Location
4553 California Ave SW, Seattle WA 98116 (map) in the Alaska Junction, two doors north of Easy Street Records
There’s curbside pickup reserved parking in front, which is where our pickup lockers are.
Hours
10-6pm seven days a week
Due to COVID there is no in-store browsing, sorry!
Curbside pickup using our lockers is available 7 days a week starting at 11am.
Ordering
How do I order from you?
The really simple answer is – browse our shelves, and then use the order form to email us the info we need! We will call or email you to confirm your order, take payment, and arrange for pickup or mailing.
What payment types do you take?
- credit/debit cards (any kind) over the phone
- PayPal
- or payments via our online cart
Pickup, Shipping & Delivery
How do I pick up books?
It’s easy and contact-free!
We have a curbside pickup locker directly in front of our store. Once your books are paid and you’ve chosen a pickup day, we will give you the locker letter and lock code. On your pickup day, your books will be the locker from 11am to 6pm and you can get them whenever you’d like.
What are your shipping rates?
For books in store, our rates are $5 for the first pound and another .60 for each additional pound.
Gifts, apparel, and other items ordered through this site have their own shipping rates.
Do you deliver?
We’ve mostly had to discontinue deliveries because it takes a lot of time. If you are placing a large ($50+) order and live within West Seattle north of the Vashon ferry dock, inquire and we may be able to deliver.
New Books
Do you sell new books?
In the store we have just a few of the most popular titles. For everything else, we encourage you to order from our Bookshop.org store, which helps us out a LOT.
Those books will ship direct to you from the distributor’s warehouse, and we get a commission that’s actually better for us than selling the books ourselves.
What is Bookshop.org?
Bookshop.org is a not-for-profit, the goal of which is to let indie bookstores compete against You Know Who. We curate a bookstore on their site, they handle customer service, and the books themselves are shipped from Ingram (the distributors we ourselves use). We get 30%+ of the cover price on all books purchased through our affiliate link.
As crazy as it sounds, this is legit.
Can you help me with my Bookshop.org order?
We don’t have any access to those orders, but Bookshop has great customer service. Click the contact link on their help page.
Store Credit
How does store credit work?
What's my store credit balance?
Use the Contact Form to send us an email and we’ll look it up for you. Include the names and alternate names (nickname? maiden name? partner? kid?) we should check, plus phone numbers.
Trading
Can I bring you books for trade or donation?
Yes! But only by appointment. Please read the Trading page for all the details.
Are you buying books?
Gift Cards
Do you have gift cards?
I have a paper gift certificate or coupon; can I still use it?
Yes! Please call us.
Other Common Questions
Do teachers get discounts?
YES! We have a giant, customer-funded store credit account which teachers (and nonprofit volunteers) can use to get 50% off used and 20% new books. We also offer special order services for teachers.
Can you special order a book for me?
Unfortunately, no.
We love it when you buy new books through our Bookshop.org store! For out-of-print titles, we recommend Biblio or Alibris, which are marketplaces for other indie bookstores.
When are you going to open your doors again?
When we think we can do so safely, and not a moment sooner, regardless of what rulings are currently in effect. When we were open, we would regularly each interact with 100+ people a day and that’s a huge risk to us, to our loved ones, and to our community. Some of us are high risk or have older or high risk family members. We love selling books and are happy that we can do so in a way that doesn’t expose anyone to risk.
Does Fred still own the place?
Indeed he does!
Was your question not answered here? Email us using the contact form!