Second Edition Books and Music

I love browsing in this store. I always walk out with a great book in wonderful condition. The guy who owns/​runs the place is really cool and helpful too.

I went to look for a specific book and they had it. ITs a little crowded (its full of books) and paperbacks and fancy hardbacks too. A little vinyl. Its near the MVA if signs help to find it.
They were accepting new books and everyone was dragging them in.

Second Edition Books is tucked into a small strip mall hidden off Dobbin Road in Columbia. It has a great selection with books piled everywhere, mainly used but I noticed some new books available as well. Most books on the shelves are in alphabetical order, which is not something you find in every used book store. This is not a «buck-​a-​book» store, but the markdowns from cover price are exceptional. They have used CDs and DVDs available as well (although the alphabetizing kind of breaks down for them.) This is a great place to go to get a stack of books for a reasonable price, whether you want to stock up for the beach, looking to fill a gap in your collection, or just need something to kill time at the MVA next door.

Awesome collection of used books, cd’s and movies! They also have vinyls! Check it out. I’ve satisfied my book worm thirst several times, and also sent some of my friends over to find what they need. Some times they’ve walked out with things they never went in for! Great place!

Absolutely love this Bookstore, Vinyl Gem and CD archive! Great selection of LPs, second hand books and CDs.

The behavior of the workers was disgusting. They looked at me like I shouldn’t have entered the store (and I am professional looking mind you with a clean appearance) and practically followed me to the back of the store as I sifted through some really tall piles of books. I bought a few DVDs on my two visits and then I got a few books from non-​fiction that I have yet to read. The stares and unfriendly frowns were enough to keep me from ever setting back in that store. Prejudice? Hard to discern because I care more about books that ignorance of others but its enough to make me warn others… find another bookstore.

Great place to browse for affordable (emphasis on affordable) used books. I was able to get three paperbacks for $ 10 once. I also traded in books for the first time recently and got store credit to use. It’s a bit hidden, but if you’re in the area and you love books, definitely check it out!

Poor stock and the quality of the vinyl records is abysmal.
On top of that, the owner won’t let you listen to them before buying — something every other used record store in the region does, from Trax on Wax to Joe’s Record Paradise.

Every Saturday during lunch, I go to Columbia’s Best Deli to get some Cheesesteak subs with fries for my coworkers. As I went there, I had to wait another 15 minutes because they were busy. Okay cool, that gives me time to scout out. I was planning to go to the Mexican Market and get a taco or 2 until I saw a bunch of books on a table laying outside the bookstore. I immediately thought about the time I read 40 something books in 3 months, most of them from James Patterson, John Grisham and Dan Brown.
I decided to go inside the bookstore instead of further making myself fat that day. I went inside only to be overwhelmed by how many books there were. Thousands upon thousands of books on shelves, tables, chairs and stands. There was a guy working there, should have gotten his name but he was real cool, laid back, knew where everything was and had quite a bit of knowledge when it comes to Authors and genres. There was a section of James Patterson books and hardcovers so I went there and he informed me that there was a deal going on. Buy 4 hardcovers and only pay 11 bucks. WHAT! I heard a customer asking him why they’re cheaper than the regular books, the guy said hardcovers take up more space and there was another reason, I just didn’t fully pay attention lol.
I got 3 books by James Patterson and 1 book by John Grisham. 4 hardcovers for 11 bucks… If I went to Barnes and Noble and got 4 brand new hardcovers, I would have paid 80 – 100 bucks.
The cheap prices, their extensive book collections and the fantastic customer service is what I define remarkable.

I’ve been to most of the used bookstores in the DC metro area since I tend to out-​read my financial ability to buy new, unused books and I recently went to check out this store in Columbia. I can have a hard time finding what I want in used bookstores; I’m happy to rummage around and see if there are books I didn’t know I wanted, but it’s nice to just find what you want and most used bookstores don’t have an extensive science fiction/​fantasy selection.
This is the first used bookstore I’ve found that gives as much shelf space to science fiction/​fantasy as it does to other genres. Usually you see a shelf or two and that’s about it. Not here! There was an entire SF/​Fantasy section with hardbacks as well as paperbacks. It had a nice mix of older SF (I found a couple of out of print books from the 70’s) and current.
The other thing I always judge any bookstore by is its history section. My historical interests tend to be in ancient history which here is not a well developed selection, but if your thing is American history, whatever your sub-​genre is within that will likely be satisfied here; they have a very extensive American history section.
The proprietor was pleasant and welcoming, but content to let me wander as long as I liked, which I appreciated. He offered to let me keep the books I had selected at the counter, which was a welcome bit of customer service as they do get heavy after a while and full hands impede browsing.
They also have a great option where you can join their membership thing and get a discount on your purchases, get more money for trade ins and a couple other things I didn’t fully register. It had a minimal join fee of $ 10, which I made back in my one trip because of the number of books I bought. If you go through a lot of books, this is a great deal!
I didn’t investigate the DVD or record offerings, or try trade ins, so I can’t speak to those options, but this was an overall great experience and I will definitely be back.

Went to check this place out. Was thrilled to find an LP that I have been looking for. Discogs has it for $ 11, and this guy had it for $ 20. So I asked if he would negotiate down to $ 15 because of the discogs price. He wouldn’t let me finish my sentence and cut me off abruptly raising his voice and saying no and we don’t negotiate because of amazon and all. I understand that but why would you be rude about it?! I saw some deals on Unilocal with coupons but frankly, I don’t want to support someone who treated me like that. Uncalled for and bad business practice. Skip this spot and head to Traxx on Waxx in Catonsville if you want to be treated like a human being. Not so much irritated at the non-​negotiable price (which i probably would have paid anyway), just at the unprofessional behavior of the clerk. Way to go champ.

Great selection of books old and new. There also movie and music. Well worth visiting.

If you have time to spare, come here before buying a book at a big name store. You definitely have to dig, but you’ll find lots of hidden gems in the mix. They have a lot of fiction options, and the books are in great/​good condition.
Very nice people!

When in the area and looking for a fun hunt for a good read, highly recommend you check this place out. It’s in a little plaza and the store puts books out front on a table.
The selection is well organized and the bargain selection is large and worth looking through.
Take the time to check it out. You’ll have fun and may leave with a great read. Plus they have a great deal through Unilocal! ($ 10 for $ 20 of books). Enjoy!

My go to place!
I always enjoy making trips to Second Edition Books! The employees are great and always make sure to give their customers 100% satisfaction and are always there to help when needed.
Another reason I love this place is because its the only store around that has records for such good prices. Maybe I’m just cheap, But I just can’t bring myself to pay over $ 15 for records, and here I’ve walked out with records for under $ 8! You can’t beat that.
I’m glad that I’ve found this amazing store!

Great record selection and happy to help Sevice. Makes for a pleasant experience, tons of books and DVDs too

since the invention of things such as the kindle, the nook, the ipad I feel like the amount of actual books i read have gone down… Stores like this makes me want to start reading more physical books!
I wondered into this place after having breakfast in the area thinking maybe i would walk away with one or two books that i may or may not read. When i walked in its like i stepped into a book lovers dream! I was promptly greeted by who i assume was the owner and he made sure i was aware that he was there if i needed him for anything. He went about his business and i started in on the shelves. There were so many books it was almost overwhelming. after spending about an hour looking around I walked away with one book that i have been dying to read and another that just seemed interesting. I could have bought so many more but I had to display a level of restraint.
The only reason I dont give this place 5 stars is because the entire store seemed a little cluttered which makes it hard to really enjoy the experience, I would have also loved some empty floor space or a place to sit while I flipped through a couple of books to decide which ones i would end up buying. The place does have free wi-​fi which seems like a waste since there is no where to really enjoy it.
Overall its a solid book store that i will recommend to my book loving friends and will return to myself to buy and maybe even sell back some books.

I recently ventured in to this little place and I realized immediately that I could spend a good couple of hours here. There’s vinyl, books, cd’s, and dvd’s all at very reasonable prices. I joined the annual club for $ 10 and it’s such a great deal. 10% off of everything you buy, buy 3 of any products (mix or match) get the 4^th free! Now it is a bit cluttered so if you’re not into rummage style shopping then you may find this place a hassle but I love a buried treasure so it suits me just fine. My only gripe is that you really need to check the quality of the vinyl because some of the records I found were not playable. Great spot otherwise!

Was very excited to find this little spot. I work in Columbia, and often need places to venture to on lunch breaks.
While I must say I am often guilty of last minute running to Borders or B&N before a beach trip, I decided I would do a little research and see if I could find a used book store.
Second Edition was exactly what I was looking for! They have just about everything, as well as used CDs/​Movies I didn’t have time to look at the movies but will definitely come back!
I purchased a «membership» which allows you to get every 4^th item free! As well as 10% off.
Books are half off of what the barcode prices says on the back.
What a bargain! Will definitely be returning!

This is a small used book store in a fairly random strip mall.
If you are planning to throw away books, it’s worth a trip over. I came by to get rid of some books. I had about 20 – 30 books and was able to get about $ 15 of in store credit. Out of curiosity, I asked how much cash they’d offer for those same books… you’d get $ 5. So unless you are really hurting for some cash, it’s probably a better idea to go with the store credit.
There were lots of books, movies, and music in the store. In fact, it is pretty cramped inside because of all the books. The books were reasonably priced; from my brief time looking around, I’d guess the average book price is around $ 5 – 8 (though some are much cheaper and others more expensive). A tip for new customers: If you check inside the cover of the book, you will see a number written in pencil. That is the price of the book.
While they have a pretty good amount of books in the store, the selection was ironically a little more lacking. While some categories such as civil war history, religion, and classics were very well-​represented, others were either harder to find and/​or not as prevalent (such as music, biographies, test preps). So depending on what you like to read, you might find Second Edition a great store or a so-​so one.
The music was a little more expensive in my opinion, with most CDs selling for $ 5. There was a good amount of CDs selling for more as well (usually box sets or special edition CD/​DVD bundles). I suppose $ 5 isn’t too bad a deal but I’d be willing to be you could find some of those same albums on Amazon or iTunes for cheaper. Of course you wouldn’t get all the liner notes and such… so maybe its worth it to some. Anyways, they seemed to be mostly older stuff. You probably won’t find the latest hit cd here.
Overall, its a decent store. I’d give it a 3.5 star but since Unilocal doesn’t let me use .5 stars, i’ll round it to 4. It’s worth a visit if you plan on going to the MVA Express since its next door and since you’ll probably be wanting to read something while you wait forever in their lines.