Mishawaka’s new Half Price Books sets opening date
MISHAWAKA, Ind.—It’s time to start going through those book shelves, Michiana!
Mishawaka’s new Half Price Books store at 5608 Grape Road will officially open to customers on October 14 but the community can start bringing in books to sell on October 7.
A “great opening” event will run from October 17 through the 20th with coupons, giveaways and balloons. The first 100 customers that day will even receive a reusable bag.
In the meantime, store manager Tyler Collier hopes the community will simply stop in and say hi.
“As long as there is somebody in the building, the front doors are open for the public to come in and look around. We like to generate community goodwill and get people excited for the things they see on the shelves. It gives an opportunity for people to ask questions,” Collier said.
The staff of about 20 people has been working to set the store up since late July, sorting through inventory gathered from 25 other Half Price Books locations around the country.
“Basically, we get every 25th book from each store. A bookseller will go up to a shelf, count 25 books, pull it and put it in a box. That’s how we get all of the books already on the shelves,” Collier said. “It’s an odd science that works very well.”
About 86 pallets of books have already been shelved or are awaiting shelving, ranging from children’s chapter books and current bestsellers to fiction classics and reference books. All books sold at the store are sold for half or less than half of the sticker price.
The store also stocks new items like puzzles, toys and calendars, to name a few.
A sign hanging in the new store reads “We believe books should fill shelves, not our land. Through the years, we’ve recycled, donated to nonprofit organizations worldwide and resold hundreds of millions of books, saving trees and keeping books out of landfills.”
“This is kind of Half Price Books mission; it keeps books in circulation. We want to keep books going out to different people and we want them to bring those books back to us so we can sell them to other people so they can stay alive. It’s a second and third life for a lot of books,” Collier said.
Collier says the store is already looking for ways to get involved in the Michiana community, in forms of supporting children’s literacy as well as helping our furry friends at local shelters, something he did when working at the Bloomington Half Price Books outlet location.
“We are pet friendly, if you want to bring in your furry friends, as long as they’re on a leash and they’re friendly, we’re more than happy to have you come in,” Collier said.
The store is already working with local authors to give them free space to hold booking signing events for the community.
For more information on the new Mishawaka location, click here.