Bill Campbell Secondhand Bookseller

Everything you want a used bookstore to be. Towering cosy shelves and everything smells of old paper. The owner knows his stock inside out and will be happy to hunt down anything you’re looking for.

I happened upon this wonderful little bookshop on a recent visit to Fremantle. As other reviewers have noted, the quality and selection is excellent, and the shop itself is beautiful.
The real highlight for me was the Australian literature collection. It was evident that the shopkeeper has taken time and care in deciding which books to stock — unlike the hodge podge one finds in many other bookshops.

Whereas Elizabeth’s tends toward contemporary, popular often remaindered stock, Bill’s shop tends towards the rare, collectable end of the spectrum.
As a result the shelves provide plenty of interest and, unless you a librarian or book nerd, plenty of potential reading material you have never heard of.
In that respect the comments of others regarding not going there with a specific book in mind are accurate: if it is popularly available on the secondhand market there is every chance you won’t find it here, but if you spend some time browsing the shelves you may just find yourself leaving with something completely different, and equally rewarding.

This is exactly what a second hand bookshop should be! There are rows and rows of books packed in tightly from ceiling to floor, the odd chair here and there to allow for some pre-​purchase reading and that familiar smell of dust and old binding that let’s you know you’re in a serious place of reading!
There is a huge selection available, but I wouldn’t go there with the intention of purchasing a specific book — it’s more the kind of place you go to hoping to find a good read or a beautiful old classic for the bookshelf, not a specific title.
The shop attendant was a lovely woman who have the impression that she knew every title that was in her shop and could show you its exact location! She was wonderfully helpful and quite knowledgeable on not only the books in her store but was more than willing to help you find a book she didn’t have.
Have I mentioned that I like books? This is a book-lover’s heaven!

Freo is notorious for it’s second hand bookshops.. . I’m convinced it must be the most well-​read if not, literary rich towns in all of Australia! I’m sure everyone has favourites for different reasons. Bill is good, the wooden flooring and upstairs railings add a charm that ties in the book shelves and their contents quite well.
I myself find this shop a bit too small, a lot of the sections (such as science and short stories) turns into a one way cove of clutter. Great if you’re looking for a hiding place in a corner to disappear for a while but for me, not very relaxing.
If people are in certain «hiding places» when I visit, I make it a brief trip to avoid the hassle of climbing over people. Bill is good for a leisurely read– when a particular book and time are of no consequence.

I like it when a shop does what it says it will on the sign. This place sells second hand books. That’s completely clear. Its’ wooden shelves have a completely different atmosphere to the other bookstores in Freo; there’s something very well organised about this shop that makes browsing for books a pleasure in here. The stock is really varied; while you’re probably more likely to find something specific that you’re after in here than in any other bookshop I can think of, it’s best used as a place to search for hidden treasures. I’ve got my eye on a picture book about the Cuban revolution in here at the moment, and I’ve picked up all manner of plays and poems from here. A great place to get lost in.

Books, books and more books. Bill Campbell store is a quaint store, crammed with books, from ceiling to floor. The fun thing about secondhand book stores, is you never know what you are going to find. The books range from old yellow secondhand out of print books to new looking, barely opened.
I don’t mind Elizabeth Book Stores, but Bill Campbell’s has more character and charm. They are also organised in alphabetical order, which makes life so much easier if you are looking for something in particular. The guy behind the counter could tell me off the top of his head if they had a book or not. He was also happy to make recommendations of similar books.

There is nothing quite like the smell of old books. I enjoy every aspect of an old book, the yellow stained pages, the folded corners, and just the thought that someone has enjoy this book before you.
It is lovely, this book store is just wonderful, it holds such a large range of different books and holds a huge range of Jane Austen, who just happens to be a favourite of mine!
This to me is my kind of heaven.

Second hand books is a bookshop right out of the movies, it’s the scene when the main character has to research some alien or ghost fact and runs to the bookshop for help, they would totally go here!
There is not a space on the walls that isn’t covered in books of every possible quirky, obscure genre but also best selling and popular reads too. I have to say I like buying new books so that I can crease the spine myself and when reading back enjoy the memories of how a certain page was ripped or why I had to fold the corner to mark the page. But I’ve really enjoyed buying a few second hand books from here, there are little notes in the margins or dedications at the front that help you imagine the life they had before you and it adds to your love of that books story. And if I’m being completely honest there are times when I’m walking past this store and just run in take a huge whiff of the old book smell and run out again!

I find that with most second hand book stores, going in with a particular title in mind often proves completely futile. Second hand book stores are more suited to perusing the shelves with an open mind and plenty of leisurely hours to browse, because it’s highly unlikely you’ll find that popular best-​seller you’re looking for. Not so with Bill Campbell. I had searched high and low for Norwegian Wood, and it was sold out basically everywhere, including Dymocks. But a kind gentlemen (perhaps Bill Campbell himself? I’m not sure) pointed me towards a very organised section of fiction books, and there it was and all was well in the world. But seriously, they really do have a good selection of books, and they’re actually arranged in alphabetical order, unlike other certain second-​hand book retailers which shall remain unnamed. Rather than a higgilty-​piggilty array of dusty book jackets and dog-​eared pages, the place is neat and tidy, well-​stocked yet not cramped, and the majority of the books in good condition and for reasonable prices. Definitely worth a wander up the West End of Fremantle if you’re after something in particular, but don’t want to fork out too much.

Elizabeth seems to have a bit of a monopoly on the secondhand books scene in Fremantle and beyond. With approximately eighty stores in Freo alone, Elizabeth’s Bookshop seems to be hogging the limelight somewhat. But that doesn’t stop Bill Campbell shining through as a secondhand book-​dealing force to be reckoned with. The store has a comforting library-​esque feel to it, with its wooden shelves all in rows, and rickety wooden chairs dotted around in which you can peruse your chosen book. It has a very good selection of books, many of which are in such good condition that they look new. Everything is well-​organised and labelled, so it’s easy to navigate the shelves. The best section of all has to be the hardback fiction section, which is laden with that delicious old book smell, and features some pleasingly ancient tomes with previous owners’ names written inside in pencil from who knows how long ago. The prices are very reasonable and the shelves are well worth a browse, because there are lots of literary goodies to be had here.