I have been a customer of Caveat Emptor for many decades. At one point the owners were sub-par, didn't seem to get what owning a used bookstore was about. But the current owners have things back on track and it's just a great place to visit. I always find something to buy. read more

This store is in our family buying history. There is the wonderful scent of paper dust. It's curated books broken down by genre. There are art books, foreign language books, references, sci fi, mystery, romance, kids books, and more. It's not necessarily cheap, but the selection is eclectic. Their discount books bring me in, too, but I inevitably leave with a stack. My father did this. I inherited volumes from him, and added to it, refining the collection along the way. It's plainly stunning to see the variety of content available here. This store is a magnet for the mind. As I mentioned in my prior review, it's not as large as Powell's in Portland, or has the karma of City Lights in San Francisco, but in a way, it's close the same magnetism you feel in a really good used bookstore. Plan to spend time, and go oomph when you carry the stack when you leave. It's a dangerous place, with dangerous ideas. Go there. read more

The owner is a thief. I took books in to sell; it was well over 150 books. The owner looked at less than a quarter of them, then offered me a small amount in cash and some in store credit, Then he told me to look around the store. I decided not to take the offer and then when I loaded up the books I noticed that there was a rare valuable book missing. When I confronted the owner about the missing book he played dumb and then when I started looking around behind the counter and stated that I saw him with it and told him the title, he conveniently found the book tucked under his desk right next to his leg. He tried to steal the best book and was going to let me pack up and leave. Luckily I noticed. The owner is a thief. read more

This bookstore is like walking into the shop from Beauty & the Beast. When you walk in, you're immediately hit with that old book smell. There are rows upon rows of books that reach to the ceiling. Everything is organized and sectioned adequately. The worker who was there was super helpful in finding what I was looking for. It's definitely the difference between walking into a newer book store and something a little more classic. read more

Didn't have much time to browse, but from the little I saw they seemed to have an excellent selection of used books. Rooms and sections are labeled and the books seem to be mostly alphabetized. Will have to stop back in next time to get a better look prices and what else they have. read more

Man working there (guessing the owner) told my husband to put on a mask (as my husband was reaching in his pocket to get his mask). As we were walking out same man was unmasked talking to a man with a mask around his chin. read more

This is one of my favorite bookstores. The wife graduated from IU and introduced me to this store years ago while we were in Bloomington for Lotus Festival. Students and others sell interesting used books. I like the extensive sci fi collection. Recently, organization of the books changed, making it harder to browse. For example, the old foreign translations were together and now you have to know what you are looking for because they have been merged into a general literature section. We liked the old system better, but we are going to keep going here and will continue buying books. read more

A wish-fulfillment bookstore! Since my boyfriend moved to Bloomington for grad school, he's hosted a number of literary-minded guests. As the best source for rare and used books in town, Caveat Emptor is always a stop on his tour of the land. And on two occasions now, his guests have found rare books they'd been hunting for on their first visits here! (In my case, a volume of correspondence between three poets--not surprisingly, tough to find at your local chain.) Caveat Emptor is clearly well curated, and well organized too, though not lacking in the charming haphazardness we all want in a used-book store. All the volumes I looked at were very fairly priced. read more

I don't know what the other reviewers are talking about - other good used bookstores in Bloomington? What, are you talking about the paperback exchange? I guess if you're looking for dogeared 1990s romance novels. Otherwise, this is the only place to go. The key to enjoying Caveat Emptor is to know exactly what you are getting into when you go there. It's a typical used bookstore, a dying breed of used bookstore. If you are looking for a specific title and that title only, you're likely (though not guaranteed) to be disappointed. If you're open to browsing, you're likely to find several things that suit you. The fact that they don't sell online works in your favor -- prices are reasonable and the stock actually rotates rather more than you'd think. I think the staff have always been just fine - curmudgeonly, a bit - but is that really a bad thing? What do other people expect in used bookstores? I'm being serious, maybe I don't know. If you are a person who enjoys the thrill of the chase and isn't expecting Barnes & Noble, you will probably like Caveat Emptor. Otherwise, save yourself time and just go to B&N or the internet. I'm giving it 4 stars and not 5 because certain sections rotate a LOT more than others. Check fiction and history every time you go in, but arts & crafts once a year. read more

Ever wondered how to cook muskrat (or how about just rat)? Well that was what my friend Parisian friend, Jules, was reading about when I walked into Caveat Emptor. And books on wild game are just the starting point. You can find the classics (Thomas Hardy and Shakespeare) alongside books on western pioneers and art. This is the sort of quirky bookstore that all college towns need and that are slowly disappearing. I have to admit the selection is a bit random but the breadth and range (with some truly weird stuff thrown in) more than make up for the holes in the collection. The owner was super nice and could tell you exactly where to look for stuff. He even stayed past the posted hours on the door as we browsed. It makes me jealous that I don't live in Bloomington as I'd be sure to be back here frequently. read more

I went in one time to find a hardcover children's book (and I succeeded!) for a friend's child, and I ended up with four or five other books that were too bizarre to resist. The selection is definitely on the random side, as Scott S. commented, so as long as you keep that in mind, you will enjoy yourself. I've been surprisingly lucky to find what I wanted (even if I didn't know I wanted it before entering . . .) I'm planning a "date night" with my spouse around this store--what you do is list particular goals (like finding a recipe you'd each make for each other in cookbooks, then a place you'd like to visit in travel), then coming together and sharing them (the final one is a poem for a romantic ending . . .). A friend of mine told me about this, and I'm eager to try it since we both love books. It's a free date idea, but I bet we'll find a book or two to purchase . . . read more

The best used bookstore in Bloomington, and one of the best in Indiana. The store itself is amazing. Tin pattern ceilings, flamingo-pink walls, and ladders to reach the higher shelves. Finally, a place where I can get both the cheap older sci-fi paperbacks that I crave and the fancy, Moroccan bound books that are the perfect gift for that one booklover you know. Excellent service from the fine folks there. Everyone was friendly and polite, but also very helpful whenever I had any questions. Truly a place that serves everyone, an institution in this lovely college town. I'm delighted that it has remained open for as long as it has (47 years, apparently). Here's hoping it will be open for another couple decades. A must for any visit to B-town (they even have old IU yearbooks). read more

This bookstore is three shops down from another book shop but the feeling is completely different. This shop is authentic and if you're willing to do some digging around you'll surely find what you're looking for, and maybe some books you didn't know you needed. read more

What a disappointment. All these people posted reviews about rudeness from the owner or others working there, and I encountered none of that. The (owner?) let me roam and dig around without bothering me. He didn't walk up and insult me. He didn't belittle my book choices -- one on theology, the other on the Potawatomi tribe of Native Americans, though I'm sure he's clever enough to have thought of something quite zinging. He didn't mock my clothing, my chubby red cheeks, or my puffy outdoor vest. He didn't chide me for touching the wheeled ladders and I walked around them, and he didn't try to talk me into buying awful books (at a pretty decent used bookstore in Omaha, Nebraska, a store owner once strong-armed me into buying a Da Vinci Code paperback that I knew I'd never read, and I feel his long-distance disapproval whenever I consider yanking it from its hiding spot behind much better books on my bookshelf). No rudeness whatsoever. I enjoyed my visit anyway. The selection included classics old and new along with some enjoyable obscurities, a fairly solid reflection of the surrounding academic community. The books were well-organized, and the shelves even included notes explaining to customers that used bookstores often have overflow stock and that customers should help keep the books organized. I love the honesty. The overflow books were placed neatly into cardboard boxes, a pretty decent setup. I've been in incredible bookstores that created claustrophobia due to books stacked everywhere, creating hazardous but wonderful conditions. The owner clearly does care about his customers and his store, and I appreciated that. read more

I dug around in the Hoosier authors section for an hour or so and found a number of interesting selections. If you are looking for signed editions or antique books this is a good place to search. read more

One of my first stops when I moved to Bloomington. I love used bookstores and was looking forward to seeing what Bloomington had to offer in that area. As soon as I walked in, I was shocked by the sounds of people arguing very loudly. I maneuvered around the aisles to catch as much of the drama as possible, and though it sounded at first like a fight between the owner and a customer it was in fact just a family feud of sorts. So, not the owner or employee's fault there, though the yelling definitely ruined the quiet-cozy-bookstore ambiance. The space is great--high ceilings and shelves staked to the top, cool roll-ladders like in the movies, and a few tiny rooms for specialized topics (sci-fi and fantasy, gardening, kids, etc.). However, the place was a complete mess. There were boxes half-full of boxes everywhere, which made it hard to get around and to locate what I wanted. I did find some cool books in the end, but the employee's reaction when I asked about the boxes made me feel like they take their customers for granted. The employee was on the computer the entire time and didn't really seem enthusiastic about his job. So, a great place to find used books, but not so much of a cool and cozy place to geek out with the staff. read more

A great store with all manner of treasures. Recently started selling online. So far as the "curmudegeonly" and "rude" staff, suck it up. I have never heard them be rude, but I have heard them speak plainly when someone is being rude to them. If you want to be schmoozed then go somewhere and tip a waitress. read more

I really had a great experience here. I was looking for just the right gift for my wife (English Literature Teacher). I explained what kinds of tastes my wife had, and several books were quickly retrieved. I thought the prices were very fair, and I had books that would be hard to find anywhere else. I let my wife have one of the books early, and she was literally moved to tears. My wife is demanding that I take her to this Jewel in Bloomington. read more

I share the appreciation some of the other reviewers feel for the cozy, idiosyncratic jumble that gives Caveat Emptor its atmosphere and used book store street cred. However, these fuzzy feelings are tempered by a frustration with the owners' negligent or even rude approach to customer service. If I want to be condescended to as a paying customer, I'll go to a Parisian cafe. Also, while I agree that the selection is outstanding and that no other used bookstore comes close to it in subject matter breadth and quality, you can find better prices for used mass market books almost anywhere else. If you're looking for something out of print or otherwise hard to find, it's fair to expect to pay a little extra. But to pay nearly full price for dog-eared P. G. Wodehouse? Not a good deal. read more

I love this place -- books and books and books and books and CDs and books. The books used to be stacked all over the floor, but things seem a little more streamlined lately. For such a seeming mess of books, many of the sections are pretty well organized. A browsers' paradise. read more

A favorite since the early 1970s, when my dad and I used to shop there for record albums. One quiet Easter Sunday back then, I shopped in the store for records while classical music was playing. It couldn't get much better for me than browsing in a bookstore while listening to my favorite music. All these years later, the store still has its charm, despite a changed location. read more

A Bloomington institution! Along with three aunts, I have been a customer for 40+ years in various locations about town so I know it to be a classic! Janis, the proprietor, has curated one of the finest collections in the Midwest. read more

Don't know about you, but I go to a bookstore to buy books, not for the ambiance (never could figure out the people sitting around Borders all day reading the stock, but then there's a business model that doesn't bear too much study given its ultimate lack of success). This store manages to satisfy my needs on most occasions - do they have every book ever published, no, but they do have a good selection, if somewhat dogeared. I do history and biography and this stores has a good supply of interesting things that gets an occasional infusion of new material that makes coming by every couple of months worthwhile. The used to get a lot of review copies of new history books, but sadly their source seems to have dried up over the past year or so. The old bearded guy that owns the place is okay (I've never found him rude, but he does tend to get a little snippy when someone expects him to pay top dollar for junk) and the weekend college student-type clerks are okay (hey, they take my money and bag my books without seeming to be too self-absorbed and bored at what must be a pretty lackluster job - what more do you want?). If this were a bigger city, there might be more stock that cycles more often, but this is Bloomington, not Chicago, so you get what you should expect - it is better than say Lafayette or Terre Haute. read more

It's a little overwhelming, but Janos, the owner has a great memory, and usually knows instantly what you're talking about when you ask after something. I've been visiting the store for more than 25 years, and I've bought both Great Literature and crap novels there. I feel like I get measured tactful silence when I buy crap, so I often look for edifying stuff there, but I don't blame anyone but me for that. I've both bought and sold books, and always felt treated fairly when I've sold--and how nice is it that he still buys books when there are already five million there? The guy another reviewer described as old Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons will never win any customer service awards (and man, that's an accurate, if mean, description.) Last time I was in there he was dropping the F bomb, a fine bomb to drop in the right time and place, but whatever small annoyance he was cursing at wasn't worth it, and it was off-putting and abrasive. And oh, God in Heaven, never use the restroom there. All in all though, it's a wonderful, eclectic bookstore--and not a hipster in sight! read more