Half Price Books

Sad to report, the ½ price books on the Hill has closed. June 2^nd was their last day in business. That weekend, all their clearance books were .50 cents. Sad to see it go. Especially worried that something über hipster will take over the space in its place. We don’t need another coffee shop.
Anyway, it was an awesome two level place with an always working elevator. The selection of books was varied enough that I could stay for hours and not get bored. The staff there was amazing, and always ready to help.
Goodbye, ½ price on the Hill. I’ll miss you.

I really want to like this place. The books are available at a great price and my wife usually finds what she is looking for there. I am more into blu-​rays as of late and am really like their selection, however, the prices are out of this world. In many cases, the pre-​owned blu-​rays are priced well above what you can find them for new. Examples,
Limitless — $ 14.99 (best buy/​amazon — $ 9.99
Adjustment Bureau — $ 19.99 (walmart — $ 13.65).
I want to go here for a few bucks off the new price, not pay more. I have been able to find a few deals. Picked up ‘Shame’ blu-​ray for $ 12.99 and ‘M’ DVD for $ 9.99. Would just like the pricing to be more fair to the consumer.

It’s no secret, I LOVE BOOKS. So, innately, I love Half Price Books!
I mean, who doesn’t love paying 50% or more off the list price?! Please, show yourself and explain if you don’t like a discount… But really, this bookstore has it all. Shelf after shelf after shelf.
I first discovered HPB at their University District location, but quickly fell deeply in love with the Capitol Hill location. It will be a very sad day in the very near future when this bookstore’s location closes their doors this summer.
My favorite find? The entire J.R.R. Tolkien series for only $ 8! (only $ 2 a book)

Great selection. Supremely located. Occasionally over-​priced. I don’t like the staff, and aside from one, they’re mostly a bunch of self-​important, self-​worshipping a-​holes. «I work at half price books. I’m basically qualified to be president.» The guy tossing books in the recycling dumpster behind the store actually told me he didn’t want me to take a look at one of the books he was throwing away. Sorry dude. Didn’t mean to bother you during this task of great importance. Next time, I won’t politely ask to glance at your trash.

Sorry to hear this location is closing. I like the Roosevelt store too, but this one is larger. Great selection of all genres — the only thing I wish they had more of is hardback science fiction, and paperback sci-​fi in better condition.
It will be missed.

Amazing! You could spend hours and hours lost in wonderful books. Upstairs and downstairs their are sections for everyone. Customer service is fast and friendly… a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon with lots of options of treasures to take home with you!

I happily soak up hours and hours at this location whenever possible. We used to live very nearby so I often found myself walking over on a lazy Sunday. Especially when times are tough, this is a cheap way to keep your mind stimulated.
They have a great selection of new /​popular books. I also love getting calendars & greeting cards here. I always forget about things like cook books, planners and maps. Those are plentiful as well.
The couches are cozy, the vibe is relaxed and the employees helpful. What more could you ask for?

This Half Price Books is in a really great location, just off the 8 bus line that runs east-​west on Denny Way. The location also looks really cute, it’s on one of the side streets off Denny/​Olive. There is the upstairs (where you come in) and a downstairs level.
The atmosphere is pretty cozy and is great to curl up in on a cold autumn day. I don’t recall having that many seating areas though.
My main issue with the store is pricing (ironically) — they actually do price most things exactly 50% off the list publishing price. Sometimes the condition of the books aren’t that great and I would actually rather just go online and buy the NEW book for a few dollars more than the half price. However, there’s a selection of books that’s either on clearance, or new books that are overstock from the publisher and may be more than 50% off, though.
Also, some of the people at the counter seem a little hipster/​snooty… I guess it’s just the neighborhood.

Half Price can be a hit or miss depending on the locale, but this place offers a HUGE selection! There are two floors jam-​packed with discounted goodies. I am especially pleased with the impressive philosophy section; there are some really interesting works here. Also, I have discovered several hard to find animé gems here, so I recommend keeping an eye out if that is your sort of thing.
Go ahead and drop on by — you will more than likely find something up your alley.

Can I please get a 6^th star — wait, a 6^th star just wouldn’t cover the awesomeness that is this store! I want infinity stars!!!
So, I was on a search for an older edition of a text book, and looked at three other branches. Luckily, the nice people at the Everett branch (see review) checked their inventory and found a copy. I called to hold the book, and the gentleman on the phone was so very friendly and helpful. So, I made the trek from Everett to Capital Hill.
I felt like I had just landed on the MotherShip of all book stores — this place is HUGE. I wish I had more time to browse, but I was on a mission. I made my way to the counter and was greeted by a very kind and dapper gentleman who gave me my book. Not only did he have the book for a reasonable price, but it was practically pristine. I knew there were a total of 3 on the shelf, and he made sure he found the cleanest copy for me. SCORE 1 for daPegster! I was grateful not to have to deal with shipping charges and to be able to get my book in my hand the second I paid for it. I will definitely be coming back — it’s worth a trip South just to hang at this store!

The Half Price Books on steroids.
This branch is huge and every section has unusual titles due to the diverse, intellectual and affluent community that stocks it with their cast offs.
Best bets: Just about anything, but definitely the best branch I’ve found for art books. The children’s section is one of the largest in this chain, and the comic book section carries more indy and offbeat titles than most. They also have one of the larger selections of used animé.
It’s very unusual on Capitol Hill; they actually have a parking lot — makes it easy to run in and sell your books, or make an impulse buy. Another perk of this branch over others: they actually have places to sit and read books. Most Half Price Books don’t have enough space to provide chairs.
Final reason to run into this shop: the view. They have a pretty interesting view of downtown from the west side of the shop.
A side note: Watch out for the creepy mannequin in the elevator!

I am not allowed in bookstores. This is because I have almost no self-​control and inside of a month, I would have to buy a house because I would no longer be able to fit in my apartment for all the books. Fortunately, I do have enough self-​control to be able to do most of my books via the library so they can revolve in and out and not cost me very much.
Then, I discovered the inside corner of Half Price Books — a small area where the books have been discounted to $ 1, $ 2, maybe as high as $ 3. Uh-​oh, someone stop me now!!! My first trip here, I bought «just a few» books and barely survived the trek back home up the giant hill (it’s called Capitol HILL for a reason!). For trip two, I firmly told myself that I was only allowed to buy two books. Preferably paperbacks.
With some trepidation, I made a beeline to the cheap corner and started checking out what was available. I just about squealed with glee when I found a book that I’d been searching several years for, at the bargain basement price of $ 1. I found a second book that looked interesting (also a $ 1 paperback, if you’re curious) and forced myself to head to the check-​out counter. Their set-​up always leads to some confusion as people don’t seem to be able to tell which direction the line should run. I witnessed an employee nicely telling a lady that the end of the line was ‘over there’ when she came up on the other side. The employees have all been polite, if reserved, and they were evidently having a sale which means my 2 $ 1 books were $ 1.76 after tax. Woohoo!!!

Awesomely huge used booked store!
The had a lot of books I was looking for.

This is a huge, two-​level store that’s just crammed full of all kinds of books. The downstairs is my turf, ’cause that’s where they have the clearance section, plus the genre fiction, plus the roleplaying games and comics. They even have a glassed-​in case for the awesome comic books that you owned as a teenager and then foolishly sold for beer money in college because your parents had a really unrealistic idea of how much money college students need and gave you what would have been a princely sum back in the Mad Men era, but made you live like a starving poet.
Hold on, that wasn’t you, that was me. I sure wish I still had my complete run of Swamp Thing, including the Annual where Swamp Thing goes to Hell… but I was talking about bookstores, wasn’t I? Yes, I was. This is a great bookstore for guys like me who love books and still aren’t given enough money to meet their needs. They also have a pretty good used CD section upstairs.

Half Priced Books is somewhere I don’t shop too much, but it is where I go to take books to sell. I’ve known for a while that I’ll never get as much as I’d like to for what I’m turning in, but the thing thats also nice about HPB is that any book they don’t keep for themselves to resell they donate, so it’s also a nice way of departing with books that aren’t in the best reselling condition but are still usable.
This particular HPB location has gotten me the most $$ for my pile brought in of the handful of locations I’ve been to. They also take DVD’s and CD’s (remember those?). This location is also one of the more well lit places I’ve been to, and the staff is pretty damn friendly.

This Half Price Books location is one of the more expensive ones. When I store-​hop (and I do) I notice the books with actual price tags (rather than the ones that are literally half the price posted) tend to run up to a dollar more.
Still, I am a fan of this location because it is set up amazingly! It feels cozy if you want to sit down for a few minutes to skim, and you can get lost in the isles.

It’s nice to see a sizable bookstore filled with bargain books, including discounted new, used and rare books. Most used books are half off the list price. The super buy books near the front of the store start at 50 cents & up. They have your usual sections on two floors (literature, travel, art, kids, reference, etc.), plus a small selection of CDs, DVDs, vinyl records and signed books.
The store is well organized and they do have a decent selection of books in a no frills, warehouse setting. You can sell or trade your books. I found quite a few books at another location of theirs but the selection here didn’t capture my interest.
Open late (till 11 PM).

I go here to buy and sell my books — when you have a habit like mine, it’s difficult to not buy books ALL THE TIME. So when you can’t find your nightstand anymore, it’s time to take a box or a bag (or several) and sell them back at Half Price Books. Then, while you’re waiting for a buyer to price all those books, you can shop for more books!
Also a great place to get my dad, who has everything, the perfect gift. Their aviation shelf is pretty in depth and has a lot of stuff that my dad is interested in but hasn’t ever read or come across on his own.
Their note cards and occasional cards, note books, and other paper goods are another highlight for me.
The service is always polite and reasonably prompt — of course, there are other shoppers and you have to be patient with that sometimes. This store is well-​located and has parking, so it can be rather surprisingly crowded! But that’s a good thing, right… American’s don’t read, or so I hear.

I could spend all day in this place!!! There are so many books, its a bibliomaniac’s heaven! I have been to almost all of the Half Price Books in the area, and this is my favorite by far. It actually has that used bookstore feel rather than a big chain atmosphere.
If I could give them 4.5 stars though I would, simply because I wish they would enforce more of a «library silence» rule. I like my bookstores to be quiet, but I know that is a personal preference, so not really worth knocking down a star.

This is probably my favorite location because it seems more like a regular bookstore, than a used one. It’s on two levels, spacious (unlike the UDist one). It also has CUSHY chairs to sit in and a decent selection of ARCs (advanced books, I always look to see if there’s something I want to read out early. Nothing yet, fingers crossed).
Parking can be interesting because the lot is on a downhill slope but we can usually find something.
The children’s and YA sections are great! I can spend a while browsing. The downstairs is mostly fiction and has a large wall and nook for clearance stuff. There’s a fortune teller lady who parks it there a few times a week. I’ve never actually seen her talk to anyone though.
When we left after another successful visit, I realized that Captain Blacks is right next door. Next time we come for the books but stay for the chicken ‘n’ waffles. Srsly.