Half Price Books — Local services in Watauga

How was blown away by how expensive their LPs were. I left the store, where I had heard a man and a wife talking about a $75 Beatles LP, and saw the same exact LP at Doc's Records for $35. They had a fair amount of LPs but so many of them were so expensive. Some I had already bought the exact same copy of through Amazon for about half the price and they were brand new. For me to go and check things out on a normal basis, their prices are going to have to come way down on at least the records. I did get 3 LPs that were not too badly priced. They weren't extremely famous artists or anything you can't find just about anywhere else. But since they were reasonably priced, and I did want them, I went ahead and got them. I'm going to check them out today to see how they sound. Today is December 24th and I asked about returns if I needed to make one and they said I could return up through the 15th of January. So I guess it's a 3-week return policy? I'm not going to say I was unhappy with what I saw. But I was unhappy with the prices of what I saw in most cases. They were very expensive compared to any other place I go to looking for LPs including Amazon and eBay. Hopefully those prices will lower because I'd like to regularly check in and see...

I really like that half price books allows you to buy books at a discounted price. They are able to do this because they buy gently used books from the public and resell them at a slight markup. This allows you to have that physical book in hand, clear out your personal library, save some money, and be ecofriendly.

The reason I did not give them 5 stars is because the way the organize the books. It can be a bit confusing and frustrating. On many of the shelves, they dedicate the top 2 shelves to taller books (all in alphabetical order) and the bottom shelves are the shorter books (in alphabetical order). So you can find the same book in the top and the bottom if it was printed in 2 sizes or in the top, but not the bottom if they only have the tall version of it. They also have a section titled "series", so if you are looking for a book that is in a series, it could be in any of the 3 locations. It looks like they can adjust the height of the selves, but they don't.

They do have several employees in store and they have all been very nice and helpful in locating books. You can also call the store and ask if they have a specific book. They will pull it and hold it at the...

I walked into Half Price Books ready to pay FULL price because, let’s face it, I’m doing fine financially, and books are worth every penny. I brought my stack to the counter, told the cashier I’d like to pay full price for them, and they just… wouldn’t let me!

“Oh no, we only charge Half Price,” they said, as if I’m some kind of peasant scrambling for bargains. I didn’t ask for a discount, I didn’t need a deal—I WANTED to pay full price. I thought I was doing something noble here, giving books the dignity they deserve. But no, Half Price Books clearly wants to keep my extra money far away from them.

It was like being rejected by a thrift store for being too generous. Honestly, I left feeling offended. What’s next? They’ll stop me at the door if I try to donate my library?

I don’t know who they think they are, but I refuse to be boxed into their “half price” world. Let me pay full price! Or better yet, start a new store: Full Price Books—For People Who Actually Respect Books.

Until then, I’m sticking to Amazon. At least they let me overpay for...