Smith Family Bookstore

People are sometimes curious about Smith Family Bookstore's history in this community. The store opened in 1974 when Delbert and Misa Smith rented a small space on Alder Street near the University of Oregon with a few boxes of books for sale and mostly empty shelves on the walls.

From 1974 to 1976, Smith Family Bookstore filled the small Alder Street shop with used books, and the store was busy with students and other people buying and selling textbooks and good used books.In 1977, the Smiths bought an empty lot on East 13th, and built a new building for their growing used book business.

Smith Family Bookstore has over 500,000 used, new, and out-of-print books organized in hundreds of sections at the Willamette store. We also have thousands of used books, including textbooks, rare, and out-of-print books online at Abebooks.com. About 10% of Smith Family Bookstore's out-of-print, rare, and academic inventory and 100% of the store's used textbook inventory is listed on Abebooks.

Smith Family Bookstore stocks interesting new releases, literary best sellers, important books, classic titles, and books that our staff and customers recommend. Our buyers search for new books that readers are happy to buy at locally owned, independent bookstores.

We have learned that not everyone likes to order new books from corporate online businesses, and we are slowly and thoughtfully growing our new book selections to provide a local option for this community.We carry new books in all subjects and usually offer 10-20% discounts on new books. We can order most new books and offer discounts on most special orders.

We love and respect old books, and our store has many early editions and interesting out-of-print books on the shelves. For more information about selling out-of-print books to Smith Family Bookstore, call Monday through Friday and ask to speak to a book buyer. We can answer general questions over the phone, but to find out whether we will purchase a specific book or collection, we will need to see and evaluate the books.

Smith Family Bookstore has been buying and selling used textbooks since 1974. We buy texts all year at our store at 525 Willamette Street. We offer a good option for students who are searching for used textbooks or who want to sell their books to a local bookstore with reliable customer service. We are confident the prices we pay for used textbooks are fair according to the market information we use and our business needs and goals.