Where to buy used books in Winnipeg

Updated 9/27/2026

Everything on this list sits inside the City of Winnipeg, and most of it falls along two lines. Downtown packs four stops into a few blocks: Red River Book Store in the Exchange District, Book Fair on Portage Avenue, the library's own sale shelves inside the Millennium branch and Bison Books on Graham. South across the Assiniboine, Burton Lysecki on Osborne Street and Whodunit? on Lilac Street are under 2 km apart. Portage Avenue then carries you west past Raven's End to Cover to Cover near the city's edge, with the Grace Hospital sale off it in St. James, while St. Boniface and Norwood hold a library sale and a café with shelves, and Elmwood and East Kildonan have an MCC thrift shop and a manga store. Prices quoted here are in Canadian dollars.

The charity calendar matters as much as the shops. The Children's Hospital Book Market set up inside St. Vital Centre in both spring and fall 2026 and has published its 2027 dates; the library's Friends held their big sale in May 2026, a spring slot the library calls usual; Bar None's Book & Bake Sale took over a West End church in June 2026; and the Grace Hospital Foundation ran a used-book fundraiser at the hospital in September 2026. Between those, the public library sells withdrawn and donated stock at eight branches, a cheap floor for anyone sourcing by the bag.

A few names on older lists need a second look. GLOBOsapiens, the trade-for-credit shop at 3096 Portage, told its Instagram followers on April 9, 2026 that it would close for good on May 1 because its lease was not being renewed, so it is not listed. Other Places Books, the science-fiction shop that opened beside Bison on Graham Avenue in August 2026, sells new titles only, as its owner told the Free Press, and McNally Robinson, Chapters and Prairie Sky Books on Westminster sell new stock as well. Bound to Please, a North End romance shop dealing in new and used books since January 2026, is covered in the tips because its Instagram profile says it is moving.

Spot map

The best spots

Antiquarian & secondhand

Bison Books

424 Graham Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3C 0L8

A bright 2,250-square-foot room on Graham Avenue, a stone's throw from the old Bay building, holding what its About page puts at about 20,000 antiquarian and good used books, strongest in Indigenous studies, Canadian art and literature and Western Canadian history. Aimee Peake, sole owner since 2010, moved the shop here that fall, ten years after it opened on Donald Street. Bison pays outright in cash or store credit, books an appointment only if you want a same-visit valuation, and declines romance, Reader's Digest, magazines, textbooks and damaged copies. The shop blog added an 1850 Jenny Lind biography on September 8, 2026, and the Free Press reported in August 2026 that a new-books science-fiction store had opened in the same building.

Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–4:30pmWebsite

Antiquarian & secondhand

Burton Lysecki Books

527 Osborne St, Winnipeg, MB R3L 2B2

An Osborne Street shop in South Osborne, 3.3 km south of Portage and Main, that Travel Manitoba's bookstore roundup of November 20, 2025 credited with over 100,000 titles, leaning on Manitoba and Western Canadian history, First Nations subjects and Canadian military history, with fine bindings and first editions among the rare stock. Its Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of Canada listing names Burton Lysecki with associate member Karen Sigurdson and says the shop buys books and does appraisals. The store's own website says it was last updated in May 2022, so call 204-284-4546 before hauling boxes over; a local creator's Instagram reel dated May 30, 2026 featured the shop.

Hours: Tue–Sat 11am–6pm, Sun noon–5pmWebsite

Used books & comics

Book Fair Winnipeg

340 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3C 0C3

A family-run used-book and comic shop on the south side of Portage Avenue between Carlton and Hargrave, where the front door is kept locked and you ring the bell to be let in. In a Facebook post of May 14, 2026 the store listed quality used paperbacks from westerns, war and Canadiana to poetry, foreign-language titles and dictionaries, plus used Archie digests next to the new comics, and Tourism Winnipeg's listing adds that the shop buys and trades books. Its Boxing Week post of December 2025 gave weekday hours of 10 to 5 and took 25 per cent off used books, consignment excluded, and 2026 posts show it open on long-weekend Mondays such as September 7. The Millennium Library's sale shelves are about 250 metres east.

Website

Charity book market

Children's Hospital Book Market

St. Vital Centre, 1225 St. Mary's Rd, Winnipeg, MB R2M 5E5

The Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba's volunteer-run market, established in 1961, spread across the walkways of St. Vital Centre over three days in late April 2026 and again from September 25 to 26, and the foundation says the spring edition alone raised more than $407,000. Its release of September 22, 2026 describes thousands of gently used books in over 80 categories, collected, sorted and priced by more than 400 volunteers. The same release sets the 2027 dates: a one-day comic pop-up on Saturday, February 6, and a two-day spring sale starting Friday, April 23, though the release names no venue. Book donations go to any Dufresne store or to Winnipeg fire halls, Station 3 on Des Meurons Street excepted.

Hours: Fri–Sat April 23–24, 2027Website

All spots by type

Used bookstores

Crime fiction, new and used

Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore

163 Lilac St, Winnipeg, MB R3M 2S1

A crime-fiction specialist on Lilac Street, just off Corydon, trading since 1994; the Bumsted family bought it in 2007 and took over a bigger room next door in 2018, the Free Press Community Review reported on February 5, 2025. Michael Bumsted counted almost 24,000 books then, around 19,000 of them crime novels, and Travel Manitoba describes the mix as new and used. The information page says the store buys used books by appointment only, booked roughly a season ahead, and pays between half a dollar and two dollars per copy, in cash, depending on size and condition. Its autumn 2026 schedule has it closed on September 30 and over the October 11–12 Thanksgiving weekend.

Hours: Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 10am–5pm, Sun noon–5pmWebsite

Used bookstores

Red River Book Store

92 Arthur St, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H3

An Exchange District shop on Arthur Street, about 300 metres from Portage and Main, that Tourism Winnipeg lists as a used bookstore also selling videos, comics, movies and games. Its Facebook page put up a string of "New arrival of old books" photo sets between September 16 and September 26, 2026. The web address shown in older directories no longer resolves and no opening hours are posted, so phone 204-943-9788 before you go.

Website

Used books & comics

Cover to Cover/Bookshelf Books and Comics

11-3723 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3K 2A8

Far out on Portage Avenue in the Buchanan area, roughly 13 km west of downtown, a shop that describes itself on Facebook as a pre-owned book store that also carries new, back-issue and collector comics. Travel Manitoba's November 2025 roundup put it on the Winnipeg book scene for more than 30 years. On September 26, 2026 it posted a batch of military history books just in, after a July run of Dungeons & Dragons and Vampire: The Masquerade gaming books. The website sits behind a password and hours are not published, so message the page first.

Website

Horror bookshop, new and used

Raven's End Books

1859 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3J 0G8

A horror bookshop on Portage Avenue about 6 km west of downtown whose online catalogue runs a Used Books section alongside new titles, audiobooks and non-book items. The Free Press marked its second birthday in February 2026, quoting owner Chelsea McKee-Trenchard, who describes it as the second horror-themed bookstore in Canada after one in Toronto. A Free Press Community Review piece from February 2025 mentioned its weekend vendor markets and evening book clubs, and the posted week has a single late night, Tuesday, to 7pm.

Hours: Mon 10am–5pm, Tue 10am–7pm, Wed–Sun 10am–5pmWebsite

Café with used books

Thyme Cafe and Books

268 Taché Ave, Winnipeg, MB R2H 1Z9

A family-run plant-based café on Taché Avenue, about 2 km southeast of downtown, opened by Sandra and Jason, the former owners of the vegan restaurant Mondragon; the café's home page lists used books right beside the coffee, tea and croissants. Travel Manitoba placed it in St. Boniface in its November 2025 bookstore roundup and singled out its curated selection of pre-loved fiction and non-fiction. The St. Boniface Library's sale shelves are about 1.3 km north on Provencher Boulevard.

Hours: Tue–Sat 11am–5:30pmWebsite

Manga shop, new and used

Dotted Lines | Manga and More

680 Watt St, 2nd floor, Winnipeg, MB

Upstairs in the House of Local building on Watt Street in East Kildonan, a locally owned manga store selling new and second-hand manga and light novels, open three days a week according to its site. The Free Press reported in February 2026 that it had held its grand opening the previous November. Kildonan MCC Thrift is about 1.4 km southwest down Watt, so the two make an easy pairing.

Hours: Fri–Sun 11am–6pmWebsite

Thrift stores & charity shops

MCC Thrift

Sargent MCC Thrift Shop

644 Burnell St, Winnipeg, MB R3G 2B7

A Mennonite Central Committee thrift shop on Burnell Street in the West End, 2.3 km west of downtown. On September 24, 2025 the shop announced a $1 book sale running to the 27th, with hundreds of books spanning fiction, non-fiction, kids' titles, cookbooks, romance, mystery and sci-fi. Monday is the short day here, opening at noon, and the First Mennonite Church that hosts the Book & Bake Sale is under a kilometre north.

Hours: Mon noon–6pm, Tue–Sat 10am–6pmWebsite

MCC Thrift

Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop

445 Chalmers Ave, Winnipeg, MB R2L 2C9

At the corner of Watt Street and Chalmers Avenue in Elmwood, 3.2 km northeast of downtown, an MCC thrift shop whose own site dates it to 1972 and plays up antiques, furniture and home décor. Its Facebook post of September 18, 2026 took 25 per cent off children's books, clothes, shoes and toys for two days, so kids' books are part of the stock. Dotted Lines is about 1.4 km up Watt Street to the northeast.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–5pmWebsite

Library book sales

Library sale shelves

Millennium Library used book sale

Millennium Library, 251 Donald St, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3P5

The Winnipeg Public Library runs an ongoing sale of surplus donations and withdrawn stock on the Millennium Library's first floor, half a kilometre from Portage and Main, per its used-book-sales page last updated on June 1, 2026. Hardcovers, trade paperbacks and discs cost $3.55 each plus GST, paperbacks and magazines 75 cents, and a full bag $7.20, all sold as is with no returns. The building runs winter hours from September 6, 2026 to May 24, 2027 and stays closed on Sundays through that stretch.

Hours: Library hours: Mon 10am–5pm, Tue–Thu 10am–8pm, Fri–Sat 10am–5pmWebsite

Library sale shelves

St. Boniface Library used book sale

St. Boniface Library, 131 Provencher Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R2H 0G2

Across the Red River on Provencher Boulevard, about 1 km east of downtown, the St. Boniface branch is one of eight that the library's June 1, 2026 update lists with a standing used-book sale, priced the same way as the Millennium shelves. Unlike the central library it opens on Sunday afternoons under the winter schedule that began September 6, 2026. Thyme Cafe and Books is roughly 1.3 km south on Taché Avenue.

Hours: Library hours: Mon–Tue noon–8pm, Wed 10am–5pm, Thu noon–8pm, Fri–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1pm–5pmWebsite

Friends of the Library sale

Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library Book Sale

Pembina Curling Club, 1341 Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2C1

The library's Friends group says on its site that it holds one of the city's largest book sales each year, and the City of Winnipeg reported that the May 23–24, 2026 edition moved to the Pembina Curling Club, a first for the sale. Around 2,000 shoppers came the year before, the city wrote, and it saw no need to queue on the first morning because volunteers keep bringing out new titles; 70 to 90 of them run the sale each year. The Friends' page promises current, collectible and vintage used books with half-price Sunday and an afternoon bag special, and the library's own page says the big sale usually falls in spring.

Hours: Last documented: May 23–24, 2026, 10am–3:30pmWebsite

Book fairs

Fundraising book sale

Book & Bake Sale

First Mennonite Church, 922 Notre Dame Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0M9

Bar None Winnipeg bills this pay-what-you-want sale as annual, and its 2026 edition took over First Mennonite Church on Notre Dame Avenue on Saturday, June 13, with novels, memoir, kids' books, YA, sci-fi, poetry and history beside the baking. The proceeds support the MLA Prison Libraries Committee and Bar None's prison-visiting rideshare, and payment is cash or e-transfer. Resellers get their own slot: from 2pm the organizers let booksellers buy by the box at a price set by the volunteers. Parking is in the lot at Notre Dame and Alverstone.

Hours: Last documented: June 13, 2026, 10am–3pmWebsite

Hospital fundraiser book sale

Really Big Used Book Sale

Grace Hospital, Jeffrey A. Coleman Auditorium, 408 Booth Dr, Winnipeg, MB

The Grace Hospital Foundation says it stages this sale each September, and a Free Press Community Review brief from July 15, 2026 put that year's two days, September 18–19, in the Jeffrey A. Coleman Auditorium at the Grace in St. James, roughly 10 km west of downtown. Every dollar goes to patient care, and the foundation reported that the two days brought in more than $23,000, its best result yet for the sale. Books, games, puzzles, CDs, DVDs and vinyl were collected through a dropbox at the hospital's admitting entrance ahead of the sale, but the foundation's event page, read in late September 2026, says it is at capacity and taking no more book donations for now.

Hours: Last documented: September 18–19, 2026 (Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 10am–5pm)Website

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.

Try BiblioScan for free

Local sourcing tips

Black's Fine Books & Manuscripts, down Arthur Street from Red River Book Store, sells scarce Canadiana, Manitoba history and manuscripts, but its site says both its Toronto and Winnipeg galleries open by appointment only. Book ahead if you have a collection worth showing a specialist; its Sell to Us page handles offers.
Hull's Family Bookstore, a Christian bookseller on Portage Avenue since 2014 according to a 2019 Free Press centenary story, is mostly new stock, but a banner on its site, read in late September 2026, offered an extra 10 per cent off used items in both of its stores. It is not taking in used items at the moment, so go for the sale table rather than to sell.
Bound to Please opened on McPhillips Street in January 2026 as a romance-focused shop with new and used books, per the Free Press, then ran a 20 per cent moving sale on used books through August and posted on Instagram that it would leave 995 McPhillips on August 31, 2026. Check @b2pbooks for the new address, which it had not published when this page was updated.
Mulvey Market, the indoor weekend market in the South Osborne Xchange building, lists comic books among its vendors' stock and at least one stall that sells books next to incense and handmade goods. Treat it as a bonus stop after Burton Lysecki rather than a destination, and look for the stall that lists books beside its incense.
Got books to give away instead? The Children's Hospital Book Market takes donations all year through Dufresne stores and fire halls. Since a June 26, 2026 update to their donations page, the FWPL volunteers take up to three labelled boxes per visit at any library branch, no bags, while the Grace Hospital Foundation has stopped accepting books until further notice.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in Winnipeg?

The public library is the floor: at the Millennium Library and seven other branches, paperbacks go for 75 cents plus GST and a whole bag for $7.20, per the library's June 2026 price list. Bar None's Book & Bake Sale is pay-what-you-want, the Friends of the Library cut prices in half on the Sunday of their May sale, and Sargent MCC Thrift ran a $1-a-book sale in September 2025. Book Fair on Portage discounted its used stock by a quarter in its December 2025 Boxing Week sale.

Where do I sell used books in Winnipeg?

Bison Books pays cash or store credit, whichever you want, will pre-screen a single high-resolution stack photo sent by email and may come out to your home when a collection is too big to carry in. Whodunit? buys only by appointment, booked a season out, and its posted rates top out at $2 a copy. Burton Lysecki lists book buying and appraisals with the antiquarian association, and Tourism Winnipeg says Book Fair on Portage takes trades and buys too. Before any of that, a single BiblioScan photo of a loaded shelf gives each spine it can match a resale estimate, so whatever deserves its own listing on Kijiji, Amazon.ca, eBay.ca or AbeBooks comes out of the box before it reaches a buyer's counter.

When is the big book sale in Winnipeg?

The Children's Hospital Book Market held spring and fall sales at St. Vital Centre in 2026, the spring one raising more than $407,000; it has a comic pop-up booked for Saturday, February 6, 2027 and a spring sale for the April 23–24 weekend that follows. The Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library ran theirs at the Pembina Curling Club on May 23 and 24, 2026, and Bar None's Book & Bake Sale followed on June 13. The Grace Hospital Foundation, which says it holds its sale each September, raised a record sum at the September 18–19, 2026 edition in the hospital auditorium.

Which day is best for book hunting in Winnipeg?

Friday or Saturday. All ten listings that publish a full set of opening hours trade on both days, Dotted Lines included, since its week runs Friday to Sunday. Sunday shrinks the list to Burton Lysecki, Whodunit?, Raven's End, Dotted Lines and the St. Boniface Library shelves. Monday is thin too: Burton Lysecki, Thyme and Dotted Lines are closed and Sargent MCC opens at noon.

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