To the surprise and dismay of many, our beloved half-price book college district on Roosevelt Way Ne will be closing its doors on April 9th.
Walking into the store on Friday, I was first greeted by “50% off storewide” signs in the front windows. inside, the store was full of brown boxes. the display that usually greets customers at the front was gone. many of the shelves were empty, but many of them were still full. in fact, the shelves had their own signs: their sale price. one of them had already been sold. this store is clearly trying to get rid of everything.
You are reading: Half price books u district
I was here just two months ago and at the time there was no indication that the store was going to close anytime soon. The question arises: how long ago did half price know it would close?
one of the employees I spoke with said they had known about the closure since October. however, the store had not displayed it until about a month ago.
half price original books originated in 1972 in dallas, in what used to be an old laundromat. Currently, there are more than 120 locations across the country. the university district location opened about 30 years ago.
See Also: Best 4th Grade Books for the Classroom – WeAreTeachers
When I asked one of the employees why the store was closing, he said “they couldn’t make it work,” before changing his answer to “I don’t know.” I overheard another employee tell a customer that “the lease was up” and “they weren’t making enough money.”
The reason is most likely a combination of these factors. Since the rise of e-books and giant bookstores like Amazon, independent bookstores have suffered. Half-price books on Capitol Hill closed in 2013. Even the University Bookstore closed its Bellevue location in February.
Not only that, but due to the new uptown legislation that was passed, the value of land in the u district will increase in the near future.
The surprising thing is that none of the most reputable news sources, such as the Seattle Times, have published articles about the closing at half price. even the official half price book website has no news about it. in fact, it almost seems that everything has been kept secret. it’s also possible that library closures aren’t considered “important” enough to write about.
According to their PR manager, Half Price intends to reopen once they find another location in the Puget Sound area. However, Half Price on Capitol Hill promised the same thing when it closed, and to date there is no news that they have kept their promise.
half price will be waiting the next three days to close. I went in again on Sunday and although it was a little more choice, there was still a great selection.
See Also: 21 Best Electronics Books For Beginners in 2022(Hand-Picked)
the rest of the books that are not sold will be donated, sold online or sold elsewhere.
There are still seven half-price book locations open in Washington state, but unfortunately, none of them are within walking distance of the UW.
Get your fill of used books before the store is gone forever. they currently have a deal where they give you a red bag and anything you can put in it will be $20. the bag is the perfect size to raid the medieval history section.
if you’re looking for used books after april 9th, there are still magus books on ne 42nd street and in ravenna, third in books on ne 20th avenue.
Contact writer cristen jansson at opinion@dailyuw.com. twitter: @cristenjansson
See Also: Lynn Cahoon – Book Series In Order