three). And this wasn’t the only example. There was a first edition “Danse Macabre” by Stephen King for $225. That sells very regularly on eBay for $30-50, mint copies around $100. And look, I get pricing books a bit higher in store; there’s overhead, utilities, employee pay, and books take up inventory space. $5-10, maybe $20 above average price is excusable to support a local business and because you’re saving on shipping. But asking double or in Hannibal’s case FIVE TIMES the price for a book is at best just poor research or priced not to sell, at worst it’s pricing to take advantage of people who may not know the rare book market. But considering everyone now has a phone with access to the eBay app, I was just dumbfounded that that price was what it was. And it’s a shame because people love bookstores, they love shopping local, and they’ll pay a bit extra for something they want if it’s available right there. If you shop here, you may find a gem or a book you’ve been looking for at a good price, they did have a great inventory, but do please just take a second to check its recent sales history and maybe try to negotiate with the shop, because as is the pricing...

I found Little Horse Books & Vintage accidentally when I ordered an out-of-print book through Amazon. I received the book and found a note tucked in it from the owner of the store. There were highlighted sections in the first chapters of the book (which I intended to do myself), and because he hadn't realized this before getting the book ready to ship, he felt that he misrepresented it in the description on Amazon. He offered to refund half of my purchase price. Incredible customer service, which seems to be so hard to find any more! Turns out this jewel of a store is in my home town. How fortunate I feel to know that I supported an awesome local...

3 stars for the selection of books & music, but 0 stars for quality control. I recently purchased 4 records here at this store and 2 of them were horribly scratched (one record is unplayable on one side). I understand that these records are vintage and some light wear is to be expected, but I'm surprised that these two made it to the shelf to be sold without a warning of their condition. (And I paid $24 for one of them!) Patrons, please be sure to ask to see the records that you wish to purchase before buying them. I would make the 50 mile trip up here to ask for a refund, but it's not worth it. Next time I'll know to check...