Dollar Book Swap

[bradleyibanez66]

I live in Dayton, Ohio. Near me there is a dollar book store called the Dollar Book Swap. Up until this inflation racked our lives with struggle, every book here was $1! Alas, everything is now $1.25. Shame! No way, I support the increase if it keeps them in business, this place is amazing. They purchase skids of books shipped in from closed libraries and schools. The sci/fi fantasy section is usually picked through, but I've completed my Game of Thrones collections, LotR, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight books, Anne Rice vampire books, found some Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, they always have a bunch of Stephen King, picked up all the Harry Potters, His Dark Materials, etc. The list goes on. You'll usually find the 2nd or 3rd book of a trilogy, but keep going and you might find the first book. Sometimes you'll find a gem you've been searching for. Sometimes the books are near new. Sometimes they are beat up, but you'll probably find what you're looking for with diligence.
Kids books! Shelf after shelf of kids books. I have literally gone from our favorite used book store and seen children's books for $15, and found a near new/fair condition copy of the same book at this place for $1. I wish this place was around when I was a kid! So many nostalgic books from my childhood. We found an Alice and Wonderland pop up book that is so detailed it was probably at least $30 new. It looks brand new. Goosebump books! My daughter just watched Firedrake on Netflix, so we went searching for a copy of the book. Sure enough, multiple copies of Funke's book in great condition.
Movies! They have shelves of popular dvd's all $1.25. Some like new, some beat up. Seasons of television shows.
Audiobooks
Early 2000's college books.
There is a shelf in the back with books over a 100 years old! I found an empty journal I purchased dated from 1921. So cool! One dollar!
Biographies and Autobiographies.
So many recipe books!
Old Haynes manuals from cars from the 80's and 90's
When we first started going years ago, it was open only on the weekends and few people went. Its in an industrial park and looks like a shipping warehouse, filthy, dirty and covered with cardboard dust. This place is my favorite place to be! Its picked up in popularity in the last couple years, and I think some book flippers have started plundering some of the collections we used to be able to find multiple copies of. I miss the days of going when we were 1 of only several families in there, but I'm glad they are staying in business and people are reading. My daughter is finally old enough to enjoy when we go, too. My 3 year old loves flipping through the books, too. They have a lot of those toddler books with the buttons on the side that play music and make noises.
I hope you are fortunate enough to have one of these places near you. Worth a drive if you are not close to one. If you are a business owner, start one of these near you! The workers are all volunteers.
Let me know if you have one of these amazing places near you! Thanks for reading.

 

[tinkerdan]

No such book store here.
All our used book book stores allow trades--where you bring in books, they give you credit, and the prices of books vary from a dollar to somewhere around half the price posted on the book cover.

All the regular dollar stores are starting to become 1.25 stores anyway so you shouldn't sweat that.

I remember 5 and dime stores and when I was old enough to go there there were few things for 5 cents or a dime except maybe small candies.
There might have been some books for 15 cents or 20 or 25. And If you find those in your book store now I bet they charge at least 1.25 for them.