books · Manitoba

Where to sell books, records and media in Winnipeg

3 businesses in and around Winnipeg 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 Winnipeg that take books

Bison Books

Quote first May collect — ask
BuysRare books, Fine bindings, Illustrated books, First editions, Signed books, Antiquarian and good used books
The dealAn antiquarian dealer downtown. Their site states: 'We are always purchasing good books. We seek out, and pay a premium for, valuable books, including rare books, fine bindings, illustrated books, first editions, signed books, and more.' Note where the emphasis falls - the premium is for the scarce end, not for general secondhand stock. Their listed categories include first editions, fine bindings, Indigenous studies, literature, art, children's books and classics. Usefully for a house clearance, the site offers house calls and appraisals alongside book searches, acquisitions consultations and mail orders, and takes appointments through the website - which is the sensible route for anything more than an armful. Payment terms are not published.
Where424 Graham Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3C 0L8
They state they pay a premium for valuable books, which is not the same as paying for all books - expect a dealer to take the few items they want and decline the rest, so have a plan for the remainder before you arrive rather than after. If a collection is large or you cannot transport it, ask about the house call rather than boxing everything up first. Do not clean, tape or otherwise tidy an old book before showing it; if in doubt, show it as it is and let the dealer advise.
Visit their site →(204) 947-5931

Into the Music

Quote first Not stated — ask
BuysVinyl records
The dealA record shop in the Exchange District. The one operational fact they publish about buying, and it is the one that matters: 'We are currently buying vinyl on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.' Turning up with crates on a Saturday is a wasted trip. Note the word 'currently' - buying days are subject to change, so telephone before loading the car, especially for a large collection. The site does not state whether they pay cash, trade credit or either, does not publish a buying policy for CDs or DVDs, and does not say what they decline, so ask all of it on the phone. Store hours are Monday to Thursday 10:30am-6:00pm, Friday 10:30am-9:00pm, Saturday 10:30am-6:00pm, Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm - but the buying days are the narrower constraint.
WhereB-245 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0S6
Buying days are Monday, Tuesday and Friday and are described as current rather than permanent - call first. Their published buying statement covers vinyl only; do not assume CDs or DVDs will be bought without asking. Ask whether you are being quoted cash or trade credit, because they are different amounts of money and the site does not say which is offered.
Visit their site →(204) 287-8279

La Shop Lesage

Buys outright May collect — ask
BuysHousehold items assessed individually from photographs - they do not publish a category list
The dealOutright purchase, not consignment, and the process is the useful one for a house clearance. Their stated method: send photographs to lashoplesage@gmail.com or telephone, and in their words, 'If we are interested we will purchase your items and pick them up.' So the valuation happens from photographs before anyone moves furniture, and collection is part of the deal when they want the items. No consignment arrangement is mentioned anywhere on the site. They do not publish a list of what they will and will not consider, so send photographs of anything you are unsure about rather than assuming.
Where129-A Marion St., Winnipeg, MB R2H 0T3
Send clear photographs that include any damage. An offer made on flattering photographs is liable to be revised at the door, and you will have less room to argue once a van is outside. Agree the price for the whole lot before collection is arranged, and establish whether the figure quoted is net of the pickup or whether collection is charged separately - the site does not say.
Visit their site →204-233-1804
CONFIRMED: Manitoba has no province-wide pawnbroker or secondhand-dealer statute. The index of C.C.S.M. Acts contains no Act titled "Pawnbrokers", "Second-hand", "Secondhand" or "Salvage Dealers". The only provincial mention of a pawnbroker is a definition inside The Personal Property Security Act, C.C.S.M. c. P35, which defines "pawnbroker" as "a person who engages in the business of granting credit to individuals for personal, family or household purposes and who (a) takes and perfects security interests in consumer goods by taking possession of them, or (b) purchases consumer goods under agreements or undertakings, express or implied, that the goods may be repurchased by the seller". ONE PROVISION MATTERS TO ANYONE PAWNING AN ITEM. Section 55(1) of that Act states that Part 6 - "Rights and Remedies on Default" - "does not apply to ... (b) a transaction between a pledgor and a pawnbroker." Part 6 is the part of the Act that gives an ordinary borrower protections when a secured creditor seizes and sells collateral. Those protections do not apply to a pawn transaction. A full text search of the Act returns the word "pawnbroker" only three times: the English definition, the French definition, and this exclusion. The Act sets no licensing, seller-ID, record-keeping, police-reporting, holding-period or redemption requirements for pawnbrokers. NOT CONFIRMED, AND THEREFORE NOT STATED AS FACT: Winnipeg regulates used-goods and precious-metals dealers municipally, but I could not retrieve the text of the City's business licensing by-law or its licensing pages - every City URL I tried returned 404 or was blocked. So this guide does not assert how many activities the City licenses, the definitions or exclusions for "Used Goods Dealer", "Precious Metals Dealer" or "Used Material Yard", whether a Certificate of Record Review Board from the Winnipeg Police Service is required, any holding period before resale, or any police-reporting duty. I also could not verify the Winnipeg Police Service "Operation Identification" program or its phone number. Anyone who needs those specifics should confirm them with City of Winnipeg Licensing and Bylaw Enforcement via 311 before relying on them. SELLER ID, CONFIRMED FROM THE BUYERS THEMSELVES RATHER THAN FROM ANY REGULATOR: Canada Gold's Winnipeg page states you must be "18 years of age or older" and provide "A valid government-issued photo ID". Winnipeg Gold Buyer's site states "we require a piece of photo ID (to help the authorities ensure the items are not stolen)". Both are the businesses' own published policies. Take government-issued photo ID to any of these outlets.

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.

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