Portland Bookstore: McKenzie Books

Three books for two bucks.  I am not a Wharton trained economist or anything, but I believe this is a pretty good bargain.  Yes, McKenzie Books is not your typical “indie bookstore”.  In fact I don’t think they would even think of themselves as a “bookstore.”  But they are local, and they do have a daily book sale consisting of a couple shelving units restocked daily.  The price range on the books? Starts at .50 cents and goes up to $3.00.  The selection though small, is surprisingly well rounded.  Not some place you would want to spend all day, or even an hour.  But to check in once a month for a few minutes and find Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim” for two quarters, isn’t a bad proposition.

Of course this is assuredly a loss leader for McKenzie.  A way to get you into the door, where you can then find out about what it is exactly they do, since they aren’t a bookstore.  You see they primarily buy and sell books through the internet, with a proven niche in the student textbook market.  Started by “Breanne and Jim” in college when they weren’t getting what they considered a fair price for their used textbooks, it has now grown into a staff of 30 “dedicated to enhancing lives by offering educational and entertainment value through quality used and new books.”  They are a member in good stading with the BBB, are committed to “green business” principles, and give a portion of their “profits to fund classroom projects on DonorsChoose.org.”

If you are looking to sell your books, you can use their sister site Cash4Books.net.  There you can get a quote for the books you would like to sell from their site, and take them down to their storefront, or mail them out using a slip printed off from their site.  Either way they pay you for shipping, yes even if you walk them in they will give you what it would have cost to ship them.  Check the site for books in demand.

Here is a video of Koin 6 News profiling McKenzie Books:

The three books I got?

-The aforementioned “Kim” by Rudyard Kipling ($.50)

-”Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston ($.50)

-”The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz ($1.00)