Fort Myers faces the Caloosahatchee from its southern shore, and the area taken in here runs out to roughly a dozen miles around the City Hall on Second Street: the downtown River District, the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Ortiz Avenue corridor to the east, the plazas along Colonial Boulevard and the Alico Road strip to the south, Cape Coral across the river and Lehigh Acres out east. Three of the nine stops listed here lie inside the Fort Myers city limits, three are in Cape Coral, and three carry a Fort Myers mailing address while lying in unincorporated Lee County, along Ortiz Avenue, Alico Road and the Tamiami Trail. Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Pine Island and Estero fall past that line, and Naples, about 35 miles to the south-southeast as the crow flies, is covered by a guide of its own.
Among the stops listed here, Flutterbuy Books and More in Cape Coral posts its trade terms: the desk pays out store credit, never money, on terms its store policies page spells out. The Cape Coral Friends, the Kiwanis thrift stores and Goodwill's Café Blue take donated books, and The Book Cafe invites book donations on its website.
Two kinds of stop dominate the list. The bookstores — Blinking Owl on Colonial Boulevard, Flutterbuy in Cape Coral and The Book Cafe on Alico Road — keep regular weekday hours, while the Fleamasters stall, the Ortiz Avenue market and the comic shop on the Tamiami Trail trade only from the end of the week through Sunday. For the lowest prices, look to the Cape Coral Friends, whose First Dibs racks sit inside the library between their sales.
Used-book dealer at a flea marketChris the Book Guy
Fleamasters Flea Market, Grand Pavilion, 4135 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33916
A secondhand book dealer trading inside the Grand Pavilion at Fleamasters Flea Market in Fort Myers, 2.5 miles out along the boulevard from City Hall. A post on the stall's Facebook page dated June 16, 2025 spells out the way in: turn right past the main entrance, drive by Rug Runners II, and look for booths SW 1 through 8 and C 15 next to the Pavilion stage. Its Instagram account was still inviting readers on July 29, 2026 to come by on Friday, Saturday or Sunday between 9 and 5, the same weekend window the market sets on its own website, where it dates its opening to 1986 and says it trades year-round. The page bio claims 20 years at Fleamasters and warns that treasure hunting there gets a little dusty, so dress for digging.
Hours: Fri–Sun 9am–5pmWebsite New and used independent bookstoreBlinking Owl Books
1342 Colonial Blvd, Unit C18, Fort Myers, FL 33907
A yellow bungalow at 1342 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, 3.4 miles from City Hall, bearing south-southwest, that its Bookshop.org page describes as a queer, veteran and woman-owned shop selling new and used books, witchy wares and, through a permanent corner run by Innisfree Yarns, yarn. The News-Press profiled it on March 16, 2025 as a store bouncing back after Hurricane Helene had closed it until December 19, 2024. Its events page for the fall of 2026 is crowded — open mics, a third-Friday board game and stitching night, an Artisans & Authors Market on Sunday, November 1, and a Small Business Saturday event set for November 28 — so evenings can be busy. Mondays it stays closed.
Hours: Tue–Sat 11:30am–6:30pm, Sun 11:30am–4pm; closed MonWebsite Used and new bookstore with trade creditFlutterbuy Books and More
Fountain Shoppes, 840 SW 4th St, Unit 7, Cape Coral, FL 33991
In Cape Coral, inside the Fountain Shoppes on Southwest 4th Street, 7.9 miles due west of Fort Myers City Hall across the river. Its store policies page shelves new and used books by genre, then alphabetically by author, marks most stock at 50% off the cover price unless it is new or priced otherwise, and runs a trade desk that takes most paperback fiction and puzzles: credit usually comes to 25% of cover, never expires, may settle up to half the bill on used stock, and can never be cashed out. On September 4, 2026 the Cape Coral Breeze previewed an October 17 signing with C.A.M. Muñoz as part of the shop's running author series, and its own site lists further signings through November 14, 2026 plus a monthly book club, which gathers on each month's final Tuesday. Finnegan, the resident dog, is in most days.
Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 10am–5pm; Tue, Thu, Sat 10am–4pm; closed SunWebsite Library Friends sales and shelvesFriends of the Cape Coral Library
Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library, 921 SW 39th Terrace, Cape Coral, FL 33914
In Cape Coral, at the Lee County Library System branch on Southwest 39th Terrace, 8.9 miles off to the west-southwest of Fort Myers City Hall, where the Friends keep First Dibs shelves of used fiction, nonfiction, CDs, DVDs and current magazines between sales. The Cape Coral Breeze previewed their spring sale of April 17 and 18, 2026 as a meeting room to be filled with thousands of books sorted by category, most of them $1 or $2 and small paperbacks under a dollar, payable in cash or personal check only. The Friends have announced no November sale for 2026; their own calendar lists a Holiday Boutique of books and gift items over December 4–5, 2026, then the big public sale across the last Friday and Saturday of January 2027 (the 29th and 30th), with the members' preview listed by the Friends for January 28. Donations of resale-quality books, CDs and DVDs are accepted, and one-of-a-kind copies go to eBay under the seller name ccflbooks.
Hours: Library hours: Mon–Wed 9am–8pm, Thu 9am–6pm, Fri–Sat 9am–5pm; Next sale: Fri Dec 4 – Sat Dec 5, 2026 (Holiday Boutique)Website Where can I find cheap used books in Fort Myers?
Across the river in Cape Coral. The Cape Coral Friends post their sale dates on capefriends.org, and the Breeze's preview of their spring sale put most books at $1 or $2, with small paperbacks below a dollar; between sales, the First Dibs shelves inside the library are stocked with used books. Flutterbuy Books and More marks most of its stock at half the cover price, and the Kiwanis thrift stores, also in Cape Coral, sell donated goods that include books. In Fort Myers itself, Goodwill's Café Blue runs on donated stock, and the Grand Pavilion stall at Fleamasters is stocked with used books from Friday to Sunday.
Where do I sell used books in Fort Myers?
Among these addresses, Flutterbuy, over in Cape Coral, spells out how it buys, and it pays in credit. It takes paperback fiction and puzzles in good condition, usually credits 25% of the cover price, lets that credit pay up to half of what you spend on used stock, and never turns it into cash. The Cape Coral Friends, the two Kiwanis shops, Goodwill and The Book Cafe all accept donations. Before boxing anything up, aim BiblioScan at the shelf: from a single picture it prices each identified spine on the resale market, which sorts the copies worth listing online yourself from those that belong in the Flutterbuy credit pile.
Which day is best for book hunting in Fort Myers?
Saturday, since every stop with fixed hours opens that day: the Fleamasters stall and the Ortiz Avenue market are both running, Blinking Owl, Flutterbuy, Café Blue, the Kiwanis stores and The Book Cafe all keep their usual Saturday, and Flutterbuy and the Ortiz market both wind down at 4pm, while Mikey's comic shop opens at noon. Sunday comes second, with both flea markets, Mikey's, Café Blue and Blinking Owl until 4pm or later and The Book Cafe until 2pm, though Flutterbuy is closed and the Kiwanis stores open on Sunday afternoons only between November and April. Avoid Monday for Blinking Owl, which stays shut, and remember the Fleamasters dealer is there from Friday to Sunday only.
When is the Friends of the Library sale in Fort Myers?
The Friends group to watch is the one at the Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library, 921 SW 39th Terrace. It posts its sale dates on capefriends.org/book-sales and announces them in the Cape Coral Breeze; its main sales fill the library meeting room, with a members-only preview the day before the public opens. Between sales, its First Dibs racks keep used books on offer whenever the branch is open. Organizers have asked shoppers to bring cash or a personal check, since credit cards are not accepted.