Hello,
I work at a second-hand book shop and one of our most visited sections is the RPG category. I'd like to make sure that people find interesting things on it. Do you have any recommendations on what would be good to showcase? Our inventory is mainly donations because it's a charity shop, but we have so many that I just want to make sure I know to put the best stuff out there. Thank you
Well, people browsing through used/secondhand book shops are probably looking for nostalgic items in the RPG/Gaming sections, so maybe books that are 15-30 years old or there-abouts.
I've frequented several such shops. I can tell you that they nearly always make 1 of 2, if not both, mistakes:
- It's old and unpopular, so sell it for peanuts.
- It's out of print, it's a collector's item! Charge way over cover!
That last one is really only true for a handful of books. The original AD&D Deities and Demigods being one of them, since it is truly rare. You could get $150 for it if you don't mind holding out for awhile.
I mean, there may be a handful of people out there that just really want a complete set of the D&D 3.5 books or a particular edition of Vampire or the like. The kind of buyer that will pay 60% of cover for a used sci/fi, mystery, or similar novel. The chances that they walk into your store before someone buys things piecemeal are pretty small. If they are that serious, they probably got it on EBay already.
Everyone else buys on a lark or because they really want that item. I'm not paying 200% cover cost for an item out of print just so that I can read it for curiosity. Yet, you don't want to have everything going at 20% cover until it simply won't move.
If it says AD&D, it should be of strong interest to many gamers from say 60 to 75 years of age.
If it says AD&D 2nd Edition, it should be of strong interest to many gamers from say 50 to 75 years of age.
Plus of course, any younger gamers who have chosen to give old school D&D a chance.
And if you happen to come across a D&D Rules Cyclopedia, that is a very desirable book for old school D&D.
Obscure splatbooks and campaign books for systems nobody knows should be showcased as 'reworkable for other systems'. This would help them sell a lot better.
I am a very frequent used book store peruser, but I don't think my advice would go beyond the obvious and/or what's already been stated.
-Don't let your games section be entirely dominated by (current edition) D&D and Warhammer 40K books. I know you probably have a ton of them in stock, but I'd avoid putting duplicates on the shelves, as they can easily take over the whole section. Could be wrong here, but I think the people who are shopping used stores for RPG stuff are going to be people who expressly aren't looking for the mainstream games. I know if I walk into a book store and see a wall of 5e books, I subconsciously profile the store --just a little-- as one that isn't going to have anything interesting.
-Check prices. I often see RPG books in used stores for the same price or higher than what they're available for new. This is especially true of books that are available print-on-demand. If I see a POD book used in store for the same price that I could just order a new one, it's an iffy value proposition. On the flip side, I just got the Low Fantasy Gaming hardcovers at a used store. LFG PODs their hardcovers for quite a high price on Drivethru, so when I saw them for a better priced used, I snapped them up without a second thought.
-In general, the RPG books I'm most likely to buy at a used store are ones I don't think I could get later, so I would give pride of place to obscure/unusual games or books from completed Kickstarters that aren't being continually sold.
-A lot of used stores have their rarer or more expensive game books in a separate section, often behind the counter. If you can get a locked case that you can put right next to the normal game book section, that lets your customers shop the whole section at once. I sometimes end up passing on behind-the-counter books because I don't see them until I'm at the register and then I either don't have time to consider the purchase or I've already picked out books up to the amount of money I'm willing to spend that day.
When I go to such places I'm looking for games with interesting settings. There's not much chance I'm going to find a group that wants to play a 30 year old games, so I just want something fun to read, regardless of whether the rules are any good. Shadowrun 1E and Blue Planet are two examples that come to mind.
Thank you all. This is very useful :)
Where are there secondhand bookstores with much RPG content? I can't recall ever seeing one, in the US or the UK.
Quote from: Naburimannu on March 11, 2025, 06:00:58 AMWhere are there secondhand bookstores with much RPG content? I can't recall ever seeing one, in the US or the UK.
I live in the Chicagoland area and there are a couple of "Half Priced Books" stores with some decent gaming inventory. Mostly Warhammer and 5E books, but some World of Darkness or obscure stuff. Nothing AD&D or really valuable, but I like to check every week or two just to see what interesting stuff pops up.
I got a d20 Dark*Matter there. A Monte Cook's World of Darkness. A copy of Castle Falkenstein. All reasonably priced.
As a customer, I like to find older editions of popular games I enjoyed as a teen. Early Battletech, 2e and 3e Shadowrun, Cyberpunk 2020, Traveller, Mega Traveller, are some of my favorites to come across.
Especially for more obscure systems, the ones with pretty art will 100% sell better.
That's always true, but moreso when people are browsing the physical books randomly and don't know the system.
Quote from: Naburimannu on March 11, 2025, 06:00:58 AMWhere are there secondhand bookstores with much RPG content? I can't recall ever seeing one, in the US or the UK.
The Half Price Bookstore chain usually has a good selection, and some vintage video games and consoles as well. Besides that it's hit and miss, as almost all of these places are small locally owned shops.
Quote from: Naburimannu on March 11, 2025, 06:00:58 AMWhere are there secondhand bookstores with much RPG content? I can't recall ever seeing one, in the US or the UK.
College towns. I went to Columbus (which has about a hundred colleges) on business a few months ago and I could not believe how much RPG stuff was in every used store I went to.
Anything TSR from the 1980s. Or West End Games.
Quote from: Naburimannu on March 11, 2025, 06:00:58 AMWhere are there secondhand bookstores with much RPG content? I can't recall ever seeing one, in the US or the UK.
Graywhale, Half-Price Books, local consignment shops, places like that. Bigger cities often have them. Boise, Salt Lake, places like that near me. Always check your local library's sale/donation rack too, you never know what people will dump there.