Fair’s Fair Books

1549 reviews

907 9 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0S5, Canada

www.fairsfair.com

+14032378156

About

Fair’s Fair Books is a Book store located at 907 9 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0S5, Canada. It has received 1549 reviews with an average rating of 4.6 stars.

Photos

Hours

Monday10AM-6PM
Tuesday10AM-6PM
Wednesday10AM-5PM
Thursday10AM-6PM
Friday10AM-6PM
Saturday10AM-6PM
Sunday10AM-6PM

F.A.Q

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The address of Fair’s Fair Books: 907 9 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0S5, Canada

  • Fair’s Fair Books has 4.6 stars from 1549 reviews

  • Book store

  • "Been meaning to go here for years and I can't believe it took me this long to finally check it out - this place is a hidden gem for bibliophiles and curious minds alike, there's sooo many books and vintage collections to discover that you could easily spend hours here without even realizing"

    "This bookstore boasts an impressive collection of books that are well-organized, making it easy for customers to browse and find what they're looking for"

    "This is a very cool shop that you can spend hours on end immersed by great reads and DVDs (if you still use DVDs)"

    "Books, books and more books"

    "Well I took a bunch of books in to see if they would take them and I could possibly make a little bit of money"

Reviews

  • Saania Zehra Jamal

Been meaning to go here for years and I can't believe it took me this long to finally check it out - this place is a hidden gem for bibliophiles and curious minds alike, there's sooo many books and vintage collections to discover that you could easily spend hours here without even realizing. Though not a huge fan of the tubelights, the space was well-organized and much bigger than I expected with a vast collection in every genre under the sun for such affordable prices! It was honestly so peaceful and you can find plenty of friendly staff available to help you out. What really got me though was their membership program which is completely free and just needs your name and number to start - on your sixth visit, you get back 10% of your last five visits' total purchases AND you can always return the books you've finished reading for half your money back (edit: in the form of store credit for your next purchase). Absolutely cannot wait to come back and explore some more!

  • Hesam Rezaei

This bookstore boasts an impressive collection of books that are well-organized, making it easy for customers to browse and find what they're looking for. As a book lover, I always make sure to spend some time perusing the literature and classic writers sections. However, the store also has a wide variety of other subjects, including romance novels, scientific fiction, and much more. No matter what your reading interests are, you're sure to find something amazing here. Whether you're looking to delve into a classic work of literature or want to explore the latest scientific discoveries, this bookstore has got you covered. Overall, I highly recommend this store for any book lover looking to expand their collection or simply enjoy a leisurely afternoon of browsing. With its great selection, well-organized layout, and welcoming atmosphere, it's the perfect destination for bookworms of all ages and interests.

  • Eric Leung

This is a very cool shop that you can spend hours on end immersed by great reads and DVDs (if you still use DVDs). Used books are at pretty good prices and mostly in great condition so there are plenty of gems that you will find here. If you try to sell your books, you should set your expectations low in terms of getting the value back on them. Expect about a 2% return (maybe because they have rent, bills, and staff to pay) despite the popularity of your book(s) or the (near) mint condition they come in. If your goal is to recoup costs, you are better off selling them yourself (which also requires more effort) but if you were going to give them away anyway, you might be able to get enough money here for a used book or a scoop of ice cream for your stack of books. If you drive across the city for this, you probably won't get your gas money's worth.

  • Rob S

Books, books and more books. I found this used bookstore when I moved to Calgary and it is stuffed with used books. I am moving out of country and dropped by with my book collection. I was hoping to sell a whole bunch of them but they only have so much space but they bought quite a few. In general their prices are acceptable and did I mention that they have books and more books? If you want a particular book, they have everything on computer so you can call them and find out if they happen to have a copy of whatever it is you're looking for. And of course, it changes constantly so I think it's a good place to go if you are looking for used books. I came from Vancouver and they certainly don't have a similar type shop there. It is quite large and they have lots and lots of stock. Worth the trip for some reading material.

  • J Rod

Well I took a bunch of books in to see if they would take them and I could possibly make a little bit of money. I brought in over 1000 books and they took between 100 to 150. I walked out with 27 dollars ! 2 weeks later I was back looking for a specific book. Well the prices of about 20 titles I sold them are marked between $7 (only One this low). The rest were between $8 -$12. So call them $10 average. This means they are selling the books I bought in for between $1000-$1500. I did ultimately decide to sell them, but this does not make me feel any less ripped off. I will never step foot in this legal "fence" operation ever again. I URGE EVERYONE TO BOYCOTT. ALL COMPANIES NEED TO FEEL HURT FINANCIALLY,AND MAYBE THEY WILL AT LEAST THINK ABOUT THEIR CRIMINAL PRACTICES

  • N. V.

The staff here is super nice, they feel like friends more then helpful employees. At this location they will buy ur books for cash or credit at their store locations. Call ahead if u want cash as they only pay in cash on certain days of the week. This location is kinda "cold" compared to the chinook location. I LOVE the chinook location, they have such comfortable couches and chairs there. The atmosphere there is warmer for some reason. Feels homey and less stuffy then the inglewood location. I recommend you check them both out on ur own as they both have their perks. Cant wait to finish my 6 book purchases from there and go back for more. OH and they will take back books uve bought from them at half price. Score!

  • Joanne Larcher

Excellent. Has so much selections of So many subjects and fiction titles old and new. Videos DVDs Music etc.. the atmosphere is vintage which i love. I love seeing the old things that surround the interior. I would love to see more CATHOLIC books there if people donate them. I love reading and I love books. The employees are usually friendly. I do recommend it. I miss miss their okd location on 17th i used to go to. But I do love their Inglewood location and so many books to go through. Can spend hours there. I have gotten list in there too lol. I do recommend this place especially if you are a bookworm like me.

  • Kel Mills

What's not to love about used book stores? I took in a multitude of books and dvds for store credit. It was quick, easy, and I was pleasantly surprised by the size of their DVD section which I browsed while the kind owner sorted through the items I brought in. Tip: do not bother bringing in (or ever buying hard cover books, they probably won't take them). Everyone at both locations are always eager to help you find whatever you're looking for or leave you alone to browse for hours...which I am known to do. I ❤️ this place!

  • Stephen Gazzard

Great prices on paperbacks, reasonable on hardcovers but not as attractive. Immense selection. I have literally gotten lost in this store, and it's taken me a few visits to build a mental map of how this one is laid out. I enjoy fiction from many categories, and every category I've checked out is beyond well stocked. I definitely never walk out empty handed. And the smell when you walk in - if you love that smell of an old book, you will smile as soon as you open the doors to this place!

  • Adam Volk

The best used bookstore ever. Honestly, I defy you to find one that has this amount of selection. The prices are also fantastic and the staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. It's also a great place to trade or sell books (fun fact: they'll actually give you 50% back in trade value for any books you've bought for them - which is amazing). I've been shopping here for years and it's a Calgary institution for book lovers. Love this place so much.

  • Cara Tull

Awesome selections and customer service. Took a while to get a sense of the categories and sections to find what you’re looking for, but the staff was super helpful with any and all questions about available books. A place to search for certain books would be really helpful, but overall a positive experience here. Note: prices were pretty consistently half price of what a new copy would be, regardless of the condition of the book.

  • Leah Hart

This is my favourite bookstore in all of Calgary! The staff are so friendly and helpful. They have everything from dictionaries and university textbooks to young readers and national geographics. It’s relatively quiet, you could even sit and read a book. There’s a lot to see in here! A bit dusty but definitely adds to its charm. Love going here! Love purchasing from here and will definitely be retiring some of my old books here.

  • Emily F

Fair’s Fair is one of my favorite stores in Calgary. It is so enjoyable to go and explore the stacks and find your next new read. The staff and extremely knowledgeable and have great recommendations. The store has a lot of interesting knickknacks and it’s a bit like being in an antique book store. You can also give them a call if you are looking for something specific and they will put it on hold for you.

  • Garry Reid

Plenty of books, DVDs, cd's and magazines. Friendly staff to boot. Trade in books etc for credit in store. I find the DVD's that are full seasons are way to much $15 for a season. You can find the same season at a thrift store for nearly half the price! The magazines are a bit expensive as well. Individual DVD's like movies are reasonably priced. I prefer to buy my seasons of DVD's elsewhere.

  • Kirsten B

My go-to used bookstore with a great selection and friendly staff. I like the system they have for “returning” books that you bought from them - it’s at a fair price. However, to bring new books there they are super picky and don’t offer very good compensation - I would resell on Marketplace or other vs bring here. I’d also like to see their fiction and biography sections expand.

  • August Murphy

I have been so impressed with this place! I’ve come here a couple of times looking for specific books. The staff are pleasant and helpful, and if you call ahead they can check if they have what you are looking for and set it aside for you. It’s well organized and the prices are good. It’s also fun to just peruse the different sections. This is definitely my go-to bookstore!

  • Victoria Briscoe

So enjoyed my visit to this great bookstore on Calgary's east side! Found a rare historical book and snatched it up to bring home with me to Houston. They have a wide variety of all kinds of books, and an excellent selection. The place has a great vibe, and people come in from all around Calgary to get and/or trade books. If you are a book lover, avail yourself of this gem!

  • Jay M

The best used bookstore I have EVER been in! The books are sorted by genre and alphabetized. The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful and can look up the current stock. They do have book trade-ins for credit as well as other member benefits (I am not local so I didn't get the full spiel). It is added to my must visit list for all future visits!

  • Catillac

This place was great. Had such a huge selection of books. I was looking for manga in particular, and they had a surprisingly wide selection to choose from. I got these two books that were really high quality. The price they sold it for was half the original price. The staff were very friendly when making my purchase. Will be coming here again!

  • Jenn Cammell

Fairs Fair is the best Family owned and operated used Bookstore in Calgary. They take most used books in good condition and give you half the cover price as well as taking back books you have already read with their sticker on them for half that price. I love reading and they have a wonderful selection for many different styles and tastes.

  • David Giardino Vitri

Fair's Fair Books has a great selection of books, DVDs, magazines and comics. It is lacking in some genre's but that is not the shop's fault because it's reliance on stock is dependent on what people bring in for sale. Their stock is in really good condition even though it is second hand. Definitely worth popping in to have a look around.

  • James Thorlakson

This is an absolute great place to find good books. They have a wide variety of many different types of books for all kinds of people. All the books are priced right. Customers service is very good they will help you find what what you are looking for. If they don't have it in stock they will advise you to go to one of their other stores.

  • CY Siu

Its a unique gem that is much larger than it looks. You can find many older books and also newer. This place is a book lovers dream (and nope not dusty here either). Well lit, clean and organized. The books are cheaper than face value but still a bit more expensive than other book stores similar to this. Worth a visit nonetheless.

  • Stephanie Watson

This place is a booklovers haven. Walking in, I immediately felt welcomed and enjoyed exploring the aisles. It was well organized and fairly easy to find what I was looking for. The staff were friendly and helpful, and it was nice to talk to about books with them. I will definitely go back because I have more books I want to find!

  • victor goosen (Locksmithvic)

Accurate name.. Very fair and reasonable. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive.. Very organized and very friendly. Bought 3 used books for under 20 bucks and easy to find. Signed up for the rewards program which is ok. A certain percent off on your 6th purchase. Fairs fairs is very fair.

  • Joshua Tessier

I brought books that are valued at $150.00 easy. They weren't interested in working a deal with me, even if they could have made a profit of 50+ pre book. If you're looking to sell books, DO NOT go there. If you're looking to buy, they do have a decent selection. Either way, I am not impressed.

  • Martijn Vsho

A booklovers dream! I did not expect this bookstore to be so big. They have a lot of used books in every category and the categories are labelled well so they are easy to find. The staff was friendly and helpful. There are a lot of used bookstores in Calgary but this is one of the better ones.

  • Eilleen V

Fair's Fair is hands down the best used book store(s) in the city... In fact, easily one of the best I've been to anywhere period. The selection is quite impressive, prices are very good and staff are always pleasant and helpful. The warehouse by Chinook is equally good and I highly recommend

  • Brian Bushfield

Fantastic used book store in Inglewood. Super friendly and helpfull staff. Great prices, and an excellent exchange policy. A shout out to Virginia, she is an excellent employee, always willing to help you find what ever it is you're looking for. She obviously enjoys her job, and it shows.

  • Jess

Brought two boxes of gently used books here. Many of them were only read once. I waited nearly two hours for them to go through the books. Of those books, they took 8. I sold the rest on Facebook Marketplace for almost triple what they paid for the 8. Won't be bringing books here again.

  • William Delday

I am here at Fair’s Fair Books with the Step Up 4 Kidz Foundation. This is a Treasure Trove of Amazing books with Great Prices. If you love reading this is Definitely worth stopping in. If you are like me you will be browsing for hours and end up getting books to last you for a year.

  • Zach Sonnleitner

Great service and friendly staff. They were able to use their system to quickly identify if they had the books I wanted and retrieved them for me. Called ahead and they had them waiting for me at the checkout. Alternatively, it is a nice space to browse the shelves if you have time.

  • J K

Don't bother trading books here. $3 for BRAND NEW books just so they can turn around and sell it for triple the price The amount of credit they give vs the amount they charge for books (17$) average is ridiculous and insulting. *Also their books are overpriced in general.

  • JR Boogerd

Good selection but pricing can be better. I find pricing is generally 50% of the cover price. There are definitely more affordable used book places around but the trade off is Fair’s Fair has a big selection with stuff you may not be able to find at some of the other places.

  • Alan CK

Had a lot of books to unload as my mom is downsizing but the lady I talked to was pretty rude and dismissive. I dropped them at Valu Village instead. I felt really disrespected. Maybe she didn't like my rough look from moving? Don't judge a book by its cover darling!

  • Vicky Li

Huge selection of books!! Lots of chairs placed around the store for sitting and perusing. I got a couple of National Geographic magazines from 1916 and 1922 and they were $40 each (price depending on decade). Biggest NG collection I’ve come across so far.

  • Kyla Dupuis

This store is one of my favorite experiences in Inglewood Calgary. The opportunity to sell them your books, and dive into their collections of books surrounded by fabulous nicknacks. Start or finish your tour of Inglewood here, you'll love it.

  • Kristina V

One of my most favourite places ever !!!! Always find something amazing !!!!! Thank you for always looking up books for me :) even though you are always so busy you always find time for your customers thank you so so much :) stay blessed …

  • Boodie Daher

Talk about divine timing. I went there.to pick up the Gulag, I had placed on hold. It wasn't the copy I was after. The cover was different and there are three volumes, and this was just a single book. As I spoke with the guy at the

  • Willow Walker

Fair's Fair provides excellent customer service. You actually get a human answering a phone who will check inventory for requests. If a desired book is a the other store, no problem shipping it to my preferred location for p/u.

  • G McCallum

Shelves are fully stocked with good quality second hand books, staff are friendly and helpful, genres are clearly labeled for easy searching. It's easy to spend hours in here and buy a large amount for a reasonable price

  • Quinn Wycked

This place has so many books! I don't love how the place is laid out, and the dvd situation seems really silly given how much space it takes up and how little anyone cares about them. Small potatoes all considered.

  • Arjun Panag

An excellent thrift bookstore in Calgary! I got some awesome Star Wars books for only $25 instead of $50. I recommend this place if you're interested purchasing books that you don't have to waste twice the price.

  • luckycaptain365

This was my 1st time at this store, and I love this place, Amazing prices, well organized, great staff, and fantastic incentive to sell the books back once you're done with them. Definitely will be back.

  • Alena

Selection is alright. Kinda overpriced for a used bookstore, considering the condition of many of the materials. Didn't find the staff particularly helpful, friendly or competent/knowledgeable.

  • LuftxMiantiao

One of the best used book stores I've been to in Calgary. Has a huge selection of books, they also have magazines,movies and I believe audio books on tape and cd and board games/puzzles.

  • W. Hamilton

Very friendly service. They had the book I was looking for about Toning and sound healing and put it aside for me to pick up the following day. All in all a good experience.

  • Stephen Klein

Awesome place to spend a chill afternoon browsing. Lots of selection and they have an amazing "buy back" program so it's almost like a library! Highly recommended

  • Savannah Wiest

Great rotating selection of books. I always stop here first to sell used books and the majority of my collection gets bought. Staff are friendly and knowledgeable

  • Sarah

Some books were overpriced while being very used/with scribbles inside. Their selection is great and I'm happy to have found this spot. Will be going back.

  • Sarena Taylor-Bloy

It's the bookstore experience every book lover wants. So many gems! Very organized and the staff are so helpful! Definitely a favorite place to go in YYC

  • Nat Warnock

A massive bookstore with different eras, genres, and media available for everyone! Love to bring in some of my old books on the weekends to sell!

  • Sara Headley

Very clean and well organized. Every aisle holds something of interest - do come with an ample amount of time to spend. Can’t wait to come back.

  • Sarah Sheptycki

Worth the stop. I drove by for months and now that I've been inside I plan to visit often. Great atmosphere. Good prices and friendly staff

  • Jonathan Tumu

Friendly help here, lots of books here to choose from, we like to grab coffee down the street and bring the kids here to load up on books

  • B.A. Webster

I love this place! Been going here for decades and it's always a great afternoon. Highly recommend book lovers check this place out.

  • AMMY SINGH

They are very nice people, good customer service. I was looking for TinTin comics for my kids, and they got a good collection of it.

  • Ilse Perez

It's a great place to find books, movies, series, magazines, music and more! It's so organized, and prices are fair. I loved it!

  • Sara Petrenko

Great prices on books and DVDs. Great selection, and great staff. Anyone with a love of books, stories, or reading, come here!

  • Richard Leibel

What a great place, so many books. It's almost overwhelming to walk-in. Great place for browsing and finding what you want.

  • David Atkinson

More books than you can shake a stick at, and a huge variety, too. It's almost overwhelming. Take your time and browse.

  • Scott S

Felt uncomfortable owner pushes a lot of left-wing ideas not a very good if you have Christian values

  • Nathan Adams

Been coming here since the early 90s. Still love it. You will most likely find your next read here.

  • Ken Peters

There's an extremely diverse number of categories of books here! And prices are reasonable.

  • Pat O

If you have the time, look around. They can get a little rude when you try selling to them.

  • Candice Eccleston

The staff were very helpful. Great selection. I found the two books I was looking for.

  • Karina Hunt

I love this place so much! I hope it stays in Calgary for the entirety of my lifetime

  • Clement Law

Biggest used bookstore that I have seen in town. Great selection. Well organized too!

  • Colleen Bourque

This is the best used bookstore! Such a massive selection - could browse for hours.

  • Sarah Newman

Could literally set up camp there for a while lol amazing staff and collections!

  • Les Salik

Wow, lots of used books at good prices. Well organized so easy to find books.

  • Bridget Rogers

LOVE THIS PLACE! Amazing spot to look for second hand books & more. Love it

  • Ryan Shewchuk

Huge variety, clean, tidy, and spacious. Lot's of chairs to verify a book.

  • Derek

Great price on used books. Good condition and held the books for me.

  • Ann DiPasquale

Lots of great books. Great ambience, fun place to shop for books.

  • ray schebek

Best place to find used books and sometimes hard to find ones.

  • Tory Talbot (Quadmikazi)

Great store, sold a few books was easy process, and nice staff

  • Jade

my favourite bookstore, i’ve been coming here for years :))

  • Farhad Nobakht

A large collection of used books, reasonably priced

  • Luc Bedard

U have to see this place if u love books, wow!

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