2nd & Charles — Local services in Utica

This is a used bookstore but they also have things such as manga, comics, cds, bags and knick knacks come up some musical instruments, some toys and painting, and a few miscellaneous other things.

The good is that it's a pretty big store, it's very relaxed setting, and the staff is usually pretty helpful and patient.

The downside is that 2nd and Charles is actually a sister store to Books-A-Million. Books-a-million, as you may know, has new books. They would take donations of certain books and have a small youth section but this section grew large enough that they opened up 2nd and Charles. However, partially due to the pandemic where everybody was nabbing up books, it's difficult to find anything used in this store anymore. It's all new stuff. So not only is the stock no longer unique and you can't find anything anymore, but the prices are ridiculous. They're charging pretty much the same price for new items versus used items and they only have maybe one used item per 300 new items.

They also have a buyback program. Now this is where they are completely and utterly failing. This supposed to be known for having used books for cheap. Except they have no stock. The reason they have no stock is because people won't bring them stuff. Because they won't pay the proper price. They claim to look over eBay and other online markets but I don't know what ratio they pay. For example, I brought in a pristine condition extremely rare hard to find a book that was selling from anywhere between $60 and $140 online in WORSE condition than mine. Mine was literally brand new but out of the package. They offered me $1 for it. Had I accepted, you know they would have sold this for 40 or $50. other items they will literally give you $0.10 for it and they will sell for eight or nine dollars. I understand they have to make a profit but with this massive massive massive massive massive discrepancy, this is why they are not getting any used items in. If they're not getting used items in they're not selling items and if they're not selling items they're not going to be able to keep their business.

So leave the new stuff to your sister company Books-A-Million and start paying people at least something somewhat decent for what they...

I've been purchasing Funko pops here for a years.. The prices they always offer are set at the current market price at the time of purchase.. regardless of condition and if the market price has been dropped for months.. I attempted to sell off 50+ pops in cases including chases all in excellent condition.. ($1032) average value for 50 of them minus a few chases with no set market price.. that's checking between the app and ebay sales etc.. I'm aware that you won't get full price or even half back.. seeing their model and how they sell I figured my set being in excellent condition .all protected by titan shield or official Funko protectors would fetch myself a decent offer.. Their Buy back experience offer was an excellent joke.. grossly impressive to be cheaper then Game stop and local card shops.. apparently they "don't take into consideration the condition and apparently the cases are free because" I was offered a whopping $100 cash or 200+ in store credit .. $100÷54 = $ 1.851 etc per pop with the case.. including the chases with no set price yet... Less then 10% total value cash I rejected the offer and was greeted with negative body language and reaction was "really you're rejecting our offer ?" .. they can potentially make more money off 3 pops alone then what they offered for my collection.. or just selling the cases by themselves they could make that money back.. it honestly takes time and patience to get some of pops upon releases. Let alone pops in excellent condition as well as the rare chases we find in store and shops..take your time and patience to sell online.. otherwise you're going to get ripped...

2nd & Charles is truly a treasure in the Hall Rd./Utica area. I am so glad that retail stores like this can continue to exist; it really harkens back to the days of Blockbuster, Family Video, or even Borders - but it's way better. This store is quite literally an endless collection of quirky, unique items and nostalgia. You can find pretty much anything from books, vinyl, manga, DVDs, gag gifts, clothing, etc. You name it!

The layout of this store is very creative and beautiful, it really sucks you in, which is why you can expect to spend a lot of time browsing! The displays are always full of really cool items and everything seems very organized. I think the book section can get a little daunting just because of how truly huge the selection is, but there are directories posted throughout the store that make finding what you're looking for a breeze.

However, where 2nd & Charles really shines and where you can find the most fun shopping experience is when you're searching for oddities. There are many times when I've been walking throughout the store and had the "Wow, I can't believe they have that!" reaction. There are very cool DVD Box sets here, rare B-sides + singles on record, and even vintage game system accessories (Atari, SNES, etc.) and older video games (DS, N64, etc.). If you read Comics or Manga and collect them in print, this place is a GO-TO. Go into this store not expecting what you're going to walk out with and it is a very wonderful visit that is unlike any other retailer. This place will also probably break your wallet (I've been there)!

Overall, it's a very cool store. Don't...