Belfast Books is a members' bookshop. It does not open to the public, so nobody wanders in off the road. You book a time, and when you come the place is yours: no queue, no crowd, and a bookseller with you for as long as you are there.
People book for three different reasons and they are not the same appointment, so tell us which one you are.
Millions of books have been published. We hold a few thousand at a time, so the odds are against any one title being here, and we would rather say that now than when you arrive.
We cannot tell you from this page either. Most of the second-hand stock never reaches the website: it goes from the box to the shelf. So tell us what you are after, and we will go and look before you come.
Before you come: scan your books with the World of Books "Sell Your Books" app. It is free, it takes five minutes, and it tells you what they are worth. Screenshot the quote.
Bring the books and the screenshot. For books on our buy list we pay 10% more in cash, or 20% more in store credit, than that quote, today. No boxes, no tape, no postage, no waiting. A £50 quote is £55 cash or £60 of books here.
What we buy. Irish interest and Troubles books, science fiction, fantasy, horror, literary classics (Steinbeck, vintage Penguins, collectable authors) and non-fiction history. That is the whole list.
What we do not buy. Crime fiction, cookery, gardening, academic textbooks, Encyclopaedia Britannica sets and Readers Digest collections. Crime fiction fills every charity shop in Northern Ireland at 20p to a pound, so the sums do not work for a shop.
We only buy books that World of Books would also take. If the app makes no offer on a book, there is usually no demand for it anywhere just now.
Scan the lot anyway. The ones we do not buy can still be posted to World of Books, so the whole pile earns you something.
If you can, sort them into those categories before you come. It gets you paid faster and onto our shelves sooner.
Books nobody wants? Bring them anyway. We place them with schools, nursing homes and good causes across Northern Ireland rather than let them go to landfill. There is nothing to pay for this appointment.
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We use your email to send the booking and nothing else. No list, no newsletter, unless you ask for one.
Your booking
£9.99
Your £9.99 is not a door fee. It comes off the books you buy, and if you buy nothing you still leave with £9.99 of books.
Every booking is checked by John first, from his phone. You will hear yes or no here and by email, usually within minutes when he is about.
Micro Membership is £4.99 a month and it gets you in: your visits are included, and you get 10% off everything at belfastbooks.co.uk with your own code. Every membership is recurring, charged every month until you cancel.
Membership is not on sale on this page yet. Book your visit now and we will tell you the moment it opens.
Asked
John says yes or no from his phone, usually within minutes when he is about. Keep this page open or come back to it, and you will get an email either way. If it is yes and there is something to pay, the email has the payment link, and the time is yours once paid.
Yes. That time is held for you
Pay now and your booking reference comes straight back. If the payment has not arrived by then, the time goes back on the diary for someone else.
Your £9.99 comes off the books you buy. Buy nothing and you still leave with £9.99 of books.
PayYou are booked in
BB-0000
Keep that reference. Bring it with you, or just give your name at the door.