Where to buy used books in Albury-Wodonga

Updated 9/28/2026

Albury-Wodonga straddles the Murray River and the New South Wales–Victoria border, so a book run here crosses a state line without trying. On the NSW side, three op shops in the Albury CBD sit within about 700 metres of each other around Swift, Wilson and Kiewa Streets, By The Book waits in Lavington to the north, and the PCYC hall in East Albury hosts the Rotary book fair. Across the river in Wodonga, a bookshop in the old water tower and three more op shops sit along High Street and Chapple Street, with the library at Hyphen a few steps from the tower on Hovell Street. Each listing names its city and suburb first, and all dollar figures below are Australian dollars.

Timing counts here as much as geography. The Rotary fair took over the PCYC in mid-June in both 2025 and 2026, Hyphen has a two-day library sale booked for 20 and 21 November 2026, and the Albury LibraryMuseum cleared its own shelves in a winter sale that finished on 19 July 2026. Between those dates, By The Book is where you swap or sell, and the op shops fill in the rest.

Spot map

The best spots

Secondhand bookshop

By The Book – Good As New Books

3/326 Griffith Rd, Lavington NSW 2641

In Lavington, on Albury's northern side, By The Book fills a unit on Griffith Road and bills itself as a buy, sell, exchange and source bookshop, trading for more than 15 years. Its exchange terms are set out online: return a book you bought there in the same condition and you're entitled to a half-price book, titles it wants to stock can earn you exchange books or credit, and in some cases it pays cash. It also keeps a Books Wanted list and rings you when a title turns up, and the searchable catalogue it posts as a PDF was dated 18 September 2026. Online orders ship Australia-wide at a flat $10.

Hours: Tue–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 9:30am–3pm; closed Sun–MonWebsite

Secondhand bookshop

The Book Tower

Wodonga Water Tower, 198A High St, Wodonga VIC 3690

In Wodonga, on the Victorian bank, the base of the century-old water tower became a secondhand bookshop that opened on Saturday 26 July 2025, The Border Mail announced four days earlier. Its owner told the paper she restocks by working through op shops and garage sales, that her books then ran from $2 to $20 and mostly sat around $5, and that she tries to keep Pulitzer and Booker winners in because readers rush for them. ABC News described circular shelves in a tight space you have to fossick through. The winter timetable posted on the owner's Book Temple Facebook page on 21 May 2026 was Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 3pm, so check for warmer-month hours before you go.

Website

Rotary book fair

Albury Wodonga Book Fair

PCYC Albury, 236 Andrews St, East Albury NSW 2640

In East Albury, the PCYC hall on Andrews Street hosts the Albury Wodonga Book Fair, which the Rotary Club of Albury North first staged in July 2023, according to The Border Mail. The 2026 edition filled the weekend of 13 and 14 June, with a coffee van on site and parking behind the PCYC building and in Keene and Andrews Streets, per the organisers' website. Takings go to causes the fair lists, among them the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust Fund and Albury Wodonga Regional FoodShare. Its Facebook page calls the fair annual, though the organisers had put up no 2027 dates by 28 September 2026.

Hours: Last documented: 13 June 2026, 8am–4pm; 14 June 2026, 9am–3pmWebsite

Library book sale

Book Sale at Hyphen – Wodonga Library Gallery

Hyphen, 126 Hovell St, Wodonga VIC 3690

In central Wodonga, Hyphen, the library and gallery on Hovell Street, has a Book Sale on its events list for Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November 2026, stocked with ex-library books and second-hand donations from novels and non-fiction to kids' books and DVDs. The round before that was set for 17 and 18 July 2026, and the library's Facebook post of 23 October 2025 said its sale of 31 October and 1 November was cash only, with the Friends putting the money towards Hyphen events and services. The Book Tower stands about 50 metres from the door, so the two make one stop.

Hours: Fri 20 November 2026, 3pm–5:30pm; Sat 21 November 2026, 10am–2:30pmWebsite

All spots by type

Op shops & charity shops

Op shop (Lifeline)

Lifeline Shop Albury

429 Wilson St, Albury NSW 2640

In the Albury CBD, Lifeline Albury Wodonga's op shop on Wilson Street lists books on its Facebook page next to clothes, shoes, CDs, DVDs and bric-a-brac. On 31 May 2026 the charity pitched toys, books and movies for kids stuck inside on cold days, naming this store at 429 Wilson Street. Book deals have a history here too, such as ten for $1 plus five free in a July 2019 post, and the Saturday-morning session makes it the Lifeline to pick at the weekend.

Hours: Mon–Fri 9:30am–4:30pm, Sat 9:30am–1:30pmWebsite

Op shop (Lifeline)

Lifeline Shop Wodonga

61 High St, Wodonga VIC 3690

In Wodonga, Lifeline's second shop is on High Street, around 700 metres up the road from the water tower. An Instagram post from the two shops on 11 August 2026 said both were stocked with puzzles, board games, books and toys to keep everyone entertained, and listed this one at 61 High Street. The weekday-only timetable repeated in the charity's posts that winter, 9:30am to 2:30pm, makes it a Monday-to-Friday call.

Hours: Mon–Fri 9:30am–2:30pm; closed Sat–SunWebsite

Hospital op shop

Albury Wodonga Health Opportunity Shop (Albury)

453 Swift St, Albury NSW 2640

In the Albury CBD, the Swift Street opportunity shop raises money for the Albury and Wodonga hospitals, and the health service's list of accepted donations includes books for both of its shops. The Border Mail reported on 8 February 2026 that the pair raised $369,499 in the 2024–25 financial year, and that volunteers had taken a complaint to Victoria's anti-corruption commission after about $200,000 of it was spent on lobby artwork. Lifeline's Wilson Street shop is roughly 270 metres away.

Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–4:30pm, Sat 9am–1pmWebsite

Hospital op shop

Albury Wodonga Health Opportunity Shop (Wodonga)

43 High St, Wodonga VIC 3690

In Wodonga, the hospital's other opportunity shop is at 43 High Street, the number its volunteers give on Facebook, although the health service's web page says 45. That same February 2026 Border Mail story counted 7,326 volunteer hours at this shop in 2023–24, against 6,685 in Albury. Its weekday and Saturday-morning times match the Albury shop, and Lifeline is about 280 metres further along High Street.

Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–4:30pm, Sat 9am–1pmWebsite

Church op shop

St Matthew's Retro Lane Op Shop

St Matthew's Rectory, 520 Kiewa St, Albury NSW 2640

In the Albury CBD, St Matthew's Anglican parish runs the Retro Lane Op Shop out of its rectory beside the church on Kiewa Street. Ahead of Father's Day, on 29 August 2024, the shop's Facebook page pitched books alongside clothes, games and puzzles, and on 14 July 2026 it posted the same times the parish website shows: 10am to 2pm on weekdays, with Tuesday stretching to 3pm. Nothing is listed for Saturday or Sunday, so plan it for a weekday.

Hours: Mon, Wed–Fri 10am–2pm, Tue 10am–3pm; closed Sat–SunWebsite

Community op shop

New Life Op Shop

4/60 Chapple St, Wodonga VIC 3690

In Wodonga, New Life Op Shop opened on Monday 1 June 2026 in the new Bakery Hill development on Chapple Street. The New Life Chapel's announcement of 28 May 2026 listed books and toys among the stock, alongside adult and kids' clothing, homewares, small furniture and bric-a-brac. Donations are taken at the back dock on weekdays until 3pm, and with Saturday mornings open it can pair with the water tower, 1.6 km to the west, if the tower keeps Saturday hours.

Hours: Mon–Fri 9:30am–4:30pm, Sat 9am–1pmWebsite

Scan before you buy

At every one of these spots, snap the shelf with BiblioScan: the AI identifies each book and shows its real resale price. Walk out with profitable books, not random boxes.

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Local sourcing tips

Older guides still send you to Books on Dean, the antiquarian and secondhand shop next to the cinema at 3/444 Dean Street. The Border Mail reported in November 2022 that its owner was selling the business, the AlburyCBD traders' blog still profiled it in August 2024, and its old website has gone; no source from 2025 onwards confirms it still trades, so phone before making a special trip.
The Book Tower's owner also runs The Book Temple, a Saturday bookshop in a restored tobacco shed on Huon Creek Road outside Wodonga. Its Facebook page said on 21 May 2026 that it would be closed for a few months for updates, and no reopening had been announced by 28 September 2026.
Albury's library clears stock too, and had announced no next sale by 28 September 2026. The Albury LibraryMuseum held a Winter Book Sale of pre-loved books that ended on Sunday 19 July 2026; back in April 2025, across the Easter school holidays, its Friends group had run a pre-loved sale of its own. Watch the library's Instagram for word of another.
Several charity shops in town are left off this list because nothing from the store itself mentions books. Vinnies' Albury and Lavington pages repeat the stock sentence used for its Wagga Wagga shop, the Vinnies store announced for the Wodonga Homemaker Centre from 29 July 2026 lists homewares, fashion, electricals, mattresses and furniture, and the Salvos Stores in North Albury and Wodonga, the Red Cross shop on Dean Street and ADRA in North Albury post no book evidence either. They're still worth a look if you're passing.
Not everything with books on the shelves is secondhand. Booktique in AMP Lane, open since just before Easter 2024, and Dymocks in Myer Centrepoint sell new stock. Lifeline Albury Wodonga ran a book fair at The Scots School Albury on 23 and 24 November 2024, but had announced no later edition by 28 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in Albury-Wodonga?

Start with the library sale and the op shops. Hyphen's sale in Wodonga on 20 and 21 November 2026 mixes ex-library stock with donated books, and its October 2025 round was cash only. In Albury, the hospital op shop on Swift Street and Lifeline on Wilson Street both list books, while St Matthew's Retro Lane shop beside the church opens on weekdays. At By The Book, a copy bought there and brought back in the same condition earns you a half-price book.

Where do I sell used books in Albury-Wodonga?

Of the ten stops here, By The Book in Lavington is alone in buying or swapping books: it offers exchange books or credit for titles it wants to stock and pays cash in some cases. Anything it passes on goes online instead, to Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace if the buyer collects, or to Amazon.com.au and eBay's Australian site when it has to be posted. Before you box anything up, let BiblioScan look over the bookcase for you: one snapshot, a likely resale price beside every spine it recognises, and the short list worth selling under your own name jumps out.

When is the big book sale in Albury-Wodonga?

The organisers bill Albury North Rotary's fair at the PCYC in East Albury as the biggest charitable book fair in Albury Wodonga. It ran on 14 and 15 June 2025 and on 13 and 14 June 2026, opening at 8am on the Saturday both years, and a 2027 weekend had yet to be announced when this page was updated on 28 September 2026. The next fixed date on this page falls in November, when Hyphen's two-day library sale opens on Friday the 20th.

Which op shops have books in Albury-Wodonga?

Six on this page have book evidence from the shop or the charity behind it. In Albury, that's Lifeline on Wilson Street, the Albury Wodonga Health shop on Swift Street and St Matthew's Retro Lane on Kiewa Street. In Wodonga, it's Lifeline and the hospital shop on High Street, plus New Life Op Shop on Chapple Street, whose opening announcement in May 2026 named books.

Which day is best for book hunting in Albury-Wodonga?

Saturday morning. By The Book opens at 9:30am, both hospital op shops and New Life trade from 9am to 1pm, Lifeline's Albury shop stays open until 1:30pm, and The Book Tower's winter hours included Saturday. You'll miss St Matthew's and Lifeline Wodonga, which keep to weekdays. Skip Sunday: none of the shops here posts Sunday hours. Monday suits the op shops, but By The Book is shut and The Book Tower's winter timetable left it out.

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Nearby cities

Wagga Wagga Shepparton Canberra

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