FAQ

McKAY's does not offer online sales, with the exception of gift cards. Swing by one of our brick & mortar locations to get a feel for what you're after!

It comes from people like you! Hundreds of people bring items to sell or trade every day that we are open.

No, we don’t make appointments or take reservations. Items are processed as they come into the store. We stop accepting incoming items 30 minutes before closing.

When you come to pick up payment for your order, you will be offered a cash and/or a store credit option. The amounts are based off of what we will sell your items for. You can choose to receive a percentage of our price in cash, or a higher percentage in store credit. There are some items that we only offer a store credit option for, so even if you request cash, there's a chance you'll still receive a little bit of store credit (also called trade or trade credit).

That depends on how busy we are and how many items you brought in. Our highly-trained buyers work hard to evaluate your items as quickly and accurately as possible. We try to process incoming orders in fewer than 45 minutes, but during busy times (like weekends or holidays) it may take longer.

Yes…and no! We want to process everyone’s order in a timely fashion, so the number of items we can process on a given day from any one customer is limited. You are welcome to bring in a Large Order, but you will need to sign a Large Order Release Form and leave those items with us. Look at our tote limits for more information about the types of orders we offer.

A Large Order is an incoming order that is too big to be processed while you wait. The Greeter will evaluate the size of your order and the current wait time for processing, and they will decide whether we can process your incoming order right now. We have laundry carts to accommodate Large Orders. Before you leave your Large Order with us, you will need to sign a Large Order Release Form. Your signature on this form lets us know that you agree to accept our evaluation of your items' cash and/or trade value. Rejected items from your Large Order will be put in the free bin or recycled; they cannot be returned to you. You'll also need to leave an address and phone number so we can contact you when your order has been completed. You can also choose to receive your payment by mail.

We only accept items we feel reasonably sure we’ll be able to sell, so we evaluate every item individually based on its age, condition, and the supply and demand in our store. You can see a list of commonly rejected items here.

Unless you submitted a Large Order or a Drop Off Order, you can ask for them back when you pick up payment, as long as it's within an hour of your order being completed. If you don’t want your rejected items, we will put them in the free bin in front of the store. Rejected items from Large Orders and Drop Off Orders are recycled as we process the order.

The answer to this question can be broken down into two parts. PART 1: WHY THE PHONE CALL WASN'T RETURNED We understand that it can be frustrating to not have a phone call returned, especially if you only have a quick question. We have tried to avoid this frustration by having our answering message and website address frequently asked questions. We allow those devices to pinch hit for us so that we can focus our attention on the needs of the store and the customers that are currently shopping in it. If the answer to your question is given by the message, then your call might not be returned because we assume you have already received your answer. To tell you the answer again would be moot, and we do not want to insult your intelligence. If your question is not answered by either of those devices, then we welcome you to leave a message letting us know what you need. (See Part 2 for why there may be a delay in returning your call). Another reason some calls aren't returned is because the individual has forgotten to leave us contact information. Our phone system is not like a cell phone that lets us know who made the call. Without a name and number, we have no way of getting back to you. PART 2: WHY THE PHONE CALL WASN'T RETURNED IMMEDIATELY We make every attempt to return phone calls within 3 days of receiving a message. This delay is because many questions require a little bit of research, and we want to make sure that the most qualified person for addressing your specific issue is the one who is returning the phone call.

Outside of each McKAY's location you’ll see a bin of free items. These are items that we rejected from customer orders due to condition or age. Just because we don’t think we can sell them, however, doesn’t mean you don’t want them. Take a minute to dig through them: you just might find a buried treasure!

McKAY's issues Trade (store credit) for items brought in by customers. Here are the basics: > Trade may be used for anything in the store except gift cards. > Trade never expires. > Once you’ve accepted Trade for your items, that Trade cannot be converted into cash. > We are unable to replace lost or stolen Trade slips.

Every fall, McKAY's offers free Trade (store credit) to public school teachers in our immediate region. This credit is intended to help teachers meet the literary and informational needs of their students. To take advantage of this offer, please read the conditions outlined below: 1. Trade credit will only be issued in the fall. 2. Trade credit is available to surrounding public schools only. 3. Trade credit must be used by the teachers (no faculty/admin) for the benefit of the students. To apply: submit a list of teachers and the subjects or grades that they teach on school letterhead to your local McKAY's. You may drop the list off at the store directly, or mail it (ATTN: Teacher Trade Program). Trade credit will be issued for each eligible teacher on the school’s list and will be returned by mail to the school administrative office in the fall. Credits are typically processed within a few weeks of receipt from Sept. - Oct. If you have not received your credit by mid-November, please reach out to us at: support@mckaybooks.com

You can pay for your items with Trade, cash, credit card, or checks under $50.00, provided you show us a valid ID. We cannot accept purchase orders at this time, but we are able to save orders for institutions for one week, and provide those institutions with an itemized receipt. That way you can receive payment, and bring it back to us when you return to pick up your items.

Customers may return up to 15 items for refund in a calendar year. You'll need to bring those items back to the Cashier (not the Greeter) within 30 days of purchase, with the McKAY's barcode or receipt. We'll need to see your valid driver's license in order to process the return. *Please note that you will be reimbursed in the manner in which you paid. If you paid in Trade, we can only refund Trade. **We are happy to accept returns for items bought at a different McKAY's. However, the refund will be given in Trade only.

Although our turnover is pretty low, we are always accepting applications. What can we say? McKAY's is a great place to work!

Yes. Due to incredibly high volume, we are unable to sell items over the internet or to ship items to our customers.

We are unable to tell you if we have a certain item in stock, keep waiting lists, or give price quotes over the internet or phone. Since we are a used store where all of our inventory is brought in by customers like you (and we bring in around 10,000 items a day) our main goal is to process the items and get them on the shelves as quickly as possible. While we understand that it can be frustrating not having an answer, try to look at it as a treasure hunt and explore the variety of items we do have.