The best second-hand bookshops in Melbourne

This quirky warehouse space in the heart of Fitzroy has had several past lives, including serving as a furniture factory, Aboriginal art centre and textile printing shop. In 2002, it was reborn as Page Two, a second-hand bookshop housing thousands of vintage, pre-loved and out-of-print titles in a wide range of genres. Explore the vast range, chat with Pamela — who has a knack for finding that book you've been after for years — and hang out with the shop's two resident Burmese cats. 

Don't let its small size fool you: this cosy bookstore in Fitzroy North has amassed a large collection of books across all genres, with an emphasis on contemporary literary fiction and interesting non-fiction titles. It's located just around the corner from Piedimonte's Supermarket as well as Edinburgh Gardens, meaning you can grab a book and some tasty snacks and then post up outside for an arvo of leisurely reading. 

If you stumble upon a table of books on the path of Sydney Road, head through the adjacent and unassuming doorway and up the stairs. Here, you'll find what is essentially a large apartment, where each room is filled with neatly organised shelves dedicated to specific genres. The space always smells incredible because the store is constantly burning Siddha meditation incense, and there are sofas scattered throughout where you can lounge while flipping through your potential picks. 

For 35 years, Alice's occupied a heritage storefront in Rathdowne village where it became a go-to spot for locals in the market for rare, out-of-print and second-hand books. Unfortunately for Carlton North residents, Alice's made the move to a storage unit in Preston in November 2020 — but it's not all bad news. The bookshop, which has a collection of approximately 18,000 books, is still operating by appointment.

This cosy shop in Coburg has a little bit of everything, but it mainly specialises in classic fiction, cookbooks and children's books. So if you're on the hunt for new recipes to spice things up in the kitchen, or you have a few well-read tots hungry for new books, pop in to freshen up your collection. 

Ask Tim White at Books for Cooks anything about food and he’ll think for a moment, scour his collection and pull out the one book you never knew you needed. Tim’s a food lover’s oracle, with a collection respected among Melbourne’s restaurant heavyweights. Into nose-to-tail cuisine? Want to sharpen your knife skills? Fancy trying out tripe recipes from vintage cookbooks circa 1850? There's sure to be a newly printed or second-hand book here that meets your criteria.

Kay Craddock’s isn’t so much a bookshop as a place to find leather-bound pieces of history or rediscover once-treasured books you had long forgotten. Opening up on Bourke Street in 1967 and then on Collins Street since 1990, the shop brims with titles across a range of categories, from Antipodean literature and other assorted Australiana to bound volumes of complete works by Dickens, Shakespeare and Byron dating back to the 1800s. Even if you’re not a cashed-up collector, there are many affordable books for sale, including a $5 discount table and shelves full of children’s books where you can find much-loved titles no longer in print. 

“We don’t specialise, we just make sure there is a book for everyone,” says Verity Mathews, whose family owns City Basement Books. She’s not exaggerating. The shop has a huge range of fiction and nonfiction to choose from, including large selections on military history, transport and maritime affairs. It also has an extensive second-hand engineering section, increasingly in demand since the closure of Melbourne’s Technical Bookshop many moons ago.

David and Penny Syber first opened Syber's Books in Windsor back in 1991, and since while the original location is no longer in operation, the beloved second-hand book shop now has two locations in Malvern and Caulfield. In each store, shelves are laden with books, with a special emphasis on military history, children's books, science fiction and crime.