These 15 Places Sell Second-Hand Books At Dirt Cheap Prices

A multi-genre bookstore in the busy lanes of Patel Nagar, May Day has bookshelves stacked with great titles. They curate their selection of secondhand books really well, and that’s what keeps us going back. While the bookstore is situated in a place where profits might be harder to come by, the owner wanted to build a reading community instead of raking in cash (a big salute to them!)

This Hauz Khas bookstore stocks your favourite Sidney Sheldon, Mills & Boons and Harry Potter titles starting at just INR 50. They’ll also return a fraction of your payment if you return the book—it doesn’t get cheaper than that, of course. We’d reinvest that in a second book, and we recommend you stock your bookshelf too.

No, don’t get confused by that subhead. This website is literally called Buy Secondhand Book. From joke books to biographies to photography tips, they’ve got it all. While you might not find the latest releases here, you’re bound to stumble upon a gem from your childhood.

This store in Agrasen Chowk, Kamla Nagar, is home to thousands of pre-loved books across genres. The prices start at a meagre INR 50 for the second-hand books, and new books are priced at their normal retail prices. You’ll find a huge variety of classics, and the store is perfect when you’re in the mood to just browse and pick up some off-beat books you haven’t really heard of.

We were quite impressed that this bookstore had critically-acclaimed books like The Colour Purple by Alice Walker among the good mix of authors like Paulo Couelho, Amish, Shashi Tharoor, Dan Brown, Mark Manson, J.K. Rowling and more.

You don’t have to wait for Sunday to enjoy Daryaganj’s extremely affordable second-hand books people! You can check out this store for a great collection of classics and your favourite fiction novels in paperback and some in hardback; They also have some rare dictionaries, encyclopaedias, children’s books and more. 

Geography, children’s literature, literary classics, magazines, novels and a whole world of fiction greets you in this space that’s big enough for precisely two (maybe three) people to browse at the same time. All the books that lie stuffed into the many shelves are ageing gracefully and wear a yellowed charm associated with loved hand-me-downs. Some have also been restored carefully with transparent covers wrapped around them.

There really isn't a better place to go hunting for second hand books than the Sunday book market in Daryaganj. There are second hand books available at throwaway prices (INR 100/kg onwards). The book market is one kilometre long, and is the perfect place to hit up for a book haul.

Bobby Novel Library is a 45-year-old book store in AL Market in Shalimar Bagh. You'll find authors like Daniel Steel, Nora Roberts, Agatha Christie, and more. The owner gives out all the novels at 40% of their original rates and when you're done reading, you can return the books and get back half of what you paid!

Located right next to the iconic PVR Plaza, this shop is mostly left unseen by people because of how tiny it is. But once you discover it, you’ll know the kind of treasure it is given that it houses books from different languages, various authors and multiple genres. From Hindi’s Prem Chand to English’s J.K. Rowling, you’ll find pre-loved books here for as low as INR 50.

This bookstore in Shankar Market has books starting at INR 50. While their USP is their books on topics like divinity, spirituality, mythology, and the likes, they also have a lot of options in fiction and history. There's also a tiny top floor which can accomodate only person at a time. This store is perfect to browse in for when you're in the mood to pick up rare books on topics that you never really thought about exploring before.

Score some good old books at discounted rates at this bookstore in CP. Located near the NDMC office gate number 1, this small bookstore is known to have Bibles and a number of old books. It might surprise you with its collection of books going by the size of the bookstore.

Daryaganj in all its glory is prominently known to have one of the largest book markets in Delhi. From course books to best-sellers, you’ll find it all shelved or scattered in the by-lanes of Nai Sarak. One of the many bookstores we go to time and again is Book Affair, selling books by the weight at around INR 100 to 200 per Kilo, this bookstore is known to have all the second hand books however, it’s scattered around so you’ll have to spend some time searching for the book you need. 

A hidden gem at the Def Col Market, Three L Library is one of the oldest stores in the market. Started in the 1960s they continue to have more than 15,000 to 20,000 books in a comparatively small bookstore. If you are looking for old books and any course book for that matter, chances are they will have it. 

There are a gazillion of old bookstores available in every area of Delhi, however the book stores we've recommended continue to be our favourites. It saves us money and it's interesting to read a book passed on by a complete stranger.