Is Half Price Books a good company to work for?

Half Price Books has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on over 759 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months. 70% of employees would recommend working at Half Price Books to a friend and 55% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Half Price Books have been left by employees working as Cashier , Assistant Manager and Shift Leader .

Does Half Price Books pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Half Price Books employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Half Price Books. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Half Price Books?

70% of Half Price Books employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Half Price Books 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Half Price Books?

Bookseller (313) , Shift Leader (43) , Book Seller (17) , Assistant Manager (14) , Book Seller I (14) , Sales Associate (14) , Cashier (10) , Store Manager (9) , Bookseller II (8) , Bookseller and Cashier (8) , Part Time Book Seller (8) , Shift Lead (7) , Customer Service Representative (6) , Shift Leader/Manager (5) , Assistant Store Manager (4)

What are the pros of working at Half Price Books according to real employee reviews?

"Great benefits for a retail job!" ((in 91 reviews)); "This seems to be a running theme in the majority of these reviews: great coworkers." ((in 62 reviews)); "The people I worked with were great and I made some lifelong friends." ((in 53 reviews)); "Quarterly bonuses and other bonuses" ((in 24 reviews)); "for retail, good insurance & PTO/sick plans" ((in 15 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Half Price Books according to real employee reviews?

"As always in retail the pay is low but it''s made up for in benefits." ((in 91 reviews)); "Lots of micromanagement, poor management, and lack of/poor communication." ((in 58 reviews)); "Poor Upper Management Leadership experiences" ((in 26 reviews)); "While store management receives training just as the booksellers do, it doesn't always seem to be consistent or uniform, and some of the managers have been there so long that they may not have received any kind of "management" training at all." ((in 26 reviews)); "low pay and low raises" ((in 16 reviews))

What are employees saying about Half Price Books layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Half Price Books layoffs and their outlook for job security at Half Price Books in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Half Price Books locations?

Dallas , Austin , Houston , San Antonio , Columbus , Louisville , Cincinnati , Seattle , Madison , Fort Worth , Chicago , Indianapolis , Decatur , Niles , Oklahoma City , Tacoma , Lexington-Fayette , Plano , Kansas City , Minneapolis , Cleveland , Dublin , Pittsburgh , Saint Louis , Appleton , Milwaukee , Florence , Corpus Christi , Pearland , Saint Paul

Half Price Books reviews

3.7

70% would recommend to a friend

(718 total reviews)

Sharon Anderson Wright

64% approve of CEO

55% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Half Price Books has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 718 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Half Price Books employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

718 reviews

3.0

Sep 22, 2013

Great for many years until business got extremely coorporate.

Sales associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great health benefits and 401k, profit sharing. Salaries not very high, but there was much opportunity for upward mobility. Great vacation, sick leave, and maternity/ paternity leave.

Cons

The company mentality changed. They stopped hiring books sellers that new about books. They stopped being family oriented, and wanted to hire employees who would focus on the store first before anything else. I was told that people pursuing degrees or with outside interest would not be hired.

5.0

Sep 16, 2013

Best employer I've had

Bookseller

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Lenient scheduling, full-time employment, friendly coworkers, upbeat and communicative management, extensive training period, opportunities to move up within the company, incredible and cheap health/life/dental/vision insurance, more vacation and sick time accrual than my "big kid" job ever offered, generally pleasant people, reliable yearly raises, quarterly bonuses, ethical business practices (using clean fuel for the trucks, recycling what can't be donated, etc).

Cons

The amount of dust that piles up is ridiculous. You could build a castle with the amount of dust in the place. Couple that with the moldy books that sometimes come in and I'd say it's not a good place for someone with a weak immune system (though the sick time is fantastic!). The only other downside is the low starting pay, but it's still above minimum wage (in my area).

4.0

Aug 20, 2013

Sales Associate

Sales associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly environment, enjoyable managers, great coworkers

Cons

Nothing I can think of. this is a great company to work at

Viewing 664 - 666 of 718 Reviews

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Half Price Books

Half Price Books reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Great for many years until business got extremely coorporate.

Best employer I've had

Sales Associate

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Jobs at Half Price Books