Good affordable and secondhand bookstores are hard to find. One of the things I mourned when I moved to Alabama for school was that my favorite secondhand bookstore, McKays, was no longer 30 minutes away from me. Luckily, I met a good friend my freshmen year who introduced me to 2nd & Charles. Now it's my pleasure to share this amazing store with you!
1. They're now open in Oxford, AL!
The closest 2nd & Charles used to be an hour and a half away in Birmingham. Now they're a quick drive to Oxford where Books-A-Million used to be. But if you're not from the area, it's okay. There are new stores opening around the country constantly.
2. Don't worry about losing Books-A-Million.
2nd & Charles is owned by Books-A-Million, so it's like they've never left. It's still got everything you love about Book-A-Million.
3. Actually, the cafe's gone.
But it's for a totally awesome reason! They've replaced it with the 'Buy Back' counter where you can trade in items for cash or store credit.
4. What can you trade in? Everything!
They'll take books, audiobooks, comics, DVDs, Blu-Rays, boxed sets, CDs, vinyl, video games, gaming systems and accessories, electronics, smart devices, board games, toys, collectibles, and musical instruments! Find out how the whole process works here.
5. You can make a decent amount on your trades.
You won't get rich trading in your items, but you can easily make a nice dent or completely cover all the books and movies you picked up while waiting for your offer.
6. Take the store credit!
Your store credit offer will always be greater than you cash offer which means you won't feel as bad about buying the stack of books you've acquired.
7. Don't worry about losing your credit.
2nd & Charles keeps it on file on a database on their computer. You don't even have to spend it that day and it never expires!
8. Sometimes they can't take all your items.
But that's okay, what they can't take due to overstock they'll give back to you. If you really don't want your never-read copy of The Scarlett Letter back, you can put it in the free bin outside.
9. Oh yeah, there's a free bin!
Right outside the doors is a free bin full of books and movies the store couldn't take and the previous owners didn't want to lug back home. Most of the items in the been are in good condition and completely up for grabs.
10. All of the items they do take are resold in store.
Which means that you get everything way under usual bookstore prices. Last time I went, I got a copy of Beautiful Creatures for $4.50 and Monty Python and the Holy Grail for $6.50. New copies of both would have cost me about $35 at another book store.
11. But they don't just sell trade-ins.
This is the magical part, everything resold is right beside new collectibles, shirts, artwork, and everything you've come to love about Books-A-Million.
12. It's really two stores in one!
So come and explore the awesome store with everything you could possibly want at prices even a college student can afford!
