Thrift stores in British Columbia
111 thrift stores and used bookstores across British Columbia, mapped city by city for book hunters. Pick a city and plan a route between the shops worth the walk.
Vancouver
48 shops · 10 used bookstores
Start on Main Street, a 12 minute run that takes in Pulpfiction Books and Thrift World in Vancouver.
Victoria
19 shops · 4 used bookstores
Start at Beacon Community Services Thrift Store in Victoria, an 18 minute walk that reaches Bastion Books and Russell Books.
Surrey
14 shops
Start on Columbia Street in Surrey, an 11 minute walk past Grand Central Consignment and Bases Family Thrift Store.
Courtenay
13 shops · 1 used bookstore
Start at Island Traders in Courtenay, a 19 minute walk that reaches Second Page Used Books.
Abbotsford
10 shops · 1 used bookstore
Start at Thrift for LIFE in Abbotsford, an 8 minute walk past OK Happy Consignment and MCC Thrift Shop.
Nanaimo
7 shops · 3 used bookstores
Nanaimo has 3 used bookstores.
Why thrift stores are the best book hunting there is
Every thrift store shelf is stocked by donation, priced to move, and re-shelved constantly, which makes it the least predictable and most rewarding bookstore format there is. The same shelf can hold airport thrillers, a Giller winner, and an out-of-print favourite someone finally let go of. The catch is volume: reading a few hundred spines shop after shop is where good intentions go to die. That's the bit Spines takes off your hands: photograph the shelf and it identifies every book, pulls ratings, and flags the ones that match your taste. If you're new to the hunt, start with our guide to finding good books in thrift and charity shops.
Hunt smarter in any of them
Spines reads a whole shelf from one photo and shows you which books are worth grabbing — tailored to your taste. Free to try.
Elsewhere? charity shops by city in the UK · thrift stores by state in the US, or all directories.
Shop data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License. Shop details can drift out of date — check opening hours before travelling.