I stopped at A Second Look Bookstore with no intention of going in, but they had placed a table with books outside the store and I decided to take a look. Two books caught my attention and I went into the store to pay for them. After I payed for them, I decided to look around the store. it has a lovely vibe to it and today there were many people browsing and children sitting on the floor reading. I returned to the clerk and asked if they had a selection of books in other languages and she took me to where they were. I ended up buying 12 children's books in the German language. They almost looked new and the price was very reasonable. Since I had walked downtown and couldn't carry all of these books I asked if they could hold them while I got my car. When I returned there were some new titles on the table outside the store and another title caught my eye. I went into the store to collect my books and pay for the one I had just selected. the owner, Charles, asked how he could help and I told him I wanted to purchase the book. Hr looked at me with my stash of books, took one look at the book in my hand and said I could just take it. I insisted on paying for it, but he would have none of it. Will I go back, and recommend this bookstore to others? Of course! The staff are very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful and the atmosphere in the store is very cozy and welcoming. Parking can be a problem in downtown Kitchener on a busy day. But if you are willing to walk a few blocks, you can always find free parking on some side streets or in Victoria Park. And if you ask the staff, they even have some tips on where to park, if you buy too many books to carry a distance back to your car. Stopping by the store will be worth your while. read more

A Second Look is the first place I look for used books. I have been coming here since I came to Kitchener-Waterloo (which was some time ago) when they used to be on Queen Street. They are now located on King Street across from the museum. I remember looking for a relatively rare hardcover once and they knew exactly where to find it and they had it in stock. Their selection is excellent and I have always found something interesting just browsing the shelves here. If I get stuck, the staff here has always been helpful and friendly. Congratulations on 25 years, I hope you have many more. read more

A Second Look Books - Bookstores Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

I love this place. I come here during study breaks from the coffee shop next door. I've discovered some great books here at good prices and I keep coming back. read more

Excellent used book store. Awesome selection and a great friendly staff. They also carry a large selection of DVD & Blurays, including a lot of horror & non mainstream titles. Highly recommended! read more

I loved this place I found so many good books and for a reasonable price. They have every genre of novel pretty much. They have a big selection. I would definitely recommend any book lover to check it out if they are in kitchener. read more

Was helped by a very knowledgeable staff member. We got to chat about books for a bit, a very pleasant experience!

The Staff in here are amazing. I'm always popping in to see what's new! Great selection of books and movies. And if you need help finding something, just ask. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. read more

This store has a massive selection, and the staff is super friendly and helpful. If they don't have what you are looking for, they can help you try to find it. Their items are fairly priced. read more

First of all there's the store's location - downtown Kitchener. Traffic and parking, especially parking, are not great downtown at the best of times, but add all of the transit related construction with closed streets, detours, and terrible traffic congestion during store hours - it's a bit of an ordeal to get there, especially if you're making a special trip downtown just to visit the bookstore. Parking near the book store is almost impossible. And if you're bringing books to the store to sell (like I was), you'll need a parking space that is nearby. Good luck with that. The second thing is the 'atmosphere' in downtown Kitchener. Some people might like it, but the second I walked out of the store a panhandler was begging money from me. It could be argued that none of these things is the store's fault, but none of these things made for a pleasant trip to the store. Customer service is the store's responsibility and something they can control. It was not good. I'm from out of town, but go into KW on a regular basis. I wanted to get rid of some books and emailed a few days before hand. I was given some information, and told to call ahead on the day I planned to be at the store. I did so because I didn't want to lug all of those books and make a trip only to be told that the store wasn't interested. I arrived at the store and was told that the information I had previously received was totally incorrect. The store wasn't buying books this month - too much overstock that they had to get rid and they didn't want more books sitting around on the floor in huge piles. But ... they would make an exception for a few of the books I had. I informed the clerk that before I walked several blocks back to my car for the books, that I wanted cash not trade for the books - and he agreed. When I returned to the store with the books, the clerk informed me that they would were only doing 'trade' not cash at the present time - directly contradicting what he had said a few minutes before. There were three or four clerks working in the store when I was there. I spoke to two of them. I found them condescending and contemptuous (if you have ever seen the film, 'High Fidelity' and remember the staff in the record store - sort of like that). They were badly misinformed about store practices (or making it up and changing it as it suited them in the moment); and ignorant of the book related topics I asked them about. I don't know if the owner is the only person there who is authorized to buy books or whether it was a case of being the only person authorized to buy the particular books I had that day, but I was told he was the only one who could. After waiting a considerable amount of time for him to leave his office in the back (not a big deal), he arrived to examine my books without acknowledging my presence, except for a curt decision as to whether he was interested in the books or not and then he quickly walked away. Bad manners on the staff and owner's behalf all 'round. Terrible customer service. I have no desire to ever go back. read more