This guide follows the Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo census metropolitan area as Statistics Canada draws it: the three cities plus the townships of Woolwich, Wilmot and North Dumfries, while Guelph and Brantford get pages of their own. Downtown Kitchener puts A Second Look and KW Bookstore on the same stretch of King Street West, 340 metres from door to door. Uptown Waterloo, a few ION stops to the northwest, has Old Goat Books a stone's throw from First United Church, where the CFUW sale sets up each spring according to the club. Galt, Cambridge's historic core, lines up Woolf & Company, Hamley's Second Chapter and the Queen's Square library a few minutes' walk apart, Preston adds a charity thrift store on King Street East, and Woolwich Township contributes the two antique malls near the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market plus a community thrift shop in Elmira. Prices below are quoted in Canadian dollars.
In Galt, two shops said in 2026 that they were buying. Checked in September 2026, Woolf & Company's used-books page said it was buying second-hand fiction and non-fiction in like-new condition for store credit only, with no comics, magazines, encyclopedias or dictionaries; a bag or less can come in during opening hours, while bigger lots start with an emailed list or photo. Hamley's Second Chapter posted on Instagram on June 13, 2026 that it buys books, puzzles, games and DVDs, especially newer and popular titles, and that store credit usually gives you more value; the pause on buying that its owner described to CambridgeToday in January 2026 was meant to last that month. Old Goat Books, whose banner reads Quality Books Bought & Sold, had trading on hold in September 2026 while it worked through a cataloguing backlog.
Several changes make older lists unreliable. A December 2024 fire closed Old Goat's original King Street North location, and CTV News covered its move to the former Marbles Restaurant building on William Street on August 30, 2025, yet some directories still carry the old address. In Galt, Rookery Books became Woolf & Company in September 2025 under new owners; in St. Jacobs, CityNews reported on February 27, 2026 that the old antiques market was closing, and CTV News covered the new St. Jacobs Antiques Mall opening in the same building on April 1. The YW Thrift Boutique on King Street West, next door to A Second Look, closed to the public on August 13, 2026, its operator said. And some names that crowd local bookstore roundups — Words Worth Books in Uptown Waterloo, The Book Loft in St. Jacobs, the Indigo stores — are new-book sellers and stay off this list; Juniper Books, the rare-book house that turns up in some searches, is on Windsor's Ottawa Street, not Kitchener's.
Used bookstoresOld Goat Books
8 William St E, Waterloo, ON N2J 1K9
In Uptown Waterloo, 2.6 km northwest of downtown Kitchener, Old Goat Books reopened on Saturday, August 30, 2025 in the former Marbles Restaurant building, CTV News reported, almost nine months after a December 2024 fire damaged its old unit at 99 King Street North. The same report described a restoration effort for around 20,000 smoke-damaged books under owner Erica Nikolaus and a GoFundMe more than half funded by opening day. When this page was updated in September 2026, the shop's site dated the business to 2001, announced a temporary pause on book trading while a cataloguing backlog is cleared, and pointed to the Old Mare Canteen, a self-serve coffee and tea bar where you pay cash into a transit farebox.
Hours: Mon–Thu 10am–6pm, Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 10am–6pm, Sun noon–5pmWebsite Used bookstoresA Second Look Books & Movies
109 King St W, Kitchener, ON N2G 1A7
A King Street West storefront in downtown Kitchener that CBC Kitchener-Waterloo visited on August 24, 2026 for its 40th anniversary, calling it a well-loved used bookstore full of memories for staff and readers. The shop's Facebook page promises a huge selection of previously owned books next to DVDs, Blu-rays and collectible VHS, and marked the anniversary with 40%-off weeks, graphic novels from Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 31 and mystery novels in June. The hours shown here come from YellowPages.ca and Infobel, which agree, while the shop's own holiday posts confirm 10am to 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 11am starts on Sundays; other listings differ on weekday opening times. On July 4, 2026 the page warned that the phone line was out and asked customers to message or email instead, and YellowPages.ca lists books and movies traded.
Hours: Mon–Thu 10am–6pm, Fri–Sat 10am–7pm, Sun 11am–6pmWebsite Used bookstoresHamley's Second Chapter
132 Main St, Cambridge, ON N1R 1V7
In Galt, the old downtown of Cambridge about 18 km southeast of Kitchener, Jamie and Sheri Hamley opened this secondhand shop in November 2025, CambridgeToday reported on January 8, 2026, after Jamie noticed there was no used bookstore to browse on his lunch breaks in the core. The couple seeded it with 4,000 books chosen from more than 80,000 at a four-day sale in Guelph, then added stock from Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and local sellers, and a front table goes to local authors. An Instagram post of June 13, 2026 asked readers to bring books, puzzles, games and DVDs in to sell, and in September 2026 the bio was flagging a 2026 CambridgeToday Reader Favourite title.
Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun noon–5pmWebsite CFUW book saleCFUW K-W Annual Used Book Sale
First United Church, 16 William St W, Waterloo, ON N2L 1J3
CFUW K-W, the local club of what was formerly known as the Canadian Federation of University Women, takes over First United Church, at King and William Streets in Uptown Waterloo, for a two-day sale whose proceeds fund scholarships for local students. Its site already lists the 2027 edition for Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17, which the club bills as the 60th year of the sale. The club's April 10, 2025 release priced items at $2 to $3 with a whole box for $15 on the Saturday, and said the 2024 sale had raised $25,000 for more than 50 scholarships. Donations go to the church on the Wednesday and Thursday before, minus library discards, textbooks, encyclopedias and damaged copies.
Hours: Fri April 16, 2027 9am–9pm; Sat April 17 9am–1pmWebsite Library book saleCambridge Public Library Fall Book Sale
Queen's Square Library, 1 North Square, Cambridge, ON N1S 2K6
Cambridge Public Library sells what it calls pre-enjoyed books, DVDs and CDs at four branches from Thursday, October 15 to Sunday, October 18, 2026: Queen's Square in Galt, Clemens Mill, Hespeler and Preston. The library's event listing prices items at 50 cents apiece, three for $1, or $5 for a reusable bag you fill, with a few unusual items marked separately and everything sold as is. The sale runs all day during library hours, so the grid here is Queen's Square's, while Clemens Mill and Hespeler open at 10am on the Thursday and Friday. Teachers, daycare providers and community agencies can choose items free by asking staff, and Queen's Square sits about 280 metres from Woolf & Company.
Hours: Library hours (Queen's Square): Thu October 15, 2026 9:30am–8:30pm; Fri–Sat October 16–17 9:30am–5:30pm; Sun October 18 1pm–5pmWebsite Where can I find cheap used books in Kitchener-Waterloo?
Nothing listed here undercuts the Cambridge Public Library fall sale (October 15–18, 2026), at which four branches charge 50 cents an item, with three going for a dollar and a filled bag for $5. The CFUW's Uptown Waterloo sale charged $2 to $3 in 2025 with a $15 box on the Saturday, and its 2027 dates are April 16 and 17. Between sales, check the book shelves at the four charity thrift stores, from MCC Thrift on Kent to Uptown Thrift in Preston and the WCS shop in Elmira, and watch KW Bookstore's Facebook page, which took 35% off most used books on Boxing Day 2025.
Where do I sell used books in Kitchener-Waterloo?
Galt is the place to start. Woolf & Company trades store credit, and nothing else, for like-new fiction and non-fiction, taking a bag or less over the counter and bigger lots after an emailed list, while Hamley's Second Chapter, per its mid-June post, takes games and DVDs as well as books and says store credit usually gets you more for them. Old Goat's buy counter was on hold as of September 2026, Grantham Books looks mainly for needlework and woodworking titles, and YellowPages.ca lists books traded at A Second Look on King Street West. Before any box leaves the house, stand one shelf of it upright and photograph the spines with BiblioScan, which puts a resale value beside each book it recognizes, so you know which few deserve an Amazon.ca, AbeBooks, eBay.ca or Kijiji listing and which are fine to trade for credit or give away.
When is the big book sale in Kitchener-Waterloo?
Two dates matter. The library's fall sale in Cambridge covers four days, October 15 through 18, 2026, spread over its Queen's Square, Preston, Hespeler and Clemens Mill branches. The CFUW K-W sale at First United Church in Uptown Waterloo returns for its 60th year on Friday, April 16, 2027, open until 9pm, and Saturday, April 17 until 1pm, with donations taken at the church on April 14 and 15.
Which day is best for book hunting in Kitchener-Waterloo?
Saturday, the one day with nothing on this list closed. On Sunday the used bookshops in Kitchener, Waterloo and Galt and both antique malls are open, but all four charity thrift stores, in Kitchener, Preston and Elmira, are closed. On a Monday, leave Galt for another trip, since Woolf & Company and Hamley's Second Chapter both stay shut, while Old Goat, A Second Look, KW Bookstore and the thrift stores are open.