Like, the best bookstore in town! They have everything-- CD's, DVD's, books, magazines in both Japanese and English. I think they had video games too..? Seriously, I could browse for hours. The Japanese CD's were especially a great deal. I would find albums for $1 that would normally cost over $30 for a new one. The store is very well organized too making it easy if you're looking for something specific. read more

I think a lot of people don't come here because they mistakenly think this place only sells Japanese stuff. Well, they're wrong and that's all the better for me!!!! They have a whole wall of used books for $1 each!! Yes, the hardcover ones too!! And the majority are in very good condition. Also, have a couple of bookshelves devoted to children's books too. And they have used English CDs too, most of them for only $3 each! Don't worry about them being scratched because they have a machine that cleans all those scratches off. I cannot believe more people don't know about this place! OH, also, they buy your used CDs, DVDs, books from you to. I think they'll give you a quarter per VHS tape which is about all you're going to get for a VHS tape these days. read more

Bookoff is a used bookstore chain in Japan, with several branches in California. So you won't find anything new here, but that is easily redeemed by their great selection of both Japanese and English media (particularly movies). They sell video games as well but the selection and prices are nothing impressive. Not what you should be coming here for, though. Inventory quality ranges from good to like new. The best thing about Bookoff is that you can find Japanese goods that would normally cost a fortune to import, on the cheap. They also run seasonal holiday sales and this is really the best time to get into the game. I got at least $400 worth of books, manga, and movies for $125 during the 2011 Memorial Day weekend sale. Highly recommended. read more

I should have read others' reviews before coming here to sell a bunch of my mangas. Because I did not have the time to sell in eBay and did not want to keep them longer, I decided to accept their ridiculous appraisal pricing of "$0.20" or "$0.50" for each book, when I bought them each for $11 or more long time ago. I would expect the store manager appreciated the mangas more being in Japanese and still in good conditions (like exactly brand new, no wear and tear). I kind of commented that the book was still in good conditions etc, but the store worker said that it is based on what they already have and he just followed what the store manager advised. Well, I don't think you have those mangas available in your store yet, so consider yourself lucky. If I live closeby, I should have taken those mangas back, and would feel less regretful like I am now :( read more

I have no reasons at all to be down here at Costa Mesa. This place is very close to South Coast Plaza. I lied. It's at least a good 10-15 minutes drive locally, but still close enough. After shopping at Marukai, there's a popular bookstore chain that is around the corner from the market. This particular bookstore is full of Japanese anime. Shelves filled with serials of different comic books. A couple of music CDs and magazines are all over the place. One huge drawback..... it's all in Japanese. There is no way you are going to be interested in any of the items unless the DVD or CDs are English subtitles. The books or comic books are not. It's as Japanese as you are going to get in a bookstore. I have to tell you I'm bummed because I can't read any of these comic books. The prices are reasonably cheap and I did see huge stack of Initial D series. But what good does it do for me if I can't read it. Hate to pay for a more expensive English Translation in Borders or Barnes & Nobles. However, that's the price I going to pay for not taking Japanese as my foreign language class in High school. Hmmm... why did I take Spanish instead of Japanese in High School foreign language curriculum? It's no good to me now! Oh well, if you are looking for many of the popular Japanese comic books, you come to the right place. read more

How is it possible that no one's written a review for one of the best used book/cd stores ever? Yeah, so most of the media is in Japanese, but a significant portion is devoted to English stuff. I've gotten David Bowie CDs for $3, and paperback Series of Unfortunate Events for $2 each, and a hardback Harry Potter book at half-price. This is a really good place to go if you also like to read manga in the original language. You can even get one of those reward cards - for every X dollars you spend, you get a little to spend. There's also another location in Los Angeles. read more

It's a used bookstore that also sells DVDs. In comparison to the one at the Westminster mall, this particular Bookoff primarily sells Japanese books and DVDs, although nowadays they also sell housewares and things like that like at a Goodwill. They also carry books in English, video games dating back to Atari (though the price of them is still around the same price as when the devices were starting to be discontinued), used consoles, and other neat stuff like that. The Japanese merchandise is on the right of the store, while the English merchandise is on the left side of the store. A lot of stuff is inflated now and there's barely one shelf of $1 items per section. The lowest price of each item that's not on the $1 shelf is $3, which is $1.50 more than the $1.50 bookstores in Lake Forest I've gone to. One has to do a lot of browsing through the inexpensive sections for good deals. The staff is nice. read more

This place is basically a Japanese thrift shop/brick-and-mortar eBay store located next to Tokyo Central market. They have a large variety of used books and games for PS3, Xbox, Nintendo to used Blu-Rays, DVDs, used computers, iPads to used Funkos, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, and other anime memorabilia. Being used, you're saving anywhere from 60% to 75%. Being a Japanese store, if you're into Japanese culture/anime; this is a very unique place where you can purchase used goods at a very reasonable price. If you're also interested in selling your old stuff, you should really consider this place as well. I've been getting rid of my entire DVD collection and switching over to Blu-Ray and they were very fair with the amount they offered me for my movies. read more

I used to love this place when it was just books, movies, and music. Sadly now it has become a strange mix of junk. I still stop buy every now and then to check out the selection of Blu rays they have but other than that I don't consider it worth the drive. Also if you're thinking about selling to this place I would highly recommend against it. I've sold to them once and tried twice. Just some random things a few books and games and a figure I no longer wanted. The first time was fine I believe I was paired fairly but, the second time was not a nice experience. Again selling some random things I no longer wanted and had an extra of. I sold 2 figures that I knew to be worth some money and they only offered me 20 dollars. Last complaint the male employee with the shaggy hair should be fired. He bumped into me 3 times while I was shopping didn't say sorry or excuse me, he talked so loud that he could be heard through out the store, and was very rude to my boyfriend when he asked them how do they determine what the offer price will be. read more

One of the best bookoff stores in the area! I would highly recommend. Staff are friendly and fairly helpful and the books are CHEAP!

Favorite place to buy books and movies! AMAZING selection and prices!!! Stuart is great! He entertained my daughter for 10 minutes and brought huge smiles to her face! We are already planning our next shopping trip into here read more

5/5 Great Customer Service 5/5 Friendly Staff 5/5 Great Prices 5/5 Great Product Went to this location again today and had a fantastic experience!! Customer service was simply wonderful :) I came into the store with my three huge bags of used manga comics...probably around 100? No idea. But I had no use for them, and none of them were a collection enough to sell them as a lot on ebay and actually make any money. So I brought them in. I figured I'd try my Japanese out again, because quite frankly I love speaking and it's been awhile! xD I was nervous, but the lady at the front was very nice. Not only that, but they even complimented me on my Japanese and we got to talk a little bit. I ended up getting $56 for my manga; a great deal! (especially considering most the ones I gave them likely sell for just one dollar each or so, if they do sell). I was also given a one dollar off coupon, so I used it to buy a $5 Japanese manga. A lot of people say they are picky about the manga they take in; I only had one rejected out of the 100 or so I brought...and the rejected one had pretty bad water damage. So really not that picky haha. I also applied here and the staff was very friendly about it. I've been applying to many places recently and this place definitely made me feel the best about it. Almost all the other stores kinda wrote me off, or told me to basically forget about it. But the staff here genuinely let me say my schpeal and I feel like I might just have a future here! (at least as a customer if nothing else!) Thank you so much!! P.S. Met a really nice staff member there, said that she was raised in a way that she learned both Japanese and English. We talked a bit in one of the book aisles, but I forgot to give you my number! We should totally hang out :) add me on facebook if you ever see this haha Emily Cebula read more

I'm a huge fan of their $1 books, and I love the Costa Mesa store because they have a huge collection of $1 English books, let alone Japanese ones. Every time I go in, I find a book or two (or even more) that I want to read for really cheap prices if not $1. It's a heaven for book-lovers. I usually buy one or two $1 books at once. I'm always try not to fill up my room with books. But the fact is, I've already found a few more books I want there and I usually end up getting them next time I go back. For some reason, those books always wait for me. If I remember correctly, they give a stamp on your membership card for every $5 you spend. So don't do what I do, buy 5 $1 books at once if you know you'll eventually buy them anyway! read more

Pretty much a repeat of my Bookoff review for Westminster. Redux, with a minor edit: "Good selection, fairly well organized, good prices. I found one CD I kind of wanted and it was only $2! Didn't find the ones I really wanted. Seems like that's always the case with whatever I want. This place would be my first option if I don't want to order something used through the internet." read more

I wish I could give this place less than a 1 star review. I'll start with the fact that some of their items even though used are priced close to new price. Video game console prices being one of those. They wanted 289 for a PS4 when you see them all over Craigslist or offer up for around 100-150 tops which people will include games. Now the biggest issue is had was when I came in just to get a quote on how much they would offer for my Dell latitude laptop, i purchased it brand new and rarely used it. I paid over 1800 for it. I was quoted 1 hour for them to evaluate it thinking they would check specs and what not. So I came back like an hour and 20 minutes later. They were still not done, after trying to figure out what was going on. The idiot that was doing the evaluation reformatted my laptop and set it up as if it was a Book off laptop, no warning or backing up my children's baby picture. They decided just to wipe out the hard drive. After complaining as I just wanted my item back so that I could leave They then had the nerves to tell me I had to leave the laptop with them so that they can reformat it again to remove their account info and wifi password on it. So here I am a little passed 2 hours into this and I was just not having it to the point I was yelling at the guy while his manager walks away as she did not want to help me. Needless to say, it was a waste of my time, I've lost my pictures and files, and just the customer service was terrible. It was almost as if they wanted to have it ready to sell before I even agreed to anything. read more

If you're a manga or Japanese culture fan, do not go into this store without money!! Because I almost left the store completely broke. Not only do they have cheap manga in excellent condition, but they have insanely good deals on Japanese and American DVDS and box sets. My friend got a DVD box set for $20.00. They had several aisles of manga that were marked $1.00! And those are the bunko/graphic novels. They have such a great variety of Japanese books and goodies for being such a small shop. Keep an eye out for cheap anime toys and goods in the clearance bins. You can also trade in movies and books for cash, ask one of the employees for details. read more

Ahhh, so much cool stuff! I wanted to buy so many things here. Bookoff buys and sells. Have a lot of junk? Well Bookoff will buy your books, cd's, dvd's, games, toys, electronics, etc. I had a lot of my brother's old books that I needed to sell so I stopped by on my day off. Don't even think about coming here if you intend to walk out with a boat load of cash for your old stuff. Depending on what you sell, you probably won't get a quarter of what you bought it at. They have a huge selection on new/used books, movies, and video games. Not only current generation video games, but old school classics like NES, Sega Genesis, and PS1. They also sell electronics, jewelry, appliances, and kitchenware. Everything here was decently priced and surprisingly, all used items were in great condition. The store itself was organized which made browsing easy and convenient. The lady who helped me out was super friendly. I told her that I needed to sell a bunch of stuff, and I always expect a bad attitude from any place. I do that on purpose so I don't bring down my expectations, but she was the total opposite of what I expected. In a friendly manner, she told me it would take her 20 min and offered to call me back when she was done if I wanted to leave, but I told her they had such an awesome shop that I wanted to stay and scope the place out. I got about $30 for a bunch of children's books. I never expected to get a lot from it anyway, but I was satisfied. Buy stuff and sell stuff here. It's an endless cycle of buying and selling goodness that is Bookoff. read more

BookOFF isn't like your usual used book store, it's well lit, organized, and it has a good variety of books/dvds/cds. Plenty of parking. I have a bad habit of spending way more than I intend at BOOKOFF, but how can I resist? Children and Young Adult sections are great at this location. Lots of great titles and all in great condition. read more

Well organized, well lite, and great selection! Great place to buy books, you'll never know what exactly you'll find, and you can buy books in great conditions for a few bucks tops! I've also sold to bookoff, where I brought it a VERY large box full all different types of books I had to get rid off since I was moving. I got 20$ as they took about 80% of the books I brought in. Just a warning, if you're selling you'll need an ID. read more

Most items didn't have a sticker and the 7 staff that were there had trouble finding the price for things. Decided against buying anything. Stuff was falling from their "goodwill inspired" aisles and was very expensive. Might as well buy that tea set new for $10 for one cup and saucer set. Also parking was ridiculous :/ Will not be returning. read more

Review based just on selling: I just moved back to California after two years in Japan. I was so surprised to see Book-off in the OC, it's like I never even left Japan! Decided to purge all of my old belongings, made about $70 selling books, DVDs, electronics, and miscellaneous items. Things I probably would have donated or tossed so I'm super pumped about earning some cash! The store and staff is small, a lot of people were selling the day I came in so the process took way longer than the originally estimated 1-2 hours. Only letdown was returning about 2.5, closer to 3 hours, and they were just about to start looking through my stuff. I wasn't in a rush so not too upset about it. Staff was friendly and polite. Bilingual. Cheers! read more

They have a bunch of good vintage and new items. Very huge selection, prices aren't bad at all.

I came one week ago, this was my first time at this store and let me tell you i fell in love with it. They have a huge selection of books, dvds, music and collectible items. I found a lot of horror movies from back in the day. I will definitely be coming back. The people that work there were all very nice and helpful. I drive from east los angeles to costa mesa just for this store that alone should say enough. read more

They have a really good selection of Japanese video games and a so-so selection of American ones. You can find a couple of bargains for games but it can be hit or miss. THe manga selection is pretty large and the prices for books are generally really good. If anyone is wondering, they buy figures / toys / etc at 40% of it's going amazon / ebay price and occasionally have a 20% increase (for example, for the month of June they're offering 60% cash for any Japanese based figures). While 40% isn't great, at least the 60% is worth considering and they're up front with their buy rates. Worth noting, they don't consider new and opened/mint with box to be any different for their buying rate. read more

when you first walk in here, it's obvious that they have a HUGE selection of pretty much everything, especially anime figures which are everywhere. however, a lot of the things are extremely overpriced for something that was preowned. a preowned item SHOULD NOT cost more than its online prices!!!!! also there's like 9 staff members but none of them greet you when you walk in. i like going to see their selection, but i recommend paying less for a NEW item. read more

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All and all a decent bookoff! Smaller in size but good come ups! Got a five screw NES Pro Wrestling cartridge, the Walking Dead Graphic Novels 1-4, and a Baby Sitters Club book for the wife. Spent around 40 bucks for and all and since I spent over30 bucks I got a free stainless steel coffee mug. Very decent video game selection and if you want manga they have like 3-4 rows of it. Not my cup of tea but not bad read more

Bookoff - Costa Mesa - Part of my score from bookoff this was about $35-37 not a bad score! - Bookstores Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Every book, c.d. , d.v.d. you ever wanted....and more...Love this place!! Great shopping for everyone on your list....Amazing amount of choices! read more

I really enjoy going to Book Off. Almost all of their books look like they are brand new. Which is good and bad. If you want a good deal on buying used books, it is great. But if you want to sell your old books, they are really picky. They only buy the ones in mint condition. Another good thing about this place is that they are open on Sunday until 8pm. read more

For people who know ONLY English: The Good: - Excellent Service, courteous and helpful staff. - A decent selection of books ranging from references, travel guides, Japanese learning materials, comic books, some magazines all for a heavily marked down price. - An excellent selection of DVDS, CDS from popular artists and older music that you may not have heard for years. You can find DVD sets of TV shows, often with multiple seasons and reasonable prices for Hollywood flicks on DVDs as well. - The buyback system is a great way to get rid of lots of media/books in one fell swoop in a short amount of time. The Bad: - There's a larger emphasis on the Japanese language section (naturally as it is a Japanese chain store targeting the local Japanese demographic) so materials are somewhat limited if you're looking for something in particular. - Pricing is at times very cheap (think: 1 dollar) but often these editions of books are very dated (think: Windows 95 for dummies? Really?) But it shouldn't matter for novels. Travel guides are also not up to date. DVD Sets for TV shows can also be pretty expensive (think: 5-to maybe 10 dollars off the price when it is new) - The buyback system is not very good for the customer, if money is your priority. Also prepare to wait if you go on a weekday or during a busy time when they buyback. There's usually a few customers ahead of you so you could end up waiting for 25 -30 minutes if you have a lot of books. Best either prepare to browse or go visit the Marukai for some food shopping while you wait. For people who know Japanese as well: The Good: - Good source for Japanese music (albums, singles) and concert DVDs. - Manga and anime is plenty in the original language with very good prices on manga not so much on anime. - Light novels are also plenty with a neat 'popular ranking' display toward the back of the store and short descriptions of said novels in Japanese. - There are some magazines as well, if you're into Japanese fashion (aimed toward women) - Original DVDs of Japanese movies and TV shows. - A large section of older Japanese music for 1 dollar. - There are video games in both Japanese and English! (DS, Wii, PS3) The Bad: - Most of the music is slightly dated. I realize it's a used book store so expecting releases on the shelves when they are released in Japan is a bit unreasonable. The same goes for movies and TV show sets. Don't rely on this place for latest releases but go in if you're looking for something "new" to listen to. - The pricing is similar to Japan's pricing system for CDs and DVDs. They are all fairly expensive for the average American (think: 20 to 35 dollars for a CD? 40-50 for a concert DVD? 150 for a DVD set [TV show] - The Japanese learning materials are subpar (for to me at least). It consists mostly of foreign based publishers and I tend to prefer books that are published in Japan that are aimed toward foreigners learning Japanese. For this I mainly go to Kinokuniya (even with the higher prices). My Advice (for the best experience): Go in with a "I want to browse" feeling and a few hours to kill. You'll be surprised; you may end up finding a few gems in the mass of books, CDs and DVDs. If trying to sell a lot, go in with some patience and prepare for a chance to head over to Marukai to kill off two errands at one time. Don't go in to try and find anything specific unless it's really popular (i.e. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings etc.) The Verdict: This book store is a great book store to just browse and look for a few things you may end up enjoying a lot for both Japanese and English speakers! While it may not be the most up to date in editions, releases, it still provides relatively decent prices for many things and a great place to sell old books that are collecting dust at home. 4 Stars! read more

david who was "helping" me today had horrible customer service and did not care to help me at all and could not even answer my simple questions. he was not willing to ask coworkers about products they bought yesterday in order for me to buy them and was not even looking to see if they had an item i needed behind the register. horrible service would not recommend this location. read more

I would obstinate from this location, poor management and very poor customer service. I could go into details but for being a company that represents Japan, I see no Japanese customs in place and only find them to be irrational and irrate, I'd say stay away from here. Better places to sell your items or buy used goods. Non constitutional place, I tend to only shop at constitutional places. Hope they get new management or employee... This customer is gone and I hope others see their ways read more

I came in with over 200 Vintage Japanese books that had been in my family collection for 3 generations. I called before the 45 min drive to their store and they said they are very interested in Japanese literature of all types. The books weigh over 125lbs total, so it was heavy to transport all of them. I arrived and they told me it would be 1-2 hours because there were so many books to go through. I went to lunch and got a text only 20 minutes later. Saying they would accept 9 books for $1.90. I laughed and finished my lunch. When I went back to the store, my containers were never even touched. Not one book was moved or even looked at. The 3 employees there were all in their early 20's and had zero interest going through all the books. They didn't even attempt to check them out. And the $1.90 offer I received for the 9 books was a mistake text message, I was told. When they saw all the books were in Japanese, no English translation, they decided they just wanted to say no. Instead of just telling me no on the phone, they made me come down and waste time/gas to travel, just to reject them immediately. Looks like this store is for younger customers who want toys and video games. Not a legitimate book store. Disappointing experience after visiting and being treated with disrespect. read more

This place is super friendly. If you are looking to sell they are very very CHEAP. I sold up to date dvds and books 51 items. Got 29.30 They told me they buy books from 10 cents to a dollar. Average dvds are a buck by back I think over all the stuff here is expensive . You can buy used on amazon for cheaper read more

Sold some of my books here. They made me sign a paper before they told me how much they were gonna offer me, and one of the options was that I would accept the price they offered, which was new from the last time I sold books there. I wasn't expecting to get a lot for my books, but they gave me a like a dollar for a good amount. They took advantage of the fact that I trusted them to give me a decent offer, given the fact that I had sold my books to them before and they gave me a fair amount. Dont think I'm gonna be selling my books here again. I felt a little taken advantage of and it wasn't even worth the gas I spent driving there. read more

In town for an event and we needed a specific type of book. Found it here. Pretty decent selection and I bet I could find lots of great anime if I had time. read more

This Book Off is smaller than other ones but they get really great treasures once in a while. When I came in the summer, they had Disney pins! They were the larger ones that moved, spin, and priced at $7 each. I keep going back to look for more Disney pins and they have some now but they're very tiny, normal, and priced at $10 each. Recently, I found a plastic Disney snow globe for $5 and Olaf pin from when it was in the movie theaters for $1. Come here for more than just books! They have POP! collectible figures, video games, movies, and more! Stop by every Book Off you see because they get new items in everyday and they're all different! read more

I have visited the Bookoff in Westminster and this one. The selection in this Bookoff is huge for Japanese books. The fiction area covers an aisle. If you look around well enough, you can find very good deals on popular books and hardcover books. I bought two of the three books from the LoTR series for $10 - my heart has reached a state of satisfaction. The DVD/CD section is very updated with movies that have come out in recent years, although the price is still expensive. I would recommend checking out this place for buying books, as there are good deals here. read more

BookOff is pretty cool. I am studying Japanese so this store offers many great books at very cheap prices. I have seen books I have paid 30$ for for about 8$ here.BookOff has a lot of manga and what not for the only price its really worth - $1 or at most 5-7$ for the nicer ones. Best of all, there are many Japanese novels for around $1 and since the anime nerds don't buy them there are a lot to pick from. If your not Japanese you might get asked, "can you really read this?"-- just a forewarning (haha). My favorite part is the huge cookbook selection. I always find something new and awesome. Also- the music CDs are usually in good quality still and at a way more affordable price than other stores and online. I've sold stuff to BookOff too, they don't pay a lot so if you think something is valuable put it on ebay. However, its nice to trade in books that were just taking up space in my house for a little money to spend at bookoff. read more

I love this place. I live fairly close and usually come in a few times a week or so. It's great because there's always something new to discover. I tend to collect older video games and have come across some real gem's in here. They have a good selection of games but beware, the choicest stuff goes fast so visit often. I also enjoy browsing their books as they have a nice selection of $1-2 titles to choose from. That being said there's something for everyone in here. Books, games, figures, electronics, comics, anime, movies, etc. About half the store is dedicated to Japanese stuff like books and music so if you are fluent you may want to take a look. The only downside is the prices can sometimes be inconsistent, I've seen used games priced as much as new and sometimes even more. I've also seen multiple copies of the same game go for all difference prices, I don't know whose responsible for determining the price of things but they seem to have good and bad days when it comes to pricing items. Still, it's a fun place to pop into if you have some time to kill and browse around. Highly recommended. read more

Though I fancy myself an avid reader, I try to limit the number of books I buy. I'll spend a week or two reading something, then it'll sit around cluttering my space. Unless it's a favorite author or a classic, I try to find it at the library. The problem is, sometimes I get caught up in other stuff and the book is due when I'm 3/4 of the way through. (Or I'm traveling and accidentally leave in on the plane...) Same goes for DVDs. Again, unless it's an absolute favorite, I don't need the clutter. But Bookoff has changed everything! I scan the regularly-priced area for specific titles I've been looking for... chances are, within 3 or 4 visits, I'll eventually find it, and at at least 50% less. Then I check out the $1 section and usually pick up 2 or 3 things that look appealing. When I'm done, I take them to Goodwill! There are some gems to be found in the $3 DVD section as well. Though I'm not a collector of DVDs, $3 is less than I'd pay to watch something On Demand. There are bargains in CDs as well. Huge $3 section, and everything else ranges from $5 - $7. There's nothing too obscure though... these are mostly well-known artists. But what they have is cheaper than you'd find at Second Spin. I did get the one Morrissey CD I was missing for $5, which was a score! read more