Selling your books here is easy.

Do you have books to sell? Bring them in anytime during regular business hours. We are always buying.

You're welcome to call (319-337-2996) if you'd like to check the best times to bring your books or to arrange an appointment to ensure priority on your arrival. (We recommend early afternoons and suggest that you make an appointment if you are coming on a Saturday, at the end of July, or in late December.)

We'll go through the books while you wait, select the ones we'd like to purchase, and make an offer promptly. Please allow ten minutes per box, more for unusual or very old books.

If you are selling a collection or are not able to bring your books in to the shop, you may call and have us visit your library.

We stock a wide variety of books, but we do not purchase:
- Condensed or abridged books
- General encyclopaedias or Time-Life sets
- Unbound magazines
- Romance novels
- Books bearing water warping, mold, broken binding, or missing covers or printed pages.

We offer cash payments or store credit. Prices paid are based on condition, scarcity, and many other factors. If you call or email in advance, we can give you an idea of what we would pay for books like yours, but we do need to see them in person to make a purchase offer.

If you are bringing in books for sale or trade, we can offer you store credit as payment. We usually offer more in credit than we would in cash. Credit can be applied toward the purchase of any books in the store, and sales tax does not apply to credit purchases. (Credit cannot be applied toward the purchase of art, textiles, cards, bookends, or book care supplies.)

Credit need not be spent immediately, and setting up an account is quick and easy. (We do not share account information with anyone except the account owner(s), so it's also hassle-free.) You can designate other people (partners, family members, friends) to share your account. Credit can also be converted to gift certificates, but cannot be converted to cash.

NEW! Do you have extra credit? Donate your unused book credit to The Leiden's Room Fund. Teachers at Willowwind School in Iowa City will be able to use donated credit to obtain books for classroom and library use.

We are always buying for a great many sections in the store, but sometimes there are particular sections for which we would like to find more titles. Here is the current list of books we're most avidly seeking:

Judaica, literary and art criticism, nature and ecology, history (especially African, Asian, South American, Irish, and European Renaissance), science, economics, labour issues, Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Trans issues, books in Latin, ancient Greek, Spanish, French, German or Portuguese, music history, vegetarian and vegan cookbooks.

We are always interested in philosophy, essays about nature, books on writing, award-winning and classic literature, poetry, and plays, books about Iowa, children's books, graphic novels and comic books, and classic mystery, science fiction and fantasy. (list updated 30 Mar 2008)

The sections for which we are currently buying less are: self help, diet, business motivationals, computer, home repair and improvement, older cookbooks, current events, thriller paperbacks, travel guides over three years old.

We do make appraisals of book collections for insurance or estate valuation purposes. Our usual fee for valuation is $35/hour (plus fuel expenses, if we must travel outside the Iowa City / Coralville area to view the collection). We are not able to make offers to purchase collections we have valued, as this would constitute a conflict of interest. Appraisal appointments can be made by telephone: (319) 337-2996.