Wilmot’s Books

Love this bookstore. Great collection of top books– You can find Pulitzer prize winners among many other noteworthy authors. You can browse for as long as you want and no one will bother you. I rarely leave there without buying at least one title.

I really want to love Wilmot Books, I really do.
It’s great how the owner is super friendly and knows his stuff. The prices are fairly reasonable too.
It’s just that their selection isn’t the best in the world. Compared to Rocket Reuse or even the Kevin Patrick Books (god rest its soul), I wasn’t able to find any of the titles I was looking for.
Hopefully they’ll up their selection. When that day finally comes, I’ll gladly give this place the blessed five stars.

I can spend hours here. Quiet, peaceful and FILLED with all kinds of books. Every genre you can imagine, no matter who you bring, they’ll find something good. Prices are very fair as well. Can’t wait to return.

I found Wilmot’s Books while adventuring through Alameda and I’m so happy I did! I am 36 weeks pregnant and was looking for children’s books for my son. The woman working there grabbed me a chair to sit down in while I browsed.
I found three classic books all in great shape and at great prices. The Treasury of Curious George, When Stella was Very Very Small and The Hungry Caterpillar.
I will be coming back to Wilmot’s soon to look for more to add to my future son’s library!

Smaller bookstore– love that actually because there is great personal service, lots of variety (especially impressed by the history options given the size of the store), and really reasonable used book prices too. Clean and easy to find things– very well organized compared to many larger used bookstores I’ve frequented. Definitely would go back– especially after he recognized my hometown from my husband’s hat and turned out he was from near where I grew up in WI. Any guy who loves books and knows the correct way to cook a brat gets my business!

He knows his shit. As someone who has worked in many bookstores, and owned a bookstore in the Bay Area, I can say, without reservation, that he is the real deal. Some reviewers have complained that he was putting books online, and they didn’t want to bother him. He would have loved to have been bothered. I know for a fact that he would rather talk about books all day with customers, and not deal with the internet so much but that’s life right now. You have to really push to keep to keep the doors open. Some of these reviewers have complained about the prices, and I think they are probably a little out-​of-​touch with the price of books, how much he has to buy them for and how much they are worth. I think some people still think it is 1975. Amazing.
If your first visit wasn’t great, give him another chance. Ask him to grab a book on the top shelf, and if you can’t find a title, ask him. He’s a book whore. All good book dealers are one.

Perfect little gem of a bookstore on the beautiful island of Alameda. I have scoured every used bookstore in the greater Bay Area and this little bookstore is unique for three reasons: it is small and intimate, rarely crowded; their prices are good; and lastly, they have a huge selection of religious and philosophic works. I love coming here, and will continue to as long as they stay in business.

This is the type of used bookstore which captures my time and money. A carefully purchased collection bought by a real book lover. A fine place to browse where you will find a wide selection of subjects and titles not beholden to best seller lists. This is a book lover’s selection where you may find titles you were seeking and some you didn’t know you were seeking. And if you want to have a chat with the owner/​buyer you can learn about even more reasons to empty your wallet and enhance your mind.
Actually I think there are two types of used book stores: dusty and not dusty. I love both kinds but this is the not dusty type of shop. Nothing pretentious here though. While you can find some rarities this is mostly just a good selection of books in clean, good condition, reasonably priced.

We visited this store based on Unilocal reviews, but the prices aren’t that great here. One book we bought cost us exactly the publisher price from when it was new! It was justified with «today it would cost 4x that amount…» (not a verbatim quote; the gist was there was no wiggle room on the price at all even though the cover was torn). Yes, a new version of its kind would probably be a lot more, but this was a used copy from 40 years ago, not in mint condition. Odd. But whatever.
The store is packed with books, almost up to the ceiling in some parts. It just didn’t have the feel of an old-​time cozy used bookstore where you could kick back and rejoice in all the amazing titles. Though polite and available if we needed something, the worker was so absorbed in online activities that he hardly noticed us. We gathered that the primary business is probably online, with the less popular titles available in the store. There was a title up high that I might have bought, that I didn’t ask him to help reach, because I felt I’d be bothering him.
I did really like how the prices were gently written in pencil on the first page of the books, where they could be humanely erased without damage. The organization of the store did show respect for the books, and made things easy to find.
The location of this store, away from retail and by itself in a sea of residential streets means you make a conscious choice to come here. Personally, we really liked the selection but didn’t feel all that welcome or that it was a great value.

All right! This place is pretty awesome. It’s very cozy and oh, what a cute store. I keep wanting to go back there. They have great selection of books, but especially poerty section. I am not into poetry but I see a lot of them sitting there, waiting for the true owners to pick them up. I recently purchased one used book from here. Hardcover book for $ 7? I thought it was reasonable, all right! I also sold some of my little sister’s books over here, but they only bought few. I understand though since there were many childrens books stored in there. The owners of the store is friendly. The lady even complimented on my glasses. :) The owners seem to know that what kind of books are hot or not. They always bring in some recent published books and a little bit of vintage books. Well, I am happy with it since they have recent ones at cheap prices!
This little bookstore is a treasure in Alameda. One of the great used bookstores Ive been to. Certainly, I will go back here whenever I need more books! :)

I love a good used bookstore, and this one was just what I was looking for. Not too big, but very little «fluff.» I felt I could be locked inside for 30 years and not run out of great titles. Couple that with a friendly woman at the counter and reasonable prices, and you can ring me up. (A crackling fireplace and a comfy chair would make this place heaven.)

Extensive book selection, fresh service, and clean and comforting atmosphere. I could spend all day in here! I love that it is nestled off the main drag in a residential area and is so close to my home I could literally crab walk there and not feel ridiculous!
Wilmot’s is the kind of place where you could arrive in your PJs and spend an hour or two perusing the shelves without suffering ridicule or odd glances. Not that one should plan to hang out there in their PJs any time soon, but it is comforting to know just in case your having an «off» day!
With Wilmot’s varied selection, you will leave happily with a heaping bag of prized readings.

One of the three used bookstores that I found while on my mission to uncover such… this place was definitely a pleasant find!
Off the beaten path of both Park and Webster, the store is located down Central Avenue in a mainly residential area, which was fun. Housed in a very old building this store has a very antique-​ish feel about it. Well organized by genre and author, this store is easy to navigate yet still has a very used bookstore feel to it, even if it is well dusted (hehe).
With thousands of books to chose from in their brick and mortar store and also an eBay store from which you can order from and then pick up in person or have shipped to you, there are many many many literally possibilities to uncover within Wilmot’s walls. The books listed on-​line may not be the same titles you find in the store and vice versa. While the on-​line presence is a great idea; for me the best part of used bookstore shopping is shopping IN a used bookstore.
Wilmot’s is certainly a very satisfactory used bookstore experience I plan on visitng more often.
Note that the owner does not work on Wednesdays or Sundays… so if you are hoping to sell/​trade on those days, it’s a no go.

This is a used bookstore on the new internet-​savvy model — buy a lot of books, sell everything that’s unusual online. and dump everything that’s common in the main store, priced fairly reasonably.
It’s not a bad selection overall and it’s well organized, so if you don’t know what you want, never buy books online, or really enjoy browsing it might have some appeal. But in my opinion the impossibility of finding a bargain or a true rarity really detracts from the used bookstore experience.

One of the best compliments for a used bookstore is to call it ‘charming’. Charming implies a warmth, an invitation and a coziness not to be found in either the huge soulless chain stores or the small but snobbily-​elite ‘rare’ bookstores. Wilmot’s is most definitely charming!
I love that they have a huge concentration of history (both US and World), as well as genre-​fiction favorites in science fiction and mystery. I also love the warm greeting upon entering and the clean, dust-​free shelves. This is a tiny, well-​lit, crammed-​full labor of love for someone and I am so blessed that it is only a few blocks away.

I knew I’d love this place when I first brought a bag of books to sell/​trade and asked what kind of books they took and which they avoided and they said, «well, we don’t have a Romance Novel section!»
Despite the «omission» of a Harlequin Novel section, they have an outstanding selection of books across a huge array of subjects and most of the books are in like-​new condition. The prices are very competitive and it’s always fun to hang out and chat with the owners who are even bigger bibliophiles than I am!

This is what you would imagine your friendly neighborhood bookstore to be. Wall to wall shelves with books scattered about. I vaguely remember a cat being there, although I might have made that up. Either way, this is a very cozy type of place. The type of place that you intend to spend 20 minutes in, only to leave the store after wandering the aisles (albeit limited number of aisles) for an hour.
The prices are fairly consistent with other used bookstores, but I must say, the shelves were very well organized, a rarity in the land of pre-​owned books. A very nice place indeed.
This place has a pretty good selection, although the volume of… err, volumes are limited due to the size of the store. However, I think I saw a first edition of Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms. You can really find some gems here, so stop by!!!

I am so glad to have found this through Unilocal.
Even though it is small, it is clean, well-​lit and extremely well organized.
Their «used» books are all new looking. There is a freshness to the air and not a hint of mustiness like you find in most used bookstores.
I love the kid’s section – lots of stuff that called out to me. I did find a copy of «Millions of Cats» that I remember fondly from my childhood (even though there is a giant cat fight where they eat each other).
I found a book on wraps in the cookbook section… now if I can only manage to actually use it!
I also found a book on manga by Japanese immigrants in America.
The owner was there and was very friendly and welcoming.
I’ll be back!

I’m quite fond of this bookstore. It’s well-​lit and organized, and I can always find at least a few books to take home with me. Actually, I usually find more than few, but I can’t always afford to buy every single book that catches my eye. This isn’t because of their prices — they’re average for a used bookshop — but because of my occasional inability to budget. Oops!
The one downside is that it’s small. But hey, I’ll take «small and charming» over «massive and soulless» any day of the week.

I live around the corner and am so, so lucky. Wilmot’s houses an outstanding little [ever-​expanding] cornucopia of newer and older used treasures. They also have live music [free!] every other Friday night or so [though this is ending soon as they’re filling up all the open space with more bookshelves].
I just wish they’d buy the place next door and put in a café. Bookstore cafes are the best ever.
Tip: pick up one of the cheapies out front to read at the beach.