books · British Columbia

Where to sell books, records and media in Victoria

3 businesses in and around Victoria 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 →

3 places in Victoria that take books

Russell Books

Quote first May collect — ask
BuysBooks of all kinds, from antiquarian and rare to current bestsellers, with condition as the primary concern, Whole collections and estates
Won't takeBooks in bad condition - loose pages, cracked spines, odours, heavy marking, rips and tears, Reader's Digest condensed books, Outdated textbooks, Computer manuals, Encyclopedia sets, Ex-library books, Most magazines
The dealThe detail that matters most: they generally deal in STORE CREDIT, which you can use on anything they sell in store and which never expires. Their site says cash is offered only for large amounts of desirable books or extremely valuable books, at the buyer's discretion. Appraisal takes roughly 10-25 minutes while you wait nearby, and anything they do not take is handed back.
Where100-747 Fort Street, Victoria, BC V8W 3E9
If you are clearing a house and need money rather than credit, say so at the counter, because credit is the default and cash is the exception. Their site says that with more than 1000 books you may be eligible for a house call.
Visit their site →(250) 361-4447

Super Chance

Consignment Bring it to them
BuysSecond-hand household goods, per their current accepting list, Higher-value items by appointment
The dealA consignment store rather than an outright buyer. Their site tells you to send an email with your request and they will reply with a drop-off number and time frame, and that appointments are made for high-end items only. The consignment percentage is not published on their site, and payouts must be requested in advance by phone or email.
Where10-435 Simcoe Street, Victoria, BC V8V 4T4
You cannot simply turn up with boxes - the drop-off number and time slot are arranged by email in advance, and there is a separate list of what they are currently accepting. Ask what percentage you keep before agreeing to anything, since the split is not published.
Visit their site →(250) 385-2523

The Turntable

Quote first Not stated — ask
BuysVinyl records, CDs, Cassette tapes
The dealTheir site says they buy, sell and trade vinyl records, CDs and cassette tapes, and invites you to bring your stuff in to sell, with the option to trade in old albums against their stock. It does not publish how offers are calculated, whether payment is cash or trade credit, or what condition they require - all of that has to be settled at the counter.
Where107-3 Fan Tan Alley, Victoria, BC V8W 3G9
Record shops typically price by title and condition rather than by the box, so a large collection can be cherry-picked. Ask up front whether they pay cash or trade credit, and whether they will make an offer on the whole lot or only on selected titles.
Visit their site →250-382-5543
CONFIRMED AND BINDING: SCRAP METAL. British Columbia's Metal Dealers and Recyclers Act, SBC 2011 c. 22 (https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/11022_01) governs the sale of "regulated metal" - defined as an item substantially made of non-ferrous metal, excluding used metal cans or containers for food, beverages or paint, and metal domestic or household products normally recycled to avoid waste. The Act's definition of non-ferrous metal covers aluminum, copper (including brass and bronze), lead, magnesium, nickel and zinc, and expressly "does not include gold, platinum or silver". A person selling regulated metal must present prescribed identification to the dealer at the time of the transaction. The dealer must record a description of the metal (type, weight, distinguishing marks), the date, time and value of the transaction, the employee's name, and the seller's name, address, telephone number, a description of the identification presented, where the metal came from, the details of anyone who delivered it, and any vehicle used - and must then provide that information to the local police authority within the prescribed period. Practical effect: arriving at a Victoria yard with copper pipe or aluminum and no photo ID means being turned away, and you should be able to say where the metal came from. Note the carve-out: selling gold or silver jewellery, coins or bullion to a Fort Street dealer is NOT covered by this Act. NOT CONFIRMED - DO NOT TREAT AS LAW: PAWNBROKERS AND SECONDHAND DEALERS. We were not able to retrieve the text of any City of Victoria pawnbroker or secondhand-dealer bylaw, and we make no claim here about what provincial or municipal law requires of pawnbrokers, holding periods, or police reporting in Victoria. What we can document is what three businesses state on their own sites: The Bay Street Broker says that for pawns every transaction must be done with 2 pieces of ID; Williams Scrap Iron & Metals says that, abiding by BC laws and regulations, it asks customers to have government ID when bringing in material. Assume ID is required everywhere in this guide and that it will be recorded, and confirm any holding period or reporting rule with the shop itself.

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 Victoria →

Other things in Victoria

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Books in other cities

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