№07
REFRESHED JUNE 2026 · EDITED BY DAISY
Five used bookstores worth a Saturday afternoon. Edited by Daisy. The rule for inclusion: deep stock, fair pricing, staff who will actually pull something off a shelf for you. No museum-store rare-book rooms, no curated-coffee-table-only inventory, no chains.
Inner Richmond · 506 Clement Street
The flagship. Three stories. The fiction floor is the largest used selection in the city. The basement annex (behind the staircase, easy to miss) has rare poetry and the only complete used set of the New York Review of Books classics anyone keeps in stock. Staff knows the inventory. Open until 10:30 wed through sat. Cash gets a 10% trade-in bonus on books you bring in.
Mission · 3130 24th Street
Cooperative-owned since 2013, after the Valencia closure. Smaller than Green Apple but more curated. The art and small-press fiction sections are unmatched in the city. They host readings monthly. The owner, Andrew, will hold a book for two weeks if you call. They take credit cards but prefer cash. Closed Tuesdays.
Mission · 900 Valencia Street
Has been on Valencia since 1992. The corner location is the original. They have a second location in Castro and a third in the Mission’s outer reach. The Valencia store is the one to visit. The non-fiction is deep. The poetry is real. They will give you a quote on a box of books in under ten minutes. Open daily until 10pm.
Mission · 3036 24th Street
Two blocks from Adobe. They run a separate gallery in the back. The used selection is heavier on art, photography, and design than other shops. They have a back patio with three tables where you can read what you buy. The owner, Marie, will let you check a book out for an afternoon if you leave your ID. Closed Mondays. Tuesday is poetry night.
Haight · 1644 Haight Street
Mixed new and used, but the used section in the back is the under-recognized one. They have the best used cookbook selection in the city, including a working set of the original Time-Life Foods of the World series that someone keeps trying to buy and they keep refusing to sell. Strong on travel and local history. Open daily.
A few used bookstores did not make this list. Some have shrunk their used sections to make room for new releases. One has a famous owner whose pricing is famously erratic. One is on the list of places I love that I will not name because they cannot handle the traffic. That one, I will keep recommending one customer at a time.
Send a pick to hello@sftimes.com. I read every email.
— Daisy
THANKS. SATURDAY MORNING IN YOUR INBOX.