Used books in Mackay are spread across the CBD, North Mackay and the industrial south. The Bookish Burrow on Wood Street, which sells new and used titles and opened in September 2025, anchors the CBD, and the Troppo market sets up under a kilometre away at Caneland Central once a month. North of the river, the Kidney Support Network's Evans Avenue shop and Kitten Vintage on Harbour Road are about a kilometre apart, while the network's Shakespeare Street shop sits just south of the CBD. The outlier is the reuse shop at the Paget waste facility, roughly 6 km out to the south-southwest, and all prices given are in Australian dollars.
Timing shapes a Mackay run more than distance does. Both Kidney Support Network shops keep weekday hours, and the Shakespeare Street one has announced the odd Saturday morning on Facebook; the bookshop closes at 1pm on Saturdays and stays shut on Sundays, and the Paget reuse shop opens Thursday to Sunday. The Troppo market comes round on the month's second Sunday, and its organisers announced on 22 September 2026 that it would trade at Caneland Central rather than Mount Pleasant from the 11 October 2026 market onward.
New and used bookshopThe Bookish Burrow
Shop 4/31 Wood St, Mackay QLD 4740
In the CBD on Wood Street, a bookshop mixing new and used titles on its shelves, according to its Facebook bio, along with bookish gifts and community events; an Instagram post of 4 July 2025 announced the September opening. Mackay and Whitsunday Life reported on 22 June 2026 that it had won Best New Business at the Mackay Region Chamber of Commerce awards on 29 May 2026, quoting the owner on the gap she had long seen in Mackay for a second-hand bookstore. The shop celebrated its first birthday with a storewide 20% off sale on Saturday 19 September 2026, local authors excluded.
Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–1pm; closed SunWebsite Vintage and antiques shopKitten Vintage Mackay
78 Harbour Rd, North Mackay QLD 4740
In North Mackay, 2.5 km north-northeast of the CBD on Harbour Road, a licensed second-hand dealer spread over many rooms of furniture, china and collectables, with a Words & Whimsy collection on its website for books, art and frames. A Kitten Vintage post put prices on a batch of Enid Blyton Five Find-Outers mysteries at $25 for the better copies and $15 for the nibbled ones, plus a 1956 first edition of The Mystery of the Missing Man with its dust jacket at $95, on 7 October 2026. Street Library Australia lists a glass-fronted book exchange cabinet on the shop's covered veranda. Opening days vary by source: the website banner gives 10am to 4pm Wednesday to Sunday, its footer says Tuesday to Sunday, and a 4 October 2026 post said the shop was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and would reopen that Wednesday from 9am, so ring 0431 930 515 before a Tuesday visit.
Op shop (Kidney Support Network)Kidney Support Network North Mackay Op Shop
2/45 Evans Ave, North Mackay QLD 4740
In North Mackay, 1.9 km north of the CBD at 2/45 Evans Avenue, an op shop run by the Kidney Support Network, a charity whose 'Shop sales for this week' posts on Facebook list specials shop by shop. Those posts advertised cheap books from 50c at this shop on 2, 9 and 16 August 2026, next to 50c skirts and winter clothing. The charity's website lists weekday trading and keeps the shop closed on public holidays.
Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–3pm; closed public holidaysWebsite Monthly Rotary marketTroppo Treasure Market
Caneland Central car park, Mangrove Rd, Mackay QLD 4740
In the CBD, on the Caneland Central car park 0.8 km west-northwest of the centre, the charity market of the Rotary Club of Mackay North, whose website describes around 140 stalls of old and new, second-hand and homemade goods with books among the plants, crafts and tools. The organisers' Facebook page moved the market from Mount Pleasant to Caneland on 22 September 2026, with entry from Matsuura Drive or Victoria Street to the lower-level car park and entry by gold coin donation. On 4 October 2026 the same page looked forward to its first market at the new site, and the TryBooking stallholder page lists the Sunday 11 October 2026 edition there from 7:30am to 11:30am; the website says all proceeds go to charity.
Hours: Second Sun of the month 7:30am–11:30amWebsite Where can I find cheap used books in Mackay?
The cheapest dated prices came from the Kidney Support Network's North Mackay shop, which advertised books from 50c on three Sundays in August 2026. The Paget reuse shop sells goods recovered from landfill, from cricket books to children's bundles, and the Troppo market brings around 140 stalls to Caneland Central on each month's second Sunday.
Which op shops have books in Mackay?
Three have shop-level evidence: both Kidney Support Network shops, in North Mackay and on Shakespeare Street, and the Refindit reuse shop at Paget, each through its own Facebook posts from mid-2026. Other charity chains have Mackay shops too, yet none of their 2025 or 2026 posts and pages links books to a particular Mackay shop, so treat them as possibles.
Which day is best for book hunting in Mackay?
It depends on the week. A weekday covers the two kidney charity shops and The Bookish Burrow, which all close on Sundays, while Thursday and Friday add the Paget reuse shop. On the second Sunday of the month, pair the Troppo market in the morning with Paget and, if its Wednesday-to-Sunday schedule holds, Kitten Vintage in the afternoon.
Where do I sell used books in Mackay?
None of these six advertises buying books for cash: the op shops and the tip shop run on donations, the market hires out stalls, and the vintage dealer prices its own finds. Selling means listing on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree for local pickup, or on eBay and Amazon Australia for books worth posting. Before you list anything, let BiblioScan price the shelf from a single photo, spine by spine, so the Paget or Evans Avenue donation pile is settled before you write a single listing.