Give Your Books a Second Life – Join Our Trade-In Days at ABC The Hague
by Júlia
If your shelves are breaking under the weight of books while your wish list keeps growing, and you simply need more space – the ABC has you covered! Just join us for one of our Trade-In Days.
What exactly is a Trade-In Day?
If you’ve ever visited the second floor of our store in The Hague and wondered where all those used books came from, the answer is simple: you! At our Trade-In Days, we do things differently, as ABC buys books from its customers instead of the other way around. Thanks to our community of reading enthusiasts and book collectors, our second floor is full of hidden gems like old edition of Dune, the A-to-Y crime series of Kinsey Milhone, or even a barely touched copy of Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros.
Our Trade-In Day is one of the longest running special events at our store in The Hague. It’s a celebration of reading, sharing, and giving stories a second life.
So, you’re hooked – what’s the next step?
Go through your bookshelves, gather those double-gifted titles you’ve received, or even dig into the dusty boxes at your grandparents’ place. You’re on the lookout for English-language books that are still in good, readable condition.
Almost any fiction genre works – from Sci-Fi & Fantasy to Romance, Crime, or those timeless classics you’re finally ready to pass on.
The only exceptions are non-fiction and children’s books, simply because space on our second floor is still a little limited.
When you’re ready, just head over to our website to find out when the next Trade-In Day is coming, and get in touch with our store in The Hague to book your time slot. We don’t run the event on a fixed schedule, but we aim for about once every two months. You’ll always find the announcement in our Newsletter, on our Instagram profile, and on our website under Upcoming Events.
On the day itself
At your booked time (as you book a time slot of 10 minutes by sending an email or giving us a call), head up to the second floor, where Simone or I will be waiting for you and your bags of books. After a quick check for quality and whether it fits the standard for us to sell it in our store, your bundle will be evaluated. You’ll then receive an ABC Gift Certificate, which you can use right away – or save it for later.
If some of your books aren’t quite right for us to sell, no worries: you can still leave them with us. Many of these donated books find a new life through Better World Books, an organization with a strong social mission, which funds literacy programs and donates books to people in need around the world.
So go on – clear some space, share the stories you’ve loved, and come join us at the next Trade-In Day. Your shelves (and future readers) will thank you!
