Hadn't been to this place in a few years. Slightly disappointed to see that they've cleaned up the place, organized the books, and cut their inventory. I miss the old place I remember from the early 2000s with piles and piles of books, memorabilia, "art," and records. That said, there is still a large selection of material and I walked out the door with two paperbacks--an academic tome on Africana philosophy and a travelogue by a punk mom--in good shape for under $10. Hopefully they'll fill up all the extra space with cool art, bric-a-brac, and "junk" soon. UPDATE: Got a message from the owner of the place, Joe, who tells me that the reason the place seems empty is that he just bought the space next door a week ago and cleaned up the old store. It's all supposed to be leading up to acquiring MORE books and stuff, but presented in a less idiosyncratic manner than the old Mostly Books. I look forward to checking it out next time I visit Philly. read more

There is a huge selection here. Any book you could possibly need. The prices are little more than I would like, as I'm very frugal, but they are worth it though. They're hard to find on a mall side street, but again they're worth it. read more

Mostly books is mostly ok. The book are everywhere and sort of organized but not done well. You need to have a whole day to dig if you really want to find some good treasures. read more

The only bad thing about this place is that it rubs your face in the fact that there are just too many books to read and not enough life to read even a quarter of them. Apart from that, this place is heaven on earth to those who love to hold the printed word in their hands and turn those glorious pages. Books are stacked halfway to the ceiling mixed in with VHS tapes, DVDs, and an anemic vinyl section. As other reviewers have pointed out, there is no order whatsoever to how the books are shelved. They are shelved according to category (History, Sex, Literature), but do not look for anything resembling alphabetization. And one must be aware that this is not a thrift store. The price of stuff here is not thrift store prices. Expect to pay $30 for some scholarly volumes (sometimes more), $8 for almanacs from the 1930s, and $3.95 for VHS tapes. If you want to whittle away serious time, this is the place for you. read more

If you enjoy hours upon hours of going through other people's personal business, junkyards, thrift stores and the like, then you will love this place. Basically the best part about it is the random photographs. The best one we have found is of a body building couple with the woman's nipple popping out of her bathing suit. If you don't call that a treasure, then you probably shouldn't go to this store. read more

An absolute goldmine of high quality used books for stellar prices. Mostly Books has an impressive Gender Studies and LGBT section that you just can't find anywhere else. Corporate book stores (cough cough, Barnes and Noble) don't offer the diversity of literature that you can find here. Plus, if you let them take a picture of you and your purchase for their Facebook page, you can get 10% off. Books range from about 3-8 dollars each. Pretty much heaven for any bookworm. My new favorite place for sure. read more

I'm gonna go ahead and say that if this place WASN'T weird, it would get a worse review. Used book stores make me sad, because they are surely full of gems, but the whole thing is so haphazzard that you have to invest some real time to find anything. Also, I don't know how used book shop owners make any money. I have no clue. And they're never going to make more money than they are now, because it's a dying market. :( Mostly Books ("Books and Furniture, Mostly Books" I call it), has piles and stacks of old books. They also have spatterings of old photographs, video tapes, DVDs, and, of course, furniture. Every few months I take a dozen or so books over there and trade them in for five or six books, which makes me feel good, but, honestly, I never really get anything worth getting. I have a hard time picking "new" books because a lot of their stuff is outdated or sort of B-List. The prices, however, are not B-List, but I guess they have to make money somehow. I will always be a lover of old books and old book stores, and so I wish the best for Mostly Books, but I probably won't ever go in there unless I have books to swap. read more

Granted this is right across the street from me, but the owner is so friendly and they just have books on books and more books! The book room is completely filled to the BRIM with books. The prices are OK - I've been to other secondhand bookstores with cheaper prices but the good thing is that you can stay there for as long as you want without anyone coming up to you. It's big enough you can find a little corner and start reading. read more

I've only found one book out of the tons of times I've stopped by here. The place is a MESS. There are stacks of books all over the store, with weird knick-knacks here and there. The books are divided into very broad catagories, and sometimes it's hard to figure out exactly what section you're in. I've found that most of the books are a little dated, or in pretty worn condition. I really like the fact that they sell old photographs and letters and phamplets. These are actually organized better than the books are. They just started selling DVD's at a pretty good price (4-5 bucks) and they have a decent selection. read more

If you want the best-sellers piled up in a sterile atmosphere--hey, go to Barnes and Noble.... if you want a really great selection of the latest including new books you won't find anywhere else, go to Fox Books or Penn Book Center... I you want to find all manner of classic books, weird saved photos and more and you have a brain that enjoys searching -- the Mostly Books is great. And $2 for a few great old photos is fine. If you want them. If you don't, then it's not. Quit complaining, cheap hipsters! A lot of the low raters here must spend their lives in Chestnut Hill of something. This is what a second-hand bookstore should be like! read more

mostly books is totally hit or miss. the man who runs and/or owns it reminds most people of sideshow bob from "the simpsons", but not in a bad way, really. but i digress. this place is almost always empty, but it can be a real gem at times, you just either have to known what you're looking for or be open to searching through the mess of possible treasures. they're constantly getting in new stock and sending out old. they have tons of (useless) videos and a neat stock of older magazines and even some dirty photos. they also have a large selection of old photos and postcards for cheaper than you'd find them at the antiques market nearby on 6th and bainbridge. there are also a fair amount of old records available, too, but nothing compared to the book trader in old city. just a quick warning, if you do go in there anytime other than the summer, you'll need a jacket for the back area, which is full of more books and some furniture pieces; it's freezing cold! read more

Despite the fact that the place is no longer cluttered and has that "treasure hunt" feel to it, it still is a gem. The art selection is amazing. I found six lovely pieces of art for $30! If I bought these pieces at an art vendor or gallery, I would have spent well over $200. This place made me miss Philly so much. :( read more

I feel strange redoing a review within less a month of my first visit but I went back there this weekend with a friend and I was really disappointed. I didn't find a single book that I wanted and that just about *never* happens to me. Their inventory seems to have decreased. And there was a certain charm to the tottering piles of books. I guess its more organized and all now but I don't think I'll be going back, at least not to this location (the one on 10th street is still OK). read more

This is one of my favorite book shops in the city. It's spacious, organized, and always has something that I need. I don't get to go as often as I'd like, but whenever I do, I walk away with several awesome finds. I highly recommend! read more

Great spot!!! My old roommate left a box full of old shitty CD's and some crappy books in his closet when he moved out. Instead of throwing everything out, I made the walk to Mostly Books and exchanged all the junk for over $100 in store credit. They have two locations and each is packed with books, movies and records. It is a bit unorganized but the sheer volume and diversity of their selection makes it worth while. Prices are very cheap and the staff is super friendly. For a bookworm like myself, it is a must visit. read more

Mostly Books lives up to its name in the sense that it boasts a plethora of books that spans many different genres, as well as music, movies (the majority of which are on video, though they do carry DVDs as well), and photos. It's like scrounging around in your friend's garage--you find stuff you wouldn't expect to find anywhere else. The one book that caught my eye was 14,000 Things To Be Happy About. I didn't buy it, but hopefully it will still be there next time I stop in. read more

This is an okay place, but you may need to spend a whole day here to find anything worthwhile. It is a bit unorganized, but if you have patience you will find something awesome. read more

For those who love to flip through books, search ever deeper for some exciting new story, and get lost in a labyrinth of book stacks- this place will please you. It is an unassuming place, spilling out onto the sidewalk from the open garage door in the warmer months. The "mostly" part of the name refers to the fact that other media is represented here, but books are the main inventory. The books are sorted by subject and despite the rather cluttered and unorganized look, its not to hard to find the section you want. As you walk ever deeper into the store, you will continuously find yourself following signs telling you to "keep on going" and "more books this way". From a price perspective, they are on the expensive side of the line for used books (in my experience), but the charm of the store outweighs that small note. read more

I brought in around 45 videos to get store credit for them. I got $50 in credit for them. There were some they did not take so I brought them across the street and donated them to PATS. I used the credit to get $25 in books and $25 in videos. So they cost me nothing and I got rid of some videos that I did not need. I got some computer books including Web Pages That Suck. It teaches you how to make a good website by pointing out the mistakes in bad ones. It is old and musty inside but I do not think that they make a lot of money. I love books and movies. read more

The lure is the unknown...you just don't know what you might find. I'd only go here if you have a lot of time to kill because it takes a lot of time to find anything worth buying. The titles aren't that great, a lot of junk books i suspect have been there for years. They add to the feel of the place, but don't add much else. The staff aren't knowledgeable about books (or anything, really), so if you walk in with questions, save them for someone else. Also, they could all be a bit friendlier. They have a large selection of dvd's if you like movies, but I haven't taken the time to sort through them. The book prices seem cheap, but for what your're getting, they ought to be. A great place to kill some time, but if you have something specific in mind, go on-line. read more

This place is GIGANTIC. I mean, it seems never ending as you are navigating from room to room, to backroom, to hidden room. And each room has something unique and funny. There is just everything here. You want a season of Star Trek on VHS, this is your place. You want War and Peace, this is your place. You want a book from the 80's on how to perm a male's hair, this is the place. This is a great place to get gag gifts, but also it has some great stuff. I was able to buy a collection of Vonnegut books cheap, and also some other classics that I read in high school and wanted to revisit. It is so much more fun coming here and looking around rather than shopping on Amazon. read more

Great place to spend a few hours! I have passed here many times but I had no idea how large it was. I will make this store a regular destination and reason to go to South Street! Tons of books in good order by category and author. And they take books for store credit! read more

Giant place, good selection, friendly staff. Maybe the prices aren't the lowest they could be but I've never spent more than $5 on a book. Still a lot cheaper than any big bookstore. read more

no matter how disorganized this store seems to be, there is a sort of mad logic to it. bestsellers = grisham; fiction = classic literature. it's great! the shop owners seem to know almost every book in the place (and they've got to have at least 50,000 titles - literally). it's a great place to get lost for a few hours. they carry tons of vhs tapes, and are starting to get more dvd's. i love this store! read more

A very good store. The selection is very good. You can often find unusual books. Prices are excellent. I would have given more stars ..except that i had a recent experience at the store which made me rethink whether I want to patronize this business again. I traded some books. I put some books on hold because the person who evaluates the books was not available. When I came back to find the trade value for the books and to pick up the books on hold, I was met at the counter by the owner. He literally screamed at me about how he does not like putting books on hold because people never pick them up at all..or in a timely fashion. I pointed out that this evidently didn't apply to me because I WAS THERE TO PICK UP MY BOOKS THAT WERE ON HOLD. I also pointed out that the only reason that I put the books on hold was that there was no one to evaluate the books when I was there previously. Furthermore., in the past, I had ALWAYS picked up my books. To the extent that I didn't retrieve my books, it was because they had been misplaced. ..and they couldn't find them at the time I came back for them. I understand that the used book business can be difficult.. I also understand why the owner does not want to hold books anymore..or why he does not wish to trade books at this time. What I don't understand or appreciate is displaced anger. If there are problems with people not retrieving held books, then address those problematic customers. Evidently, this didn't apply to me BECAUSE I WAS THERE TO PICK UP MY BOOKS. This unfortunate episode soured my opinion about this store. Therefore, I will give it threevstars instead of the five stars that I would have given this business prior to this incident. read more

So, I finally decided to go check this place out. I was overwhelmed, but in a good way. Books, books, and more books, magazines, albums, movies, and more. The lady who was working today was super friendly and a pleasure to chat with. I spent about an hour there, I would have stayed longer but it was a bit chilly inside, but not bad. They have places to sit and rooms that go on forever. It's probably best not to go there looking for something specific, but to just see what finds you. I will for sure be back!!!! read more

i found a bunch of great books here recently, some i didn't know existed / haven't seen elsewhere. they were all in like-new condition, too. it's good to know mostly books accepts trade-ins for credit, a great way to shape up my book collection. looking forward to my next visit. read more

I love this place. It has been around for about 20 years and has always been in the South Street area of Philadelphia. It's just one block off of South Street where the rent is much more affordable. There are some other cool stores on the same block that sell antiques, hip clothing and other trendy stuff. I often stop by after work or on weekends when I'm in town for various events. I buy used books, CDs, DVDs, LPs and VHS tapes. There's always a good selection, and the prices are at the lower end of a fair range of value. I also trade in books, CDs, DVDs, LPs and VHS tapes for credit toward purchases. This shop has just about the most generous trade in policy of any used book shop around. I can't help noticing that the store also sells antique photographs, magazines, sometimes antiques, paintings, sculpture and curiosities. I once bought a great reproduction painting of a Renaissance Italian masterwork at this shop. It was not one of those mass-produced jobs that come out of Mexico. NO. It was done by a very talented oil painter (probably by an art student as a study). So in a sense, it was a one-of-a-kind knock off, but beautiful. I mention this painting only to suggest that a customer could find something in this shop other than just used books, music and movies. The store really sells mostly books (as the name of the store says) but there is more. I've seen people buying furniture, antique tools and other cool stuff over the years. I even saw a guitar there once. I suspect the owner takes in these odds and ends when they appeal to him and the price is right. The owner's name is Joe, and he has a great sense of humor, which always makes for a fun visit (if you can catch him). The last time I spoke to him, he was busy opening a branch store in the area of Jefferson Medical School. Oh, I just remembered the sidewalk sales! The tables in front of the store remind me of the famous flea market in Paris. On the tables are bargain selections of CDs, DVDs and other stuff. This is probably merchandise to be closed out. If you get to South Street (as so many people do), walk a block over to check this place out. You will love it. read more

nice people here as joseph's parents were at 10th.and locust.i trade mostly:books for books.they take maybe 95%of what i bring and there is a nice donation option that just got better.a very few books are cash only but it still works well.i have been coming to 3 different family stores since 1980.come give it a look if you haven't.to the owners:keep up the good work. william j.atkinson[+] read more