Buying Guidelines
General Information
Yes, we buy used books! We pay up to 30% of our estimated resale value in cash, or up to 40% in store credit. The exact figure will depend on a number of factors, including condition, rarity, market demand, and whether we already have copies in stock.
What We Love
We are always interested in the following genres:
- Literary fiction
- Science fiction, fantasy, horror, and supernatural
- Graphic novels
- Classics
- History
- Nature and animals
- Science
- Arts and culture (music, film, TV, video games)
- Books about books
- Essays
- Travel
- Philosophy
- Race and gender
- Society and culture
- Biography and memoir
- Children's picture books (hardcover preferred)
We are also particularly interested in the following publishers and series:
- Arkham House
- Biblioasis
- Coach House
- Dalkey Archive
- Easton Press
- Folio Society
- Graywolf
- New Directions
- New York Review of Books (NYRB)
- Penguin Classics and Penguin Modern Classics
- Vintage Contemporaries
What We Don't Carry
Sadly, we don't carry the following:
- Business
- Self-help
- Commercial/airport fiction
- Romance
- Encyclopedias
- Ex-library books
- National Geographic magazines
- Readers’ Digest condensed books
- Textbooks
- Books that are damaged (including bent spines), highlighted, written in, or dog-eared
How to Sell
Feel free to bring a couple of boxes or bags into the shop on a weekday during business hours, and we can take a look while you wait. Please note we are a small shop, and so books cannot be dropped off to be picked up later.
You can also reach us by email ahead of time, if you like, at porchlightbooks@gmail.com. Include a brief description of what and how many books you are looking to sell, as well as clear photos or a list of titles.
House Calls
We occasionally make house calls for larger collections. If you feel your collection is a good fit for us, please email porchlightbooks@gmail.com with details and photos and we'll be in touch as soon as we can.
Thanks for thinking of us!