books · Alberta

Where to sell books, records and media in Edmonton

5 businesses in and around Edmonton that buy used books from the public — what each takes, and whether you are offered a purchase, a consignment or a loan.

Verified 2026-09-24 from each organization's own website. We are not affiliated with anyone listed here, nobody pays to be included, and we receive nothing if you sell to them.

How to tell what you have got

Before you call anyone, two minutes with the object settles most of it. None of this needs an expert — it needs a flashlight and a look at the back.

  • LPs in almost any genre except classical, opera and overstocked easy listeningLook up the exact pressing's completed sales on Discogs, not its asking prices. Audiopile says it reads the median price rather than the highest, also looks at the "Wants" count to judge sellability, and warns that online prices do not necessarily reflect the local market. Pressing origin matters — it pays more for Japanese, UK and other imports — so read the catalogue and matrix numbers on the label and in the run-out groove, not just the artist.
  • Records you were about to throw out because they look roughPut the visibly damaged records in a separate box and take them along anyway rather than sorting them into the bin.
  • Antiquarian books, modern firsts, fine bindings and local historyLook for a dust jacket present and intact, a date on the title page matching the copyright page with no later printing line, and an author signature. With none of those it is probably an ordinary secondhand book — but anything pre-1900, finely bound, or local history should be seen by a dealer before you decide.
  • Books published in the last five years, and classics in new editionsCheck the copyright page. If the newest date is more than five years old and the book is nonfiction, Halifax is not the stop for it — and its cap is 20 items per household in any case.
  • Children's and teen books printed since 2000, in gift conditionIt specifically wants board and baby books, preschool titles, popular series, graphic novels, non-fiction on nature, animals and space, and books with diverse characters. Its refusal list is short and exact: textbooks, encyclopedias, workbooks, library books, self-published books and damaged books.
  • CDs with no scratches, with their original linersA disc in a wallet or binder that still has its liner meets Halifax's rule. Discs stripped of their artwork are the hard ones to place.
  • Cassettes, where they are collectible rather than commonAudiopile's distinction is between common commercial tapes and collectible ones; a tape recorded or dubbed at home is neither. Sealed or small-run commercial releases are the ones worth asking about.

Rarely worth anything

Not a rule, and not a reason to bin something without asking. These are the things people most often expect to be worth money and find are not.

  • General mass-market paperbacks
  • Reader's Digest Condensed Books and other book-club condensed editions
  • Encyclopedia sets
  • Ex-library books and library discards
  • Outdated textbooks and computer manuals
  • Travel guides
  • Magazines, including long runs of National Geographic
  • Classical and opera LPs
  • Easy-listening and middle-of-the-road LPs
  • VHS tapes and ordinary audio cassettes
  • Used DVDs and Blu-rays, as a sale
  • Anything mouldy, musty, water-damaged, yellowed or heavily highlighted
  • Self-published books and workbooks
  • Hardcovers and spiral-bound books, as a prison donation
Prison book programs take softcovers only, and screen the content Canada — correctional institutions, via Books to Prisoners BC (Vancouver)

Books to Prisoners BC says that most prisons in Canada do not accept hardcover books, so it prefers that you do not donate them; it adds that hardcovers weigh more and cost more to ship. Spiral-bound books are also on its not-accepted list, along with damaged books, pornography, anything explaining how to immobilize a person, Canadian true crime about people currently incarcerated, and books critical of Canadian police and prison systems. Do not mail books to a prisoner directly on the assumption they will arrive.

Read the rule →
Hardcover books must be taken apart before the parts go in the carts City of Calgary, Alberta

Calgary instructs residents to remove cardboard hard covers and spines and recycle them as separate items from the pages, and to put coverless and loose pages into the recycling. Leather, canvas and plastic book covers go in the black cart as garbage. Old and unusable paper books may go in the blue cart or a community recycling depot.

Read the rule →
Discs and tapes that cannot be reused are garbage; only the paper parts are recyclable City of Calgary, Alberta

Calgary directs old and broken discs and tapes — vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and video tapes — to the black cart as garbage, while paper covers, music liners and record sleeves go in the blue cart. Its first advice is to pass usable media on to family and friends, sell it, or donate it to a local charity.

Read the rule →
Tapes, CDs, DVDs and records that cannot be reused go in the garbage; cases and inserts go in recycling Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon), Ontario

Peel Region states that video and audio tapes, CDs, DVDs and records that cannot be re-used may be placed in the garbage for disposal, and that empty cassette or video boxes, printed paper sleeves and inserts go in the recycling cart or a clear or blue transparent plastic bag. Reusable items in good condition may be donated at some Community Recycling Centre locations, where staff have the right to refuse items on inspection.

Read the rule →
Cassettes, CDs and DVDs are not accepted in the Blue Bin City of Toronto, Ontario

Toronto's Blue Bin page names cassettes, CDs and DVDs under other plastics that do not belong in the bin. Books are not listed on either the accepted or the not-accepted side — they appear only in a photo caption of paper items — and the page tells residents to check the Waste Wizard tool when they are unsure, which is the only authoritative answer for books in Toronto.

Read the rule →

5 places in Edmonton that take books

Beck Antiques & Jewellery Inc.

Buys outright Bring it to them
BuysJewellery, gold, silver, diamonds and gems, Coin and currency collections, Comics and sports memorabilia, Oil and gas antiques, Artwork, ephemera and maps, Cameras, Clocks and watches, Militaria, swords and historical objects, Taxidermy, fossils and ivory, Toys, carvings and oddities
The dealOutright purchase - "We are Always buying antiques & Treasures!" They also state "We also purchase complete estates and collections." They run weekly appraisal clinics at five of their locations, 11am-4pm, where you can "Bring your antiques, jewellery, and family heirlooms to meet appraiser and auctioneer Clinton Beck." No payout percentage or rate is disclosed on the site.
WhereEdmonton-area locations: West Edmonton Mall, upstairs between The Brick and The Bay (780-229-7777, Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 11am-6pm); 124 Street Edmonton (780-474-7447, Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11am-5pm); St. Albert Centre (780-705-8505, Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm); Sherwood Park Mall (780-793-3776); and Leduc (780-229-3359, Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm). They list further stores outside the metro. Street addresses are not published for the mall locations.
No public premises listed. We could not find a street address or phone on their site.
An appraisal opinion and a purchase offer are two different numbers - a dealer buying for resale must leave room for their own margin. The clinics are free to attend, so you can find out what something is before deciding where to sell it.
Visit their site →

Blackbyrd Myoozik

Buys outright Bring it to them
BuysUsed vinyl: classic rock, indie, punk, metal, reggae, electronic, soul, funk, post rock, hip hop, rock and blues, Jazz, country and folk by established artists, selectively
Won't takeMost big band records, Most classical records, Most easy listening records, Records that are severely scratched or warped, Used CDs
The dealThey buy records outright, with a choice of payment: cash, or store credit which they say is worth more - the site offers "fair prices and even more money for in-store credit." Store credit is only worth taking if you actually shop there. They also state that condition of both the record and the jacket factors into the offer.
Where10442 82 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6E 2A2
Appointment required - they ask you to "set up an appointment with our used records buyer before coming in." Do not turn up with boxes unannounced. Inherited collections of big band, classical and easy listening, very common in a house clearance, are exactly what they say they avoid.
Visit their site →780-439-1273

Capital Second Hand

Buys outright May collect — ask
BuysUsed furniture - sofas, dining and coffee tables, desks, china cabinets, lamps, accent chairs, Jewellery, gold, diamonds, watches, precious stones, pearls, Antiques - Royal Doulton, Limoges, Moorcroft, Collectibles, Mirrors, rugs, bookcases, silverware, wardrobes, armoires, vanities
The dealOutright purchase, including whole-house lots. They say "Capital Second Hand commonly purchases estate furniture, jewellery and antiques and collectibles from our Edmonton and area clients," that "Capital will swoop in and purchase the entire estate contents," and that they will "handle the removal of the furniture to make the process as seamless as possible." Removal is part of the service, which matters if you are emptying a house on a deadline.
Where15230 Stony Plain Road, Edmonton, AB
Payment method and timing are not stated on their site. For an estate lot, ask for an itemised or at least category-by-category offer rather than a single number, and settle in advance who removes and pays for the items they do not want.
Visit their site →780-966-5080

PayMore St. Albert (greater Edmonton)

Buys outright Bring it to them
BuysSmartphones, Tablets, Laptops, Gaming systems and video games, Digital cameras, Audio gear and headphones, Smartwatches, Computer components - GPUs, CPUs, RAM, motherboards
The dealA straight purchase for cash, assessed in store. Their described flow is that you bring the device in, they evaluate it, and you "Accept our evaluation and walk out with immediate cash payment." No loan is involved and nothing is held against you.
Where2003 Tudor Glen Pl, St. Albert, AB T8N 3V4
They require "valid government-issued identification." Back up and factory-reset your device and sign out of any linked account before you go - once you accept payment the device is theirs. Phone ahead before driving out, as franchise locations change.
Visit their site →587-805-2477

The Edmonton Book Store

Quote first Not stated — ask
BuysCollectible books - antique, leather-bound, unusual, old, Ancient history and military history, Arctic, Canadian art, history and literature, especially local histories, Mountaineering, Native studies, Natural history, New age, philosophy and religion, Photography, poetry and travel
Won't takeBooks not in good condition - missing dustjackets, worn, torn, damp-stained, smoke-damaged, Book-of-the-month publications, Magazines and journals, Popular fiction in paperback, Reader's Digest publications, Romance novels, Textbooks, Time/Life publications, Large format coffee-table books, National Geographic, Dictionaries and encyclopedias
The dealThey assess and buy selected books. Whether payment is cash or trade credit is not stated on their site, so ask. They tell you to phone first and to bring "a sample of a few books" rather than everything, because "It is difficult to give a quote over the phone."
Where10533 82 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6E 2A3
Their published refusal list is long and covers most of what comes out of an ordinary house. If your boxes are paperback fiction, textbooks, National Geographic or Reader's Digest editions, this is not a trip worth making.
Visit their site →780-433-1781
We could not verify this city’s municipal rules for second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers from an official source, so we state none. Check with the City or the province before relying on anything you read about them elsewhere.

Not sure what you have got?

Photograph it and we will tell you what it is and what it is worth — including when the honest answer is that it is worth nothing.

See what it's worth Donate it instead → Everything in Edmonton →

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