Advice on hunting for books at thrift stores

Updated: Mar 27

Check every shelf regardless of topic and genre. Very often things are mishelved; I've found compendiums of Adorno amongst stacks of Bibles and graphic novels nestled between English-Spanish dictionaries. It is worth your time to peruse every area.
Learn your favored publishers and their logos. You can save a lot of time and find books whose titles may otherwise not catch your attention by knowing what the spines of your favorite presses look like. This little bit of extra speed is especially useful when you're competing with folks scanning every single volume with bar code scanning apps.
Ask staff about their restocking schedule. Some stores replenish their bookshelves throughout the day every day they're open. Some have a dedicated day they do so. Finding out when they restock can help you plan when to revisit a shop.
Check for mold, bugs and the like. Bed bugs can live in books! Always check for the small dark brown or black spots from their bloody fecal matter. The extra cautious are advised to put the books in a freezer safe container and put them in their freezer for about a week to kill nigh any pests that may be living in there.
Learn what days there are sales. Some stores have dedicated days where books are discounted, days when everything is discounted, or days where price tags of certain colors are discounted. Knowing these schedules can save you money.

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