We currently use a “half and half policy” – you may use 1/2 store credit for purchases and the remaining 1/2 paid in cash. This policy is necessary to provide sufficient cash flow for the store to remain open. We accept books each month between the 1st and 14th to purchase for store credit or cash. A reminder that we will not accept books to buy at all in August or December. We continue to only buy exceptional or rare books for cash. If you have an estate or some other unusual situation, you may contact me (Diane) for special arrangements.
Our store buys some amazing treasures from the Owens Valley community, as well as thousands of the “regular” books we all love to read. The quality of material that comes in is what makes this a wonderful store, and we want to keep that standard up, and — oh yes — also stay in business. Basic guidelines for THIS store in buying books include:
- NO OBLIGATION
We do not have an automatic buy-back or trade-in policy. All books offered to us are considered in terms of condition, demand, desirability, and available space to shelve them. Water damage, insects and mold unfortunately create unsellable books. We also do not have an obligation to convert a credit balance to cash, although we do try to accommodate the changing circumstances of our customers. Books are evaluated differently for cash or store credit, so it is NOT an automatic, straight across exchange. Because cash flow is so difficult in this business at present, we only buy truly exceptional books for cash, and are more generous keeping books for store credit. - TIMES FOR BOOK BUYING
As of October 1, 2010, we accept books to buy for the first two weeks of each month, except December and August when we do not buy any books. Batches are generally logged in, labeled and processed in the order in which they came in. Some small batches can be processed immediately, depending on the staff available, but we cannot guarantee your books will be processed at the counter when you bring them in. Be advised that we occasionally must suspend accepting books in order to make room on the shelves and catch up with our inventory. Please feel free to call ahead to be sure we are accepting books at a given time. Our number is (760) 873-6882. - STORE CREDIT
We buy a majority of the books we sell for store credit, and currently offer a generous 50 percent of the resale price, which is set by the store owner and not negotiable. Credit balances are maintained on cards kept on file at the store. We make every effort to process your books in a timely manner, and to accommodate our customers’ needs, but there is no way to guarantee a specific processing time frame. It usually takes one to two weeks, on average. If you desire a call when we have processed your books, please ask. Remember that your credit balance does not equal a cash value. If you wish to convert your balance to cash, it is converted to the lower cash percentage, and the owner will issue a check as soon as it is feasible. You are welcome to retain any books we do not buy from you (“returns”), or we will be happy to donate those saleable extras to various charitable organizations. We can store your returns for about a week after we contact you, but will donate them if we do not hear back within that time. - CASH
A limited number of books are purchased for cash. The standard cash transaction is 30 percent of the resale value. Depending on the quantity or value of the books offered, the cash purchase price may occasionally be negotiated by the owner. Checks are issued as soon as feasible, but may take 60 days or more. Please keep that in mind when requesting cash. - DONATING BOOKS
Of course we love book donations, and will generally always accept them. Books we cannot sell are donated to various charitable organizations, and we give young kids free books when appropriate. You may also want to consider donating your store credit to a charity, such as Altrusa, which sponsors many community literacy programs. The cash value of your books can be donated as well; we have made many contributions to the Salvation Army and Hospice of the Owens Valley in lieu of cash to the book seller. We have also arranged memorial “scholarships” for the purchase value of book estates, and are always open to other ideas that will benefit our community. Please speak to the owner if you wish to make a charitable arrangement. - WHAT DO WE NOT BUY? We do not buy: Gideon Bibles (come on, you took it out of the motel, so at least give it away), Readers Digest Condensed Books (sometimes we do take the large print editions), Harlequin romance serial paperbacks, any books with rodent droppings, insects, mold, pages falling out, or similar conditions, any book we don’t think will resell.
- QUOTES, CONSIGNMENTS ETC. FOR RARE OR ANTIQUE BOOKS
No books will be accepted on consignment. If you want to know the potential cash or store credit value before you decide to sell your rare or antique books, please request a quote from the owner. Otherwise, we offer the books for resale immediately after processing them and your payment is the standard 50 percent store credit or 30 percent cash of that resale price.