Second Story Books

Accidentally found this place close to our hotel. Variety, prices are great. Spent two hours there without even noticing. 30 dollars for 10 great books. I wish we didn’t have a weight limit for our luggage, otherwise I would have bought much more.

Have been a customer for years and have purchased thousands of dollars worth of books from them. Recently I had to return something I bought from them online and Dylan (sorry if I misspelled your name!) handled it professionally and with ease. Great store and staff. You have a customer for life, here.

I love this place. I could spend hours in here just roaming the aisles. So many different genres and topics and the largest antique book selection I have ever seen. My daughter also loves the children's section. Everyone in there has always been so nice to us, and we love coming here, to browse or to buy. A hidden gem!

This is one of my favorite bookstores ever. I visit bookshops everywhere I go, both nationally and internationally, and I am so thankful that this bookstore not too far from where I live. The selection is huge, although a bit cluttered at times. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to find what you're looking for, depending on exactly what it is that you're looking for, but still, you undoubtedly will find something interesting if you spend a little time looking around. I can easily spend hours here and not realize it. I always leave with at least a few books.

REBUTTAL TO OWNER'S RESPONSE: While the owner attempts to contradict, deny or distort the facts given for my experience, none of his long rambling response addresses the poor experience. The books weren't soiled and the topics were diverse and marketable, and Dylan offered $30 for the lot of CDs so apparently they were within the scope of this store's collection. The owner characterizes my review as an "outlier" yet there are other myriad low star reviews also pointing to Dylan's hostile manner and the owner's dishonest response and denial of facts only further demonstrate the poor integrity of their business practices as experienced. MUCH BETTER OPTIONS ELSEWHERE! ****************** I'd give this business a "0" if I could. First and last time I'll try doing business with this store. Went to extraordinary lengths to deliver 5 crates of books from my lifetime collection and had an awful experience. I spoke with Dylan first of the week about bringing over the 50 book limit along with 80 CDs that cost me about $1000 retail over the years. Dylan tells me I have to come in their limited window of time 10AM to 12PM weekdays that for most of us is business hours and difficult. Two days later, I showed up 11:00AM to work with Dylan, he comes out to my car and gives a passing glace to the 5 boxes of books and declines hardly looking at the titles. He then takes another 2 minutes to glance over the 80 CDs without looking at the genres/artists and offers $30. I tell him I'll think about it and bringing my collection to another area store to consider. He unloads a temper walks away saying his offer is no longer and "I've worked with people like you." Acting like a juvenile with a bad temper he goes on to say "I made a very generous offer and I've been very accommodating coming to your car." REALLY? I was honest to point out I'm considering another store, and I don't have the right to consider other options?? I've never encountered this from any business! I spend hours gathering 5 boxes of books and CD's worth almost a $1000, come to his store during a very difficult time on weekday morning, he spends 6 minutes at my car, hardly looks at the books, glances at the CD's and offers $30. Where's this juvenile accommodating? $30 generous for $1000 worth of CDs? As it turns out, I went to Dave's Oldies and got much better treatment, he was patient for my arrival at my convenience and made a better offer. I'll never go back to this store as they were very rude and unprofessional taking people for granted who make the effort to deliver their life collections with their tight restrictions. BETTER OPTIONS ELSEWHERE!

Second Story Books is worth the drive or long Metro ride from Washington, D.C. Housed in a large warehouse within walking distance of the Twinbrook Metro station, Second Story Books houses over 500,000 used books on literally every topic. Want three aisles of kids books like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys? Go here. Need every book C.S. Lewis wrote? Stop by Second Story Books. After visiting nearby ZavaZone with our seven-year-old daughter, we stopped into Second Story for a few minutes, which easily turned into an hour. Every book is 50% off. We left with 15 books for just under $21. The books are well organized and maps help navigate visitors to each section, but know that the warehouse's narrow book aisles can get cramped. It adds to the appeal! There are even harder-to-find rooms with other items like posters for sale. They also sell CDs and DVDs. Staff are helpful. I lost my wallet and within an hour a staff member messaged me on Facebook letting me know they found it and it was safe at the checkout desk. If you have used books, Second Story Books buys them from people.

Such a huge bookstore! Loved how evening was 50% off, it made browsing the aisle more fun. Will need to come back soon!