Very reasonably priced used books, music, video games, and movies (both VHS and DVD). I appreciate the kid-friendly vibe -- not only do they have a decent children's section, but a box of free books for kids. As previously noted by another Yelper, they might not be as organized or generous on the seller front as desired. But hey, they buy low, and sell for low prices. In addition to media, Blue Rectangle carries an interesting selection of vintage clothes, bowls made of recycled vinyl, fabric, and whatever else they happen to have. Friendly staff make you feel welcome and never hound you. read more

i always walk by BlueRectangle and felt drawn in by the mysterious vintage movies they screen on the black and white tv in the window, projected on the shop's wall, and now on the sidewalk outside! so, the fiance and i finally went in and we were amazed by what we experienced here! if i had a dream thrift bookstore, this would be pretty close to it. the layout and decor of the store is creatively well thought out. big, vintage posters for sale high up on the wall display above dvd's by the entrance and books further in the shop. the store overall has a playful, vintage, classy, yet modern feel. the rocket in the middle and the phone-booth-turned-dressing-room invites you into a journey somewhere far away, like what books, movies, and music often do. unlike many other used bookstores, BlueRectangle doesn't overwhelm you with the quantity of books to make you feel "thrifty." instead, they display quality books, highlighting a few with many different genres - even wedding planning (i bought the "survival guide for the groom" for my fiance!)! as the term "thrifty" can sometimes have the stigma of "other people's unwanted junk," the shop overall has a quality indie bookstore feel with its classy, vintage stye; shop-care; and quality choices of books and genres. I'm looking to my next visit, with hopes to sell a few books, cd, or dvds of my own to them. :) read more

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place! Anyplace that gives away a free children's book (even if you don't buy anything!) is 5 stars in my book! I have found many, many great titles that I had been meaning to read here at 1/4 or less than new prices. I have also found many hard to find, obscure titles. The clerks are super friendly and helpful. I could spend hours in this place. What a welcome addition to Alameda! read more

Great selection, cheap prices, and friendly staff. If they dont have a book you are looking for, they can reserve it online if it's in their inventory. It turns out BR has something like the 5th largest used book inventory in the nation. Lucky for us who live in Alameda. read more

i'm pretty bummed about the experience i just had here. i stop into this cute little store quite often. i've bought a couple of vintage dresses here. i've never found any books here, however. and i've looked long and hard but never anything that i couldn't find at the salvation army down the street. but i had a pile of books on my shelf that i was done with and i thought i would bring them to the blue rectangle and support a neighborhood store. i work in the buy/sell/trade industry and i know the return on anything used is pretty small in comparison to how much we spend, and i wasn't expecting anything major. even though i had some pretty good books in that pile--new, popular titles, hardbacks in excellent condition, etc. so the money that i was offered seemed a lot less than i thought it might be. so i asked the man "is this for all the books i brought?" and he said "i think so". he "thinks" so. "can you find out for sure?" i ask. and he said he was pretty sure. i pressed for more info. if there were any books left, i wanted them back. he said he could find out for sure but he'd have to go upstairs to check. it seemed that i was really putting him out so i left, aggravated, and decided to yelp it up. i won't be wasting my time going back to this store. my time is precious, ya know? read more

i freaking love this shop!!!!! serious cool going on in here! i am obsessed with books and records and clothing and odd little trinkets and rocket reuse has it all at sick prices! you know that question where people ask what you would do if you won the lottery and could spend cash flow on anything, well, after a few necessities such as charities (I'm not joking i would totes give that paper) and paying off all my debt i would walk in to rocket reuse and pick up some worthy finds. Christmas is just around the corner and its time to be grateful and give some gifts so don't waste your cash money honey get something unique for your loved ones at RR read more

my sister brought me to this store because she likes it and knew i would like it. i didn't like it. i loved it. i can't stress how much i love used book stores, and this is hands down the best one i've been to. they have a great selection of books that i just wanted to go through all day, and vintage clothing! i love the feel i got when i was in there. i was happy. i just wanted to walk around the bookstore with a creep smile as i perused through the shelves of extremely reasonably priced books. i'll definitely be going back during my stay here for the next few months. it's what i look forward to. read more

My husband and I are addicted to this place. We stop in probably once a week and almost always leave with more books. Not good for our clutter! Luckily, we have also started selling books to the store, and they give great prices, especially if you take your payout in store credit. We are at the point now where we are often selling books back that we bought from them! The staff is so friendly - and not just because they see us so often. And I love supporting a local business. read more

Awesome little shop! Found some really good old R & B vinyl, good jazz selections as well, oh and a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories all for $10. STEAL. As far as vinyl goes I ended up with Dinah Washington, Santana, and Bowie. If you're in the area, definitely stop to check it out. read more

This place is precious. The store has a charming vibe and an excellent used record selection.

A small used bookstore with unbelievable bargain basement prices. Used bookstores are always somewhat limited in their selection and this place isn't any different. They can't buy the books for much if they are going to sell them for $3-4. But it's fun to browse and see what's available. They make a great source for books to be used in art projects. read more

i am really impressed with this small used book store. prices are quite cheap and they have good titles. every time we stop by, i purchase something. wish there were more used book store that sell quality books for this price. read more

Fun, funky and friendly. Family owned and operated and great place to exchange books, CDs, DVDs and even vintage clothing!!! Prices are great and re-sells are done in hours...not days. Prices are GREAT and I use the money from my sales to buy from them which stretches the dollar as their prices are so affordable. Beats Amazon any day!!! Hours are even better as they seem to be open later than most shops to accommodate their clientele. Highly recommend this store!!!! read more

i love, love, love this small used bookstore!! many times i have attempted to "just browse" but never have escaped without purchasing something because i have yet to be able to rationalize walking away from a great book that costs only $4! and if i do have something in mind and it's not in the store, chances are good that they will have it at their warehouse and it will be in-store in 1-2 days. i am very excited to have such a quality used bookstore in alameda. read more

Perfect for you if you like crap at low prices. Like another yelp subscriber, I took 2 boxes of nice condition books in there and they offered me nothing, then later I found several marked high prices in their store. They act as if anything that is brought to them is unsuitable for sale, offer you trade(for god's sake) and then profit on the seller's stupidity. The only reason they exist is because the public is too lazy to go to the other used bookstores in town. All the other stores pay higher prices and don't pretend it's crap. Kevin Patrick's is 100% better! read more

Formally Blue Rectangle, this gem is now under new ownership and goes by the name of Rocket Reuse. This fantastic used store offers clothing, books and a vast selection of records. Having never visited Alameda before I got the grand tour including a successful visit to this establishment. Staff is incredibly friendly and there is something for everyone! read more

love this place, i've brought things there and normally get a call back within a day to let me know what my stuff is worth. also, have bought books, cds and clothes. the only problem is their way of keeping track of store credits needs to be updated! everyone with credits is logged in manually/handwritten. YIKES! Oh yea, dog friendly store which i love! :) read more

This a GREAT place to buy used books, songbooks, etc. My daughter bought the entire series of Harry Potter Books here for cheap! It would be great to have a few more categories of books, but they are great for what they have. read more

Got some good books on the cheap (Ex: Catcher in the Rye). The staff are very helpful and friendly. I would come again!

I've sold about $90 of books to Blue Rectangle. I thought I received very reasonable prices. I like their prices, I can buy very interesting books for around $5- . I love trolling through the shelves. For me it's a convenient place to take my old books and to look for new, mostly temporary, acquisitions. There's one clerk still waiting for me to return a book on Egyptian life. So sorry, I can't part with it :-(. It's so interesting. The people who work there are great. And it's fun to see the children coming in for a free book. read more

I have sold loads of books, cassette tapes, vhs, dvd movies, and records to them... So you don't really get much back as a seller, but hey, it beats having to do the work of having a garage sale! And they offer you double the cash if you opt for store credit. They seem to be doing farely well in this economy rut which says alot already. I think they are a great asset for the Alameda community. Although they don't really need it, I think they would do even better if they actually advertised themselves. You'd never know they existed if you didn't stroll Park Street! read more

PRICE is right! Always has something I want, need, love. Super friendly. Unique in style and serving many interests as a used book, cd, comic book, vinyl, random quirky item shop. I love you. read more

I really want to like this bookstore, as I want to love all bookstores. I came in when they first opened and while they were certainly filled with a lot of books for a newly opened store the quality of those books were not that impressive (about a notch above remainder quality). I made a few return trips and was disappointed that their stock has not improved much. I understand they are a small store, but a small bookstore can still have good books. The atmosphere is unique and it's open and clean, which is great but personally for me a bookstore needs to be concerned with only one thing: INVENTORY. The prices are very good, unbelievable as a matter of fact. But once again the selection becomes a problem. Sure, I can get a good deal, but if it's for a book I don't want or need, what's the point. My approach to this store is that if I'm already on Park St. for something else I'll check it out, but I won't make a special trip for it. Alameda has other used bookstores with MUCH better selections at fair prices, which I'd recommend. read more