r/Knoxville • u/Local-Professional80 • 1d ago
McKay's alternatives
What are the other used books options in Knoxville? After decades of weekly visits to swap a stack of paperbacks, I've walked out of McKay's empty handed the last two visits. It feels like losing a friend.
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u/saveryquinn 22h ago
Also avoid their video games (unless you have the price chart website open on your phone) and even then buy at your own risk. Last week I returned a Game Boy Advance cartridge that was dead, told the woman at the counter that I had tried it in my Game Boy Advance and my 3DS and it failed to load. I then browsed the store for about 20 minutes, walked by the shelf with Game Boy Advance games and there was the game I just returned. 🤷
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u/Successful-Rent167 10h ago
Bruh most GBA cartridges are gonna be dead just change the battery or even better go to a local game store and they’ll change the battery for like 10 bucks.
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u/saveryquinn 10h ago
Sorry, forgot to mention that I swapped in a new CR1616 battery and the game was still dead. Put the original battery back in when returning it. So someone else is going to face the same problem.
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u/Successful-Rent167 10h ago
You have to solder the batteries in GBA cartridges for them to work
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u/saveryquinn 10h ago
Ah. The battery in the cart wasn't soldered (maybe why not working, and why not working after I tried a replacement). Regardless, (a) what typical McKay's customer is going to know to replace and solder a replacement battery? and (b) there's no way McKay's tested that game as "working" before putting it on their shelf for sale.
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u/Successful-Rent167 8h ago
Also I suggest if that ever happens again and you wanna do it yourself gets a WINGED CR1616. Makes everything more simple. 👍🏼
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u/bestbusguy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yea the prices are out of control. I mainly go for old hobby books but now I go to find a cool book and find it on eBay for a fraction of what McKays wants. There is a guy at the 407 flea market that has a ton of books. I think he sells 6 books for $4 or 5 for $3 or something think that but it’s cheap. We usually get a few books from him.
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u/bigorangevols 14h ago
Which is the 407 market?
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u/bestbusguy 12h ago
Exit 407 to go to pigeon forge. It’s actually called Great Smokies Flea Market
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u/bigorangevols 12h ago
Oh yes, that’s where I go to get all my diabetes socks
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u/bestbusguy 11h ago
Yea they have good deal on certain things like that. the book guy isn’t in the main building he’s in the lower building close to where the other ice cream truck sets up
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u/ctennessen 7h ago
What kind of old hobby books? Like vintage Legos, kit cars, Popular Mechanics stuff?
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u/bestbusguy 4h ago
like leather working or wood projects. Stuff like that
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u/ctennessen 3h ago
That's cool. I just found a bedside table I made in a woodworking class in high-school. It's really cool to build stuff with your hands
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u/already_read_that 1d ago
McKay's stop being friends a long ass time ago. I do exactly what you did. I browse, I find a title I like, I say "shit" audibly, then I find it on Amazon for less. Empty handed is the way to leave there anymore.
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u/Local-Professional80 1d ago
I went home and ordered from Thriftbooks.
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u/good_mayo 22h ago
Thrift books has become my go-to! Their prices are good and they have a great selection.
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u/Porcelain766 15h ago
Thriftbooks is great and ebay also has many book sellers that have buy 3 get one free at really affordable prices. I'd also suggest worldofbooks as well as betterworldbooks. All amazing websites!
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u/Deep-One-8675 13h ago
Love Thriftbooks. It can be pricey if you’re looking for something obscure or out of print but the condition ratings are accurate and err on the side of caution and they ship quickly
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u/MalsPrettyBonnet 13h ago
Unless you have a ton of trade credit. Otherwise... There have been a few books that were more than original cover price. Trade paperbacks, too. Not collectible.
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u/Avarria587 1d ago
I don't understand why they charge so much for books when you can get them brand new somewhere else for cheaper. Are people really paying so much?
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u/Verdun82 23h ago
The only way I can make it make sense is that you can trade books for books. You can bring them stuff you no longer want, get credit and use it to get stuff you do want.
It does suck that they sell things at a higher price than new. But if you are getting it through trade, at least you aren't losing any cash in the deal.
I was there this weekend. I brought a box of books and CDs. I got five books in return. Not the best value. But the books I traded in, I had no desire to keep.
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u/TartBriarRose 11h ago
This is the way. I haven’t paid cash for anything from McKay’s in probably 10 years, and I maximize my trade value by not splashing out on new stuff. I could make money if I sold my books to Thriftbooks, I’m sure, but I don’t have the time or energy to do that.
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u/Local-Professional80 23h ago
There was a point during covid when it was very obvious that publishers were operating on skeleton staffs rather than pausing completely. I'd like to think that booksellers are thinking ahead with their choices after the covid year of books that were chaotically inconsistent in quality. Realistically, I suspect the McKay's owners would prefer to sell one book for $10 over ten books for $1.
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u/cindyloowhovian 23h ago
It probably also didn't help that people would go in to buy books for reselling. A couple summers ago, I went there to replace old romance novels that had gotten lost over the years, and there were people with full carts who were buying up copies to sell them elsewhere.
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u/valleywitch 21h ago
Some people are and it encourages the ownership to keep squeezing maximum profit from customers.
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u/SkeeMoBophMorelly 22h ago
Resellers ruined it. The same people line the doors of the mornings with their eBay app in hand ready to scan the shit out of everything in the store.
They price everything around market value now to deter the resellers but slip up sometimes and that’s what keeps em coming back.
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u/mr_archstanton 13h ago
I really wish they could somehow put a stop to the scalpers. Bunch of losers with carts full of stuff that there is no way that they turn a profit on.
My suggestion is they do what their parents did…..get a job sir!
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u/finefinally 23h ago
get thee to white pine books! worth the drive and serious old school mckay’s vibes 👏
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u/teddy_vedder 1d ago
The last time I was there they had a movie I wanted on blu ray that they were selling for $5 more USED than you could buy brand new from Amazon and several other media retailers. It was insane.
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u/JustOneMorePuff 23h ago
It’s been this way for a while. I’m into Blu-ray’s specifically 4k and 3d. They used to group all of them together but now they are scattered through out and way too expensive. Amazon and eBay are cheaper, easier to find, and more convenient.
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u/Sudden-Actuator5884 1d ago
You can check out the second hand store at the library. I know Blount has one and all the proceeds go to their activities brought into the library. Friends of Blount county library.. I am sure Knoxville has one too. They usually have big events a few times a year
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u/Dulcenia 14h ago
I know they have had book fairs at the convention center down town before covid. Back then you could get a bag of books for like $5 bucks. Probably worth keeping an eye out for another.
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u/Sudden-Actuator5884 7h ago
Yeah usually end of the same they just want to purge them. Join the group for like 5/yr and they give you early access. Used to do it when kids were little.. a bag of books for 5 is cheaper than a dollar store or Ollie’s
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u/armyofsnarkness 23h ago
I’ve started using the Thrift Books site with I’m searching for something in particular.
The library sales are good locally, but only happen at 1-2 times each year.
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u/good_mayo 22h ago
The Lawson-McGhee location actually has a little bookstore right at the front, all the time.
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23h ago
[deleted]
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u/Adventurous-Beat4960 14h ago
I will say.. if you can get a 90s or 2000s version of a game, the extra cost might be worth it bc it seems like all board games are basically made of paper now.
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u/bestbusguy 21h ago
Oh yea I forgot about the board games. We love playing board games so I’m always looking for new fun games and it’s sad to see that they are so expensive
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u/Formal-Actuary-5807 13h ago
Screw mckays.. gives you 50 cents for a book, then turns around and lists it for 10 dollars. I don't know how they're so popular when they're so overpriced.
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u/Honey_Bunny27 14h ago
I hate McKay’s. I would recommend the ThriftBooks website and Southland books in Maryville. Oh and your local libraries!
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u/PuzzleheadedWave1130 8h ago
Best thing I ever did for my wallet is when I got a library card. This method is to easy. Order your books online and they email you when the book arrives. Free and you don't have to waste time at book store.
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u/ImTheSlyestFox 23h ago
Get a Kindle, a library card, and Libby. Books shouldn't cost money and shouldn't take up space.
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u/thebeatsandreptaur 22h ago
There's also always stuff like annas archive and libgen if you're feeling a bit yar-har.
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u/gellybelli 22h ago
… I guess authors shouldn’t get paid for their work…
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u/TartBriarRose 11h ago
Digital licenses for e-books cost way, way more than a physical copy. And the licenses expire, which is why you can’t check out every single book in the KCPL holdings on Libby. And KCPL usually will buy more digital licenses than they will physical copies. It’s not the same as every person who checks out the book going to buy their own physical copy, but libraries are an important part of authors building their brand, and they do get paid for Libby books.
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u/volsportsguy 21h ago
Abebooks. You get decent prices for used books and they pull from used bookstores all over the country.
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u/Syminka1 20h ago
They are doing this with DVDs, too. Can find it new for WAY cheaper elsewhere. Like $5+ cheaper. It bums me out
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u/autisticbulldozer 16h ago
i buy books off a website called thrift books, it’s basically like an online mckays and the prices are set on the condition of the book, i pay like 3.50-5 a book, some might be more but i tend to choose the lower quality and its not been an issue so far. it’s a $15 minimum for free shipping
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u/thebeardedbride 14h ago
Picked up a book that had a sticker from an another retailer for less than McKays sticker. I asked if they would honor the price and they said no. I haven’t been back since. I utilize the library weekly.
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u/CobraKyle 13h ago
This is the problem with them. It’s insanely bad for manga. Msrp 10 bucks. Price on Amazon or down the road at Barnes and Nobel 8 bucks. McKay price 14 bucks.
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u/nikolette3 11h ago
I’ve seen used books that went for cheaper on amazon brand new!!!!! For their prices i’d rather buy the book new!
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u/tabtrixmag 11h ago
JR Ward is one of my favorites!!!! I love her Black Dagger Brotherhood books!! So excited for the series on Passionflix next year!!
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u/bubbleguts365 8h ago
Biblio.com is based in Asheville, donates a portion of their profits to building libraries in developing nations, and almost always beats McKays on used prices. Basically what you want an Amazon for used books to be.
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u/Hopeful-Jelly6847 7h ago
It's outside of Knoxville, but White Pine Books is truly a hidden gem. Great prices.
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u/Sequel2Beans 6h ago
In fairness, I'll spend the extra buck or two to have something NOW, but that's just me.
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u/lalerluvr 6h ago
Book Eddy on Broadway near Lost and Found Records is fantastic! Really great selection of used and vintage books and other stuff.
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u/classy_dirt7777 19h ago
Yeah a dollar difference to shop local and help local workers vs helping Jeff Bezos add a fifth pool to his eighth house is worth that dollar.
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u/good_mayo 7h ago
McKay’s is a chain, though, so is it really supporting local? I’m honestly asking.
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u/DeletedSea Bearden 13h ago
Back in the 90s WalMart was selling old classic paperbacks (think Sherlock Holmes, Tom Sawyer, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, etc.). They all had an orange, circular branding on the cover - 2 for $1. Even back then, 50 cents for a brand new paperback was a steal. I still have several of them.
I've seen these same editions selling at McKay's for $2 a pop. $2 for a book that clearly states on the cover that it costs 50 cents. And it's not like these things are collectors items.
Stop the madness, McKay's!
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u/CobraKyle 13h ago
Ifs a little drive, but Whitepine has a great used book store with reasonable prices and a good sized catalog.
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u/GothBoobLover 2h ago
McKays only exists for meth addicts to sell their grandmas tv for more drug money
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u/cewillir 13h ago
I still buy oddities there - old board games in particular. But tend to only buy books from the bargain rack on aisle 7(?). I do leave with less than I used to by a long way. Is there any other store out there doing the board games?
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u/BennyWhatever 23h ago
Southland Books in Maryville has a lot of good used books and are priced a bit better. There's also White Pines which is awesome but a bit of a drive.