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The Book Trader

4.3 (148 reviews)
Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

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Don't let the cat out!
Dustin S.

I randomly found this place when visiting the nearby Liberty Bell - you won't want to come here if are shoret on time, like I was. I could have browsed here for hours - and I wish I had the time to browse more. I found one CD that I was interested in - and they have a limit on what you can spend before they will run a card transaction. I was really interested in the CD so I asked for them to just charge me the minimum amount. There are two floors full of great books to look through - all very well organized. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area - and I love that they have a bookstore cat!

Rachel E.

The friend who told me about this store and recommended I check it out commented that it was "a lot" and they weren't wrong. It's a bit overwhelming when you first walk in, because it's packed with books. But the selection is amazing, and it's more organized than it seems at first. There are signs to direct you around the different sections and the shelves are pretty well organized for the volume of items. If you're claustrophobic you'll have trouble here, because the shelves are pretty close together, but if you're OK navigating tight spaces you're sure to find something here you want to purchase. I left with three books, including one I'd searched several other used bookstores for and hadn't been able to find, but they had two copies of it here, both in great condition. The prices are great - the books I looked at were between $7-$8. I did find the CD selection a bit underwhelming, but since the store name is Book Trader, books are clearly the focus here. The employee who rang up my purchase was pleasant. And they have a bookstore cat! Definitely recommend making a trip to Old City to spend some time browsing here.

Resident cat
Catherine B.

Physically, it's a lot to take in. I don't think I've ever seen this many books in close quarters. I'd like to echo what another reviewer mentioned; it's a very no-nonsense place but certainly filled with knowledge. Unfortunately I didn't realize the one-way signs until I was already deep in a stack, and there is very little room to move around even if you are alone in a stack. I appreciated that they had a new releases section near the front, as I was actually able to pick up a hardcover version of this month's book club book and even found another paperback (albeit more beat-up) version upstairs! Very blessed to have run into the resident cat. So adorable and what a great touch! There is a small section upstairs to sit and read, but I wouldn't count on it being available. Great place to hide from bad weather or build into a trip around Old City. When I say you can get lost in here, I really mean it.

Shop cat!
Brandon B.

What an amazing little bookstore. I had a couple authors in mind when I walked in and there was a phenomenal collection of books to peruse. I even found the one I had in mind! I'll take a $5 book from a local store any day. Great shop, great staff, great cat!

Books
Renee E.

Great selection and two floors of everything! You always know when it is a good bookstore when there is a cat roaming around. The owner is a sweet person and any of the volunteers working know how to direct you to the selection you are looking for. The books are priced fairly based on condition. They also have 20% if you spend $50 worth of books. It is a little dangerous!

Ren N.

My second home, call me the librarian while you're here :) This is a landmark almost of a book store. Makes Olde City feel complete. While you have every other kinds of store in town, this is a book store that rivals barns and noble. Pretty much has everything youre looking for and CDs, DVDs. Huge section of nonfiction on the first floor and fiction on the second floor. Generally well organized in their respective categories, the prices range from $4.95 to $12.95. The condition of the books are overall used but surprisingly there are new ones as well. I'm a BOTM collector, and they're hardbacks that have been let go by the subscriber, pretty much new when you find one. The fun part is browsing through these tight aisles. Reminds me of walking through Harry Potter's library. Very vintage. Go ahead, have a photo shoot here, youre probably not the first.

Laura H.

If your a book lover definitely check this place out. It has two levels, first floor is mostly non-fiction and second is fiction. It gives a nice cozy vibe that you can read in and you're greeted by a cute cat when you walk in. Employees there are super kind as well! I would say be careful walking around since it gets pretty crowded.

The Picture of Dorian Gray. Priced at $6.95 when originally $5.95
Emil G.

This is quintessential Philly: old-school cool, inviting, no-frills, and has a residential cat (Dr. Pickles). Their two floors are stacked floor to ceiling with books, vinyls, and dvds to the point where you may feel a bit claustrophobic. If you're looking to hunker down with a book, you can find a few stools and chairs scattered throughout the place. They have an excellent variety of inventory, and I always manage to find a neat book (or three). If you're looking for a deal, there's a couple $2 book bargain shelves, and most of the books I've checked are in the $5-9 range. However, one thing that caught my attention was the pricing of a couple books, where the written price was marked higher than the original retailer price. Pro tip: be sure to catch a glimpse of Dr. Pickles! He's often on the second floor by the windows.

Julie T.

This place is jammed packed with books. The guys who ran it were super chill and helpful. Got some great good books for an excellent price.

Cindy M.

[1157] 2/2021 When I worked in Philly I loved visiting this local used book store on a regular basis. I always found great books in amazing condition at a 1/3 or the price. The aisles are tight but it gives more room for books. There is an upstairs section with more books. The staff was very nice I'll definitely be back

Keli M.

This is an amazing place to just go inside and get lost. So many different books...stacked to the ceiling! It is amazing just to walk through and see everything that they have. Friendly service and super organized. Definitely go!

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Lovely the selection was great the help was great he vibe was great the cat and owner are great

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I kinda like their theme-based instead genre-based bookshelf arrangement, which suits my preference anyway.

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3 years ago

Great prices and helpful staff. The cat is a little standoffish, but you cannot have wverything

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The Book Trader Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - The Book Trader

Hello, I want to sell a bunch of old magazines,2 boxes, all about Ford Mustang,are you buying this stuff?

We do not buy or trade for magazines. If trading books we only give store credit, not cash.

Do they buy books? If so, do they offer more than 10 cents per book!?

We do not purchase used books, we do however give store credit at 10-20% of the retail value for books we can use. More information is available on our website www.phillybooktrader.com.

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Review Highlights - The Book Trader

The Book Trader is a Philadelphia institution featuring floor to ceiling shelves of books, records, and VHS tapes.

Mentioned in 9 reviews

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Repo Records - Record shop

Repo Records

3.9(102 reviews)
0.7 miSouth Street District, Society Hill, Queen Village
$$

I started my CD collection a couple years ago and Repo has supplied me with so many great finds…read moreover the years! When you walk in there are hundreds, if not thousands, of records to choose from. Admittedly, I often don't look at the records, but it seems that their organization is done by genre then alphabetical. And if you are looking for tapes, they are across from the register mounted on the wall of the record section. They have the largest collection of sealed tapes I've ever found! Further back in the store they have their CD section. I knocked off a star since I would LOVE if they gave the same attention to the CDs as they do to the records. They did some rearranging recently of the back section of the store and it was such a downgrade for us CD lovers. Instead of them being separated by genre, they are mostly all thrown together and then in alphabetical order. They are also in a display that makes it hard to easily scan through each one. Before, they had them so it was super easy to scan the display and read all the labels placed at the top of the package. I would LOVE if they brought their old display back. In the back section they also have store merch, used CDs, posters, and some vintage tees. They also used to sell artwork of damages LPs, but I have't seen that in awhile so I'm not sure they do that anymore.

Vast selection of quality vinyl records with friendly staff. I found a couple great chili peppers…read moreand John frusciante solo records.

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Vinyl Altar - Meeting WATAIN at Vinyl Altar, Philthy's home for METAL.

Vinyl Altar

4.2(9 reviews)
0.8 miQueen Village
$$$

Rounding up to a "4" because of the great deals I snagged during my stop in as well as the solid+…read morecustomer service. For me, "3" is good, "4" is great, and "5" is "excellent/perfect" so in actuality on an average day I feel Vinyl Alter is probably a 3 for the most part--totally solid. I was in town as a tourist and as a vinyl hound I try to hit a few shops in any new city. However, as I flew in, I knew my bag could only handle so many LPs for the flight back. So noticing a metal-centric record shop online--I knew that would be my one vinyl stop. Directions here (walking from a nearish bus stop) were somewhat confusing as it kept trying to populate the destination with the name of another business. Upon arriving I realized why--there appear to be 3 different businesses in the same building, all intermingled together: a card/table top gaming store, a lengthy rack of records for an "underground" record store, and a long rack of metal records and corner display (plus wall art some for sale) marking what is actually "Vinyl Altar". I had hoped for a full on, top to bottom metal shop with the music blasting, etc. But no worries--there are a ton of great metal records for sale, new and used. There are ticket stubs and backstage passes plus posters from prior tours for sale, very cool. An actual "vinyl altar" in the back corner that was truly metal. And best of all for me, a one-day only sale was going on that made every new metal LP I purchased HALF PRICE. I snagged some limited edition LPs from kickass bands (Crypt Sermon, Cliteratti, etc.) for 10-14 bucks a pop! You cannot beat that. Friendly service, cool overall shop, would stop back in if I lived in the area. While I wished for a pilgrimage worthy metal shop, I understand it's sometimes necessary to combine forces to remain open in the brick and mortar avenues these days so I'm happy these folks are still here and hope they remain.

The best place to buy metal records in the city! They have a great selection and can order stuff if…read morethey don't have it

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Vinyl Altar - Signed WATAIN poster from Meet nd Greet

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Common Beat Music

Common Beat Music

4.1(31 reviews)
4.2 miCedar Park
$$

I really don't like doing this, but sometimes it has to happen. My experience here was not good. I…read morelive in west Philly and as a collector of all things vtg 1950's, I was excited to take a new (to me) 1950's record player to the record shop to inquire about repairs. The person I purchased from told me it needed a new needle. Whether or not that's true I'll never know. The associate who helped me the day I dropped the player off was not the issue. They took a look at it, told me I needed to pay $20 for labor, and said they'd call me when they had a chance to look it over. I told the employee that I'd be willing to pay upwards of $150 to have it working because it was in really great shape cosmetically, and I WAS thrilled to have found it and bought it. It was beautiful..Money was not an issue, because this thing meant something to me. I was very vocal about this when I dropped it off. 2-3 weeks went by and I got a call. The person I spoke to was not the same person I handed the player over to. They told me that it was too complicated to fix and "not worth their time and effort." I Found that comment to be a dismissive, but whatever, they don't want to do it, that's fine, I wasn't mad. I told the person over the phone that I would be by to pick it up. Conversation ended. That week I stopped by the record shop to get it, and the person I spoke to on the phone was there. I know this because he told me he threw it away. The entire time we are having this exchange, he doesn't once look up from whatever it is he was reading or writing or whatever, all I knew in that moment was that a complete stranger was informing me that he had trashed my property, in a " I give zero fucks," kinda way. No eye contact, and no apology. It's like I was bothering him when I asked why they would do something like this after I told them I was coming to pick it up. His response was "that's not how I recall our conversation going." I am a west Philly nanny and had the babes I care for with me, so I calmly closed the door that day, but have felt livid ever since. I really try not to think about it, but its pretty impossible when I'm still waiting for a response to the email I sent them. I'll spare you the details about how painful this feels to have something that's irreplaceable, and gorgeous, just thrown away, especially because they advertize as A RECORD REPAIR SHOP..I really thought they might give a suit about what they do but it defineitly doesn't seem that's way. The careless employee who trashed my record player actually said out loud that I told them I didn't want it. WHAT! Considering he couldn't take one second to look up at me while telling me he trashed my property, doesn't bode well for someone trying to claim they were paying attention to the conversation In the first place. Take accountability! Apologize, or at the very least respond to my message on your website. Really wish I had gotten that dudes name, but I will be looking into that, and will update. I asked them to refund me the $20 and pay me the cost of the player. That's $70 It's not like I'm asking for a lot here, But like I said, they chose to do absolutely nothing other than take my money and destroy my property. I've been chatting w people in my community and it's seems this place has a reputation, and it's not pretty. If you want repairs done, look elsewhere. I sent the email to the record shop like two months ago. I waited and waited and waited before coming here. They literally left me co other choice.

BEST RECORD STORE in PHILADELPHIA HANDS DOWN! Not only did I receive excellent service, but the…read morefemale co-owner was incredibly informed without talking to me like I know nothing about sound systems (which I really don't). A black and white cat hung out in the store (gotta love a record store cat) while she informed me about the system that would work best in my apartment. I went home and tried to put the speakers/turntable together on my own...as mentioned, my brain doesn't work well with technology. Something wasn't right. I called the store to ask for help, and the (female) co-owner CAME OVER TO MY HOUSE (I live 2 blocks from the store) to help me trouble shoot the issue. Turns out, I had not connected the power cable from the speakers to the turn table. (slapping forehead) I nearly hugged her. What a wonderful human being. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THEM ENOUGH. Thank you, Common Beat. You literally rock!

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Common Beat Music
Common Beat Music
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The Book Trader - bookstores - Updated May 2026

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