Guelph keeps its secondhand books close to the core. Janus Books sits in the Shops at Paisley plaza across Paisley Street from the main library, Long Box Silver's is a short walk up Wyndham Street, and the north-end Speedvale Centre and Victoria Road South each hold one more stop inside 3 km of downtown. This guide covers the Guelph census metropolitan area — the city itself with the townships of Guelph/Eramosa and Puslinch — and adds three addresses in Fergus and Elora, the Centre Wellington towns some 20 km north of the city that sit nearer to Guelph than to any other city in this series; their entries say so up front. Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and Brantford have guides of their own, and Acton, about 20 km east-northeast, belongs to Halton Hills and therefore to the Toronto area. Dollar amounts throughout are Canadian.
Selling works differently at every counter. Janus pays either cash or a richer store credit and does no buying on Tuesdays; Cordial Clove in Elora settles only in credit that it values case by case; The Bookery's website in Fergus describes it as a buyer too; and students with course texts can try the Co-op Bookstore's buyback desk on the University of Guelph campus, which pays by debit refund or in credit carrying a 10 percent bonus. The library's volunteer Friends group goes the other way and collects donations for one big October sale, a fundraiser it credits with more than $1.2 million handed to the library across its 17 previous editions.
Three changes trip up older Guelph lists. Macondo Books, a used and rare dealer facing City Hall at 18 Wilson Street, closed for good on Saturday, August 30, 2014, according to the Guelph Mercury, though it still turns up on maps, flagged as closed. The Bookshelf on Quebec Street, which n49 puts among its used-book results for the city, is a new-book store paired with a cinema and a bar. And in Elora the shop that directories call Twice Loved Books was trading as Cordial Clove Books in September 2026, while Long Box Silver's, which opened on Wyndham Street in February 2026, is the newest name here.
Used bookstoresJanus Books
10 Paisley St, Guelph, ON N1H 2N6
A secondhand bookshop in the Shops at Paisley, on the corner of Norfolk and Paisley facing the main Guelph Public Library, trading in secondhand books since 2012 by its own account. Its selling page is precise: a couple of dozen books or fewer can come in without notice, anything past 25 needs an email first, nothing is bought on Tuesdays or during the final half hour of the day, and the offer is cash or, if you prefer, credit topped up by half. The shop names what it hunts for, from Penguin and Everyman classics to philosophy, classical studies, Indigenous titles and ecology, and turns away magazines, hardcover thrillers and any copy with stains, tears or smells. Its fall hours, posted as updated September 1, 2026, cover Tuesday through Sunday while Monday opening is left to chance, and a note on the same page asks you to email rather than phone while the line is misbehaving.
Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–4pmWebsite Friends of the Library saleFriends of the Guelph Public Library BIG Book Sale
440 Elmira Rd N, Guelph, ON N1K 1C3
The Friends' 18th Annual BIG Book Sale fills a Bamco Group warehouse where Elmira Road North meets Massey Road, 5 km west-southwest of downtown in an industrial district served by Guelph Transit's Route 20. The FAQ revised on September 27, 2026 charges $10 at the door for the Thursday opening and nothing for the three days after, prices hardcovers at $4, softcovers at $3 and small paperbacks at $1, and prices children's, media and special books one by one. It answers the reseller question directly: no rule forbids scanning, but you're asked not to block access or sit on piles you won't buy, and book dealers and antiquarian dealers are asked to send their questions to the Friends by email. Wagons and full-size grocery carts don't fit, so bring a small folding cart, and note that the Book Hold area for parking your finds runs Thursday to Saturday but not on the Sunday.
Hours: Thu October 22 and Fri October 23, 2026 2pm–8pm; Sat October 24 and Sun October 25, 2026 10am–4pmWebsite Used and rare books with Celtic giftwareThe Bookery
191 St Andrew St W, Fergus, ON N1M 1N6
In Fergus, in the Township of Centre Wellington 20 km north-northwest of downtown Guelph and beyond the census metropolitan area, a red-brick shop across the street from the Fergus Public Library that has dealt in books since August 2000. Its site counts more than 20,000 used books, from contemporary titles to scarce, antiquarian and collectible ones, shelved among Celtic jewellery, crystals, candles and vintage decor, and the site adds that the shop acquires stock across the counter too. Its events page sends the Fergus Ghost Walks off from the shop door at 8pm, with $20 tickets for seven more 2026 dates between October 3 and October 30. The website posts no opening times and points visitors to the Google listing, and there's a parking lot directly behind the building off Provost Lane.
Used bookstoresCordial Clove Books
62 Metcalfe St, Elora, ON N0B 1S0
In Elora, also part of Centre Wellington and 21 km northwest of downtown Guelph, a used bookshop that directories still list as Twice Loved Books and whose old twicelovedbooks.ca address was serving Cordial Clove's own web shop in September 2026. It counts almost 20,000 previously loved books plus cards and journals, and a video it posted on September 14, 2026 asked for fiction, novels from the last five years above all. Trade-ins earn store credit at the shop's discretion, good for up to half the price of used books only and never paid out in cash; the home page dates that credit-or-donation rule to April 2024, even though the About page still offers cash. The hours disagree too: the contact page gives Wednesday to Monday and also every day, the Facebook bio says closed Tuesdays and a June 2026 post announced summer opening seven days a week, so ring 226-369-0189 first.
Where can I find cheap used books in Guelph?
The October warehouse sale sets the floor: at the library Friends' event on Elmira Road North, hardcovers go for $4, softcovers for $3 and small paperbacks for a dollar, and entry costs nothing from Friday, October 23, 2026 through the Sunday, once the $10 Thursday opening is over. Between sales, the Mission Thrift Store on Victoria Road South opened a new Book Nook in September 2026, and New to You in Fergus knocks 75% off a different tag colour every week and gives students 10% off on Saturdays. Spring brings a second cheap sale downtown, the Guelph Tool Library's Free to Read, which charged a flat $2 a book at its April 2026 edition. Janus Books is the downtown option when you want condition over price, since it buys only clean copies.
Where do I sell used books in Guelph?
Janus Books on Paisley Street is the counter that pays cash, or store credit worth 50 percent more, on any day it opens except Tuesday; small bags can walk in, and past 25 books you email first. In Elora, Cordial Clove takes trade-ins for credit only, with that credit capped at 50 percent of whatever secondhand books you take home, and The Bookery's site in Fergus names buying among what it does. Textbooks belong at the Co-op Bookstore's buyback on campus. Ahead of the drive, turn every book spine-out and photograph the whole row at once with BiblioScan: every spine it picks out is tagged with what it tends to resell for, which shows at a glance what to keep for your own eBay or Amazon.ca listings and what to bag up for Paisley Street.
When is the big library book sale in Guelph?
The Friends of the Guelph Public Library run their 18th Annual BIG Book Sale from Thursday, October 22 to Sunday, October 25, 2026, in the Bamco Group warehouse at 440 Elmira Road North, at the corner of Massey Road. Thursday and Friday run from 2pm to 8pm, the weekend from 10am to 4pm, and only Thursday carries the $10 admission. Payment is by cash, credit or debit, children get a free book, and the 2026 edition adds a thriller section to adult fiction. Parking on site is limited, so the Friends suggest carpooling or Guelph Transit's Route 20-NW Industrial.
Which day is best for book hunting in Guelph?
Any day from Tuesday to Saturday, the stretch in which Janus, Long Box Silver's, the Mission Thrift Store and New to You all trade, with Saturday as the obvious choice if you work during the week. Sunday drops the two charity shops and leaves Janus and Long Box Silver's downtown. Monday is the thinnest day, with Long Box Silver's and New to You shut and Janus opening only when it happens to, so the Victoria Road South thrift store is the dependable Monday call. Tuesday suits shoppers more than sellers, because Janus is open but does no buying that day. Sunrise Books, The Bookery and Cordial Clove publish no schedule that could be confirmed, so phone them before building a day around them.