BOOKOFF San Diego

BOOKOFF San Diego

 

BOOKOFF is a used bookstore chain with locations worldwide. The stores began in Japan (according to their corporate profile, they currently have 866 stores in Japan, 10 in the US, 8 in Malaysia, and 3 in France). The US chapters began in 1999 with headquarters in Gardena. 

Also from their website, their relationship to society and their customers:

• The BOOKOFF Group’s mission is to become a “Waste-free infrastructure for people who don’t want to throw things away.”
• Reuse, the main business of the BOOKOFF Group, is that the act of "buying or selling things at BOOKOFF" already leads to a "valuable action" such as "reducing waste" and "extending the life of usable things".
• We will contribute to the construction of a sustainable environment and society through our business activities as a company with a platform of "circular economy" where customers can take valuable action and experience".
  

The San Diego location is a tightly packed and well organized used bookstore with a great section of manga, anime, video games, and collectables. It has a very large selection of $1 and slightly higher priced used books, both fiction and nonfiction, which takes up a good center of the store. I gravitated to the cookbook section and all their nonfiction titles are laid out and organized (located at the back, if you're looking for them, too). 

Some books not in the discount aisles are a little pricey for being a used book, but you never pay full price and the higher priced books are hard to find ones or ones in excellent shape. They do buy titles, and like other consignment shops, the amount you get may not be high (especially for a title destined for the $1 section), but you'll get a little something including more space for new titles.

Parking can get a little crazy, as in no parking at all depending on when you go, and the spaces are small. It shares the parking lot with Mitsuwa, Staples, Ross, Starbucks, and a couple of restaurants, which means lunch time is hectic as is afternoons. I got there early on a weekday when the store opened this trip, parked right in front with no problem - by the time I left, all spots were practically taken. I dropped of my books and went to Mitsuwa for lunch (one of my fave Japanese stores in San Diego).

But, I digress, BOOKOFF is a great used bookstore if you have the time to go through the stacks to find something new for your home stacks or something new to read - the discount sections are large but it makes for great fun going through all the titles. On this visit, I found a couple of $1 odd paperback fiction titles with cool covers and three higher priced pastry books that where brand new, and left very happy.

Bookstore Info:

• Name: BOOKOFF San Diego
  
• Address: 4240 Kearny Mesa Rd #128, San Diego, CA 92111
• Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa, next to Mitsuwa Marketplace
  
• Website: BOOKOFF San Diego

Enjoy,
Renee Shelton
Succotash Book Reviews
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Disclosure and More Info: Most books found in the reviews are purchased by me and some have been given to me by publishers or the writers themselves. Some of my large cookbook library collection can be found on The Library Thing, which is a constant work in progress to categorize all my books. All reviews are independent and opinions my own. Any advertising helps support this site. :) Thanks for reading!