Half Price Books — Local services in Upper Arlington

Another Update:

Be warned- This location of HPB attempted to pull the old "Bait And Switch" scam on me, at the CD checkout counter. In the CD racks, the slipcase for a special edition of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" CD was priced at $11.99. When I was making the purchase, the clerk at the register seemed to study the disc, then, he went to get a standard edition of the discs. "What's happening here?" I asked. He said "It's fine, it's the same album". I don't know if he intended to trick me, to keep the special edition for himself, or what. But...wow...I simply said "I don't want it" rather than cause a scene. But I was extremely bothered by this.

Update:Since I posted this review a few months ago, I have returned to this location several more times. I would like to mention that the situation below is even worse now. The current staff who work the the front counter are so noisy that it's astonishing.They seem to get a perverse thrill from conducting their conversations loud enough to be heard through most of the store. By the time I've finished shopping, my thoughts are whirling, from all the details I am forced to overhear. This doesn't happen at the HPB locations on Bethel, or others in the city. I suspect the manager of the Lane Ave location must be at fault.

IF you plan to shop here- be forewarned about the rude and noisy staff.

The staff, at the desks by the CD section, speak to each other at top volume, making their private conversations unavoidably audible to the entire store. Sometimes I have to struggle to focus on my shopping, due to the unwanted voices. They discuss everything, from personal issues to the customers. Having been subjected to this for years now, it's my opinion that these folks need to vent their yearnings for public speaking at some night clubs with "open mike"...

The Half Price Books location at 1375 W. Lane Ave. is currently in the same building where Bill Owens Appliances had been located many years ago.

The office of my pediatrician, when I had been a child during the 1950s and the early 1960s, had been located on the second floor of that building [in a mostly-hidden back door on the south side of the building and then up a flight of stairs].

I visited that location of Half Price Books yesterday [11-14-2019] and told those two stories to the cashier. She has often heard people talk about the former Bill Owens Appliances at that location but had never before heard that there had been a doctor's office on the second floor.

She told me that the current employees of Half Price Books sometimes speculate that the second-floor area [where my pediatrician's office has been located] is now "haunted."

That history will soon disappear from W. Lane Ave. because the City of Upper Arlington has been planning a huge redevelopment project that will replace all of the buildings between 1325 W. Lane Ave. and 1397 W. Lane Ave. [plus 2376 North Star Rd.] with a large multi-story building that will be Upper Arlington's tallest.

The current report is that Half Price Books will have a location in the new building but they certainly will have to be temporarily located elsewhere for...

Cordial, helpful, and honest staff make this store a treat to work with. I went with a mound of books (over 100) and they didn't even flinch. They let me know their timing situation, and how many staff members they had to do the job, and how many people were in front of me. They assured me that they could make me an offer, but that it was bound to take 30 minutes or more, and that if I couldn't stick around, they'd be more than happy to help me at a later date. I stuck around, and sure enough it took longer than 30 minutes, but in that time, I was able to see that not only were they going as fast as they could, but also not letting their dedication to customer service drop. Also gave me time to see that they have a great selection of titles, movies, even toys and games. If you are a collector, or looking for a hard to find title, I'd stop by here just on the offhand chance that they have what you need, or might know where it is. Will definitely be returning next time I need to purge...