Tanglewood Books

Note: Tanglewood Books is at Broadway & Vine as of February 1, 2012. They were formerly located at Broadway between Fir & Granville but reportedly were forced out due to the landlord wanting to charge higher rent.
My review is based on my experience at the old location, but considering they are still the same business, location shouldn’t matter. I just haven’t visited the new location yet (not convenient for where I live). When they were on Broadway & Granville I would rather visit them and Oscar’s Art Books than go to Chapters across the street.
You could trade in books for store credit, which was usually what I wanted to spend my money on anyway. Although I bought more than I traded… way more. All the books were in very good condition and I didn’t mind paying the prices marked, which were cheaper than somewhere like MacLeod’s.
Tanglewood seems to have a high turn-​over of titles which is really awesome. I loved perusing the «new arrivals» shelf and finding old favourites. Huge selection of fiction, literature, and sci-​fi/​fantasy.
Great customer service: If you were looking for something specific, they were willing to call the other location (when there were still 2 Tanglewoods) and check for you.

these guys just moved from south granville to a new location on Broadway and Vine. I visit them regularly as they have good selection and there is usually someone at the front desk who wants to chat about your selections. they are a well-​read group of people.
also they selectively accept used books for a store credit.

Love the store! The staff is always friendly and helpful. They do have a few new books but the majority are used. They buy books (for cash or credit, though you get more if you trade for credit) every day except for Sunday; although, a few times I’ve been there on a Sunday and they’ve accepted my books.
My 4-​star rating is because of two things. First, I often bring in 20+ books and they generally only take 2 – 3 of them. :((A used store on the island takes ALL books I bring in, but of course, they’re in Victoria.) Second, they don’t offer very much per book. Today, I took in three virtually brand-​new books and only got $ 7.15 (credit).
That said, I’m not totally sure what their reasons are for whether or not they take any given book, so perhaps my books are too popular (or not popular enough). Either way, I’ll be back!

Tanglewood Books is a fantastic used bookstore with friendly, welcoming staff and a wide variety of selection from fiction to travel, DVDs to art books. I recently took a number of my old books there to sell/​trade, and found out that they were much more generous/​helpful than the other used bookstores around the neighborhood.
I traded all my books here for two reasons: 1) you get a much better deal (up to 2x as much) trading rather than selling for cash and 2) Tanglewood only buys back used books right when the store opens at 10am. According to James — the dude with the beard everyone else seems to talk about in their reviews — you have to be at the store at 10am sharp and wait in lines to sell your books. Not worth it, in my opinion, when you can instead go whenever you please to browse, find, and trade for some hidden gems!

this is one of my faves in the city for books. across the street from the monster chapters on b-​way/​granville, Tanglewood is a gem.
the staff is really knowledgeable and un-​pretentious for a book store. no book snobs, just book worms.
the guy with the mega goatee and gnarly hair is your typical funny/​quirky used bookstore guy.
overall, quality selection with a good vibe. don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Despite its location nearly directly across the street from a gigantic Chapters, Tanglewood Books, in my opinion, really holds its own. Perhaps I’m biased (it’s true I love used books much more than I do buying new), but Tanglewood offers a wide selection of titles, including gently used copies of the latest releases and bestsellers (fiction and non fiction alike) offered by bigger box bookstores. Remember, buying used is healthy for the environment, and better for your wallet, too.

I really like this used bookstore. The people who work here are friendly and knowledgeable, and will always go out of their way to help you find what you are looking for. And, they tend to have much of what anyone might be looking for. They have a good, solid fiction and literature section, and lots of other great little finds like adventure travel books and some worthwhile art books. And, they do buy books regularly, so when you need to clear out the old and make room for the new on your own bookshelf, you might come here to see what you can hand over for a second life.