Where to buy used books in York

Updated 01/10/2026

York, the walled cathedral city of North Yorkshire in England, concentrates the bulk of its second-hand book trade inside a stroll of well under a mile. Micklegate, which climbs from Ouse Bridge to Micklegate Bar, holds a rare-book dealer, the Amnesty bookshop and one of the two Oxfam bookshops; the lanes round the Minster add an antiquarian house over five floors, the second Oxfam bookshop and a dealer in art and architecture books on Bootham; Goodramgate, Colliergate and Fossgate bring a general Oxfam and two hospice shops, with a records-and-books shop down on Fishergate. Every price quoted is in pounds sterling.

Further out, the City of York boundary takes in more than the walled centre. Acomb, to the west, has a bookshop-café with a pre-loved section and the hospice's oldest shop a short walk apart; Foss Islands Retail Park has a charity superstore whose books sit upstairs; and two car boots run on the Knavesmire racecourse and at Rufforth. The antiquarian trade gathers at the racecourse too: the September fair that the PBFA bills as Britain's largest rare book fair took the Knavesmire Suite for two days in 2026, and a one-day January edition follows in 2027.

Two changes make older York lists unreliable. Lucius Books has swapped 144 Micklegate for number 70 on the same street, the house Ken Spelman's bookshop used to occupy, so directories can show either address under either name. And the Amnesty bookshop, flagged as at risk while Amnesty reviewed its shops in 2025, came off that list in spring 2026, when the charity's board dropped the closure plan.

Spot map

The best spots

Antiquarian and second-hand bookshop

The Minster Gate Bookshop

8 Minster Gates, York YO1 7HL

Five floors of antiquarian and used stock rise above this doorway a few steps from York Minster, and the shop's website gives 1970 as its founding year. YorkMix's bookshop guide of June 2025 picked out its Children's and Illustrated, Folklore and Arthurian specialisms, a room set aside for maps and prints, and the bargain rack standing outside the door. On the buying side the shop says it sells upwards of 35,000 books a year, travels anywhere in the UK for whole libraries and pays immediately, mostly for hardbacks, though good collections of Booker-quality paperback fiction are welcome too.

Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–5:30pm, Sun 11am–5:30pmWebsite

Rare book dealer

Lucius Books

70 Micklegate, York YO1 6LF

A rare-book dealer in a Grade II* listed Micklegate building put up around 1500, which The York Press reported in May 2026 as the firm's new shop after a three-year restoration; the house was once Ken Spelman's bookshop. Lucius has dealt in rare books since 1993 and spent the years from January 2019 at 144 Micklegate, the address older listings still carry. Inside, books and art share two floors of bespoke shelving, and a glass panel set in the floor looks down on the original cellar stairs. Would-be sellers fill in a form on the website with title-page details and photos, and every offer depends on seeing the book.

Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–4pmWebsite

Amnesty Bookshop

The Amnesty Bookshop

19 Micklegate, York YO1 6JH

Amnesty International's York bookshop came to Micklegate from Goodramgate in 2022, and its branch page runs from modern fiction and classics through poetry, drama, history and the social sciences to books in other languages and for children, with vinyl records, CDs and DVDs as well. The York Press reported in June 2025 that the shop, run by a salaried manager and around 30 volunteers, was at risk of closure while Amnesty consulted; Amnesty UK's report to its 2026 AGM then records that the board halted the proposed closure of the bookshops on 28 March 2026. Big donations can be dropped at the rear on Fetter Lane by arrangement, and the shop also runs a local collection service for sizeable ones.

Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–4pmWebsite

Oxfam Bookshop

Oxfam Bookshop Low Petergate

69 Low Petergate, York YO1 7HY

Oxfam calls this Low Petergate branch a specialist books shop, covering paperback and hardback fiction, specialist non-fiction on travel, art, craft, gardening, cookery, photography, religion and natural history, and children's and local-interest titles. YorkMix steered readers here for non-fiction in its June 2025 guide, noting the CDs, DVDs, greetings cards and fair-trade food on the shelves as well. The Oxfam listing carries no opening grid, so ring 01904 652749 first; Minster Gate is under 100 yards away.

Website

Antiquarian book fair (PBFA)

York One Day Book Fair

Knavesmire Suite, York Racecourse, Knavesmire Road, York YO23 1EX

On Saturday 9 January 2027 the PBFA's one-day fair moves into the Knavesmire Suite at York Racecourse, and the fair's website promises nearly 100 'bookshops' under one roof, all subjects and periods, with prices running from a few pounds to many thousands. The fair's own site puts tickets on the door at £2 while the PBFA's listing says £1; under-16s go free, and free shuttle buses leave the Memorial Gardens coach stand near the station every 30 minutes from 9.30am. Coats and any bag bigger than a small handbag must be checked into the free cloakroom, and purchases leave in sealed, stickered bags that security inspects at the exit. The two-day York National Book Fair used the same suite on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September 2026.

Hours: Sat 9 January 2027, 10:30am–4:30pmWebsite

All spots by type

Second-hand bookshops

Second-hand records and books

Pitch 22 Records Books Art

22 Fishergate, York YO10 4AB

On Fishergate, south of the centre, a small shop whose Instagram bio promises an ever-changing selection of second-hand records and books, with mini art exhibitions, from Wednesday to Saturday. YorkMix's June 2025 guide added ever-changing art and collectables to that list. On Saturday 26 September 2026 its Instagram feed carried an 'Open 2day 12 - 6pm' notice, which squares with the bio's afternoon hours.

Hours: Wed–Sat noon–6pmWebsite

Antiquarian art and architecture books

Janette Ray Booksellers

8 Bootham, York YO30 7BL

Scarce and out-of-print titles on architecture, landscape design, design history, town planning, photography and fine art, mostly published between 1800 and 1950 and sold alongside original drawings and photographs, according to the bookseller's website, which also says it buys in those fields. Its summer 2026 opening runs from Wednesday to Friday on an open-door basis, with appointments at other times, and anyone coming from a distance is asked to phone 0780 394 1307 first. YorkMix's June 2025 guide listed matching midweek opening and told visitors to look up at the period ceilings; parking is across the road on Bootham Row.

Hours: Wed–Fri 10am–5pmWebsite

Bookshop café (new and pre-loved)

Books & Bevs

89 Front Street, Acomb, York YO24 3BU

Out in Acomb, a suburb lying two and a half miles west-south-west of York's centre, a bookshop-café that opened on Front Street in December 2025 in what had been the Cottage Salon hairdresser's. Before opening, its owners told The York Press to expect new and discounted pre-loved books, and the shop's website runs a Pre Loved Books section beside its new titles. Readers of The York Press voted it the city's Best Independent Retailer in May 2026; the website publishes no opening hours, so look at its Instagram or Facebook first.

Website

Charity shops

Oxfam Bookshop

Oxfam Bookshop Micklegate

46 Micklegate, York YO1 6LF

Oxfam's books-and-music branch on Micklegate leans antiquarian and collectible, from vintage Penguin classics to contemporary first editions with fiction, history and poetry in between, and its Oxfam page adds LPs, CDs and DVDs. YorkMix's June 2025 bookshop guide listed it as one of two Oxfam book locations in the city. No weekly hours appear on the listing, so call 01904 652140 before a special trip.

Website

Charity shop (Oxfam)

Oxfam Shop York

7 Goodramgate, York YO1 7LJ

A large general Oxfam on Goodramgate whose own page names donated music, books, bric-a-brac and collectables beside the clothing and vintage rails, along with a bridal room viewed by appointment. That page claims a seven-day week without giving times, while its own Facebook account was pushing wedding shoes and dresses on 24 January 2026. Books are one department among several, so slot it in between the Petergate and Colliergate stops.

Website

Charity shop (St Leonard's Hospice)

St Leonard's Hospice Shop Colliergate

20 Colliergate, York YO1 8BN

The local hospice reopened its Colliergate shop on Friday 13 June 2025 after a refit that, The York Press reported, took it from two floors down to one and added a dedicated denim department. St Leonard's own announcement of the relaunch said the shop would stock pre-loved fashion, homewares and books, and appealed for donated books alongside clothes, shoes and bags. The general Oxfam on Goodramgate is a four-minute walk to the north.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–4:30pmWebsite

Charity shop (St Leonard's Hospice)

St Leonard's Hospice Shop Fossgate

42 Fossgate, York YO1 9TF

A small hospice shop on Fossgate, the street that runs down from Pavement to the Foss, which York Vision's thrift-trail feature of 22 September 2025 called a treasure trove of vintage jewellery, vinyl, books, second-hand clothes, handbags and bric-a-brac. On Monday 8 June 2026 St Leonard's announced on Instagram a half-price sale of pre-loved clothing, books, accessories and bric-a-brac here until Saturday 13 June, clearing space for a makeover planned later that month. No date has been announced for the end of that refit, but the hospice's shops page lists the branch with Monday-to-Saturday opening.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–4:30pmWebsite

Charity shop (St Leonard's Hospice)

St Leonard's Hospice Shop Acomb

9 Regent Buildings, York Road, Acomb, York YO26 4LT

Also in Acomb, next to the Co-op in the Regent Buildings on York Road, this is the hospice's first shop, opened in 1991. In a late-August 2026 report, The York Press set its reopening, after a refurbishment, for Friday 28 August, selling second-hand clothing, homeware and books at affordable prices. Books & Bevs is under half a mile away on Front Street, so the two make one Acomb outing.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–4:30pmWebsite

Charity superstore (Yorkshire Cancer Research)

Yorkshire Cancer Research York Superstore

Unit 3, Foss Islands Retail Park, York YO31 7UL

Yorkshire Cancer Research opened this two-floor superstore on Thursday 19 March 2026, and YorkMix reported it as the charity's largest shop so far at 13,000 sq ft, with a vast array of books upstairs next to children's clothing, toys and a vintage area for vinyl. Yorkshire Cancer Research's own listing likewise names books, and it opens on Sundays at 10:30am, half an hour later than the 10am in YorkMix's opening-day report. Donors should note that the drop-off point shuts on Wednesdays.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–6pm, Sun 10:30am–4pmWebsite

Car boot sales & markets

Car boot sale

York Racecourse Car Boot

York Racecourse, York YO23 1EX

K&J Brown Promotions runs this Saturday car boot on the racecourse from 28 March to 31 October 2026, skipping race days, and bills it as York's largest; after 1 October the 2026 dates left are 3, 17, 24 and 31 October, with 10 October given over to racing. Buyers get in free and park free after 8am, sellers queue at the grandstand end from around 7am, and trading wraps up at 1pm. Books never feature in what the organiser publishes, so any paperbacks turning up on a pitch are luck, not a reason to drive over.

Hours: Sat 3, 17, 24, 31 October 2026, to 1pmWebsite

Car boot sale

Rufforth Car Boot

Rufforth Park, Wetherby Road, Rufforth, York YO23 3QH

Out at Rufforth, a village some 5.5 miles due west that still falls inside the City of York boundary, this family-run car boot says it has traded for over three decades and opens every Sunday of the year. Gates open to buyers at 8am, admission is £1.50 a car, and the finish depends on the weather, usually from 1pm onwards; the organiser's site was flagging the sale of Sunday 27 September 2026. It advertises itself as open rain or shine, with indoor as well as outdoor pitches, though books get no mention anywhere in its material.

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.

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Local sourcing tips

A handful of well-loved York bookshops belong on a different list. The Little Apple Bookshop on High Petergate, The Portal Bookshop on Patrick Pool, Criminally Good Books on Colliergate, Topping & Company on Museum Street and Waterstones on Coney Street are best known for new titles, so head elsewhere for used stock. The team behind Criminally Good was also preparing Horrifically Good Books, a horror shop at 60 Goodramgate which The York Press said in August 2026 would open in late October.
Some York names exist mainly online or by arrangement. Ken Spelman Books, whose old Micklegate shop is the house Lucius moved into, sells online all hours by its own account, while Deep Neutral Books, a modern first-editions dealer on Stockton Lane, describes itself as officially open by appointment. Haxby Books, started in 2026, sells second-hand titles chiefly through eBay with the odd pop-up sale in Haxby when the weather allows, and invites anyone with a collection to offer it.
Plenty of other charity shops trade across the city without a shop-specific mention of books: the British Heart Foundation on Goodramgate and Bridge Street, Sue Ryder on Goodramgate, the British Red Cross on Walmgate and Age UK York's branches carry only their charity's standard wording, and the remaining St Leonard's shops in Layerthorpe, Scarcroft Road, Broadway, Tang Hall and Haxby are listed by the hospice with nothing said about books. The hospice's Clifton Moor site, opened on 2 July 2026, was described by The York Press as a furniture shop, a £1 clearance shop and a donation centre, with no word of books.
Two book sources have no date ahead of them. Wigginton Car Boot, at Home Farm on Corban Lane, closed its 2026 season on Sunday 20 September according to the organiser's Facebook page, so keep an eye on that page for the next season. Explore York ran a summer sale of withdrawn library stock at York Explore from Saturday 1 August 2026, announced on Instagram the day before, with the proceeds paying for new library stock; ask at the counter whether another sale is planned.
The centre splits into three short walks. On Micklegate, Lucius sits about 75 yards from the Oxfam bookshop and roughly 170 yards from Amnesty. Up by the Minster, the Low Petergate Oxfam and Minster Gate are a stone's throw apart and Janette Ray on Bootham is some 340 yards beyond. On the east side, the Goodramgate Oxfam and the Colliergate hospice shop are about 350 yards apart, and the Yorkshire Cancer Research superstore at Foss Islands is a further 700 yards or so.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in York?

Start with the charity end. The Foss Islands charity superstore that Yorkshire Cancer Research opened in March 2026 sells books, and the St Leonard's Hospice shops on Colliergate and in Acomb came out of their 2025 and 2026 refits with books on the stock list. Minster Gate keeps a bargain rack outside its door, as YorkMix pointed out in June 2025. For weekend rummaging, the racecourse car boot has four October 2026 Saturdays still to come, buyers admitted gratis, and Rufforth charges a small fee per car every Sunday, though neither organiser promises books.

Where do I sell used books in York?

The antiquarian dealers buy. Minster Gate says it is in constant need of fresh stock and buys valuable single items as well as whole libraries, by phone or email enquiry; Lucius takes selling enquiries through a web form and promises prompt payment once it has inspected the books; Janette Ray buys within architecture, design, photography and art. For an ordinary box, put the better titles on Amazon.co.uk, bundle middling ones into eBay.co.uk lots, try Vinted for popular paperbacks and hand the rest to either Oxfam bookshop. Before you ring anyone, point BiblioScan at the shelf in a single photo; every spine the app can make out gets its own second-hand valuation, and that quickly settles whether a dealer's visit is worth arranging.

Which charity shops have books in York?

Begin with the two Oxfam shops that specialise in books and music, on Micklegate and on Low Petergate, and with the Amnesty bookshop, which shares the first one's street. Oxfam's Goodramgate shop names books among its general stock, St Leonard's Hospice has books in Colliergate, on Fossgate and in Acomb, and Yorkshire Cancer Research shelves them upstairs at Foss Islands. Shops such as the BHF, Sue Ryder or the British Red Cross may carry some too, but their branch pages repeat the charity's standard wording rather than describing that shop.

Are there any used book fairs in York?

Yes, two antiquarian ones at the racecourse. The PBFA's one-day York fair is set for Saturday 9 January 2027 at the racecourse's Knavesmire Suite, open 10.30 to 4.30, for a pound or two at the door, children free, and with a free shuttle from the Memorial Gardens coach stop by the railway station. Its two-day sister, the York National Book Fair, uses the same rooms; the 2026 edition ended on Saturday 12 September. One house rule worth knowing before you go: visitors may not carry books of their own into the fair.

Which day is best for book hunting in York?

Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, because all the shops above with posted hours trade on each of those days, Janette Ray included. Saturday loses Janette Ray but adds the racecourse car boot on the October Saturdays without racing, and Monday and Tuesday lose Pitch 22 as well. Sunday is the thinnest day for shops: Minster Gate, Lucius, Amnesty, the Goodramgate Oxfam and the Foss Islands superstore trade, all three St Leonard's shops stay shut, and Rufforth's car boot adds a country option.

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