2nd and Charles operates a large-format used-book and media store at 101 Geoffrey Drive in Newark, Delaware, part of the Churchmans Crossing retail corridor just off Route 273 near the University of Delaware and the I-95/I-295 interchange. The store is part of a regional chain owned by Books-A-Million, built specifically around buying, selling, and trading secondhand media, and the Newark location follows the chain’s signature format: a warehouse-sized showroom stacked with new and used books alongside music, movies, video games, comics, and a wide range of collectibles and toys.
What distinguishes 2nd and Charles from a conventional bookstore is the buy-sell-trade counter at the front of the store, where customers can bring in boxes of books, CDs, DVDs, records, video games, or consoles and walk out with cash or store credit. That trade-in model keeps the inventory constantly turning over, so the shelves at any given visit reflect whatever the local community has recently brought in rather than a fixed, centrally curated stock, which is part of why regulars describe the hunt for a specific rare title or an unexpected collectible find as part of the store’s appeal. The genre range runs from mainstream fiction and nonfiction to manga, graphic novels, and out-of-print titles that have become collectible in their own right, alongside vinyl records, retro and current-generation game titles, and shelves of games and puzzles for browsing shoppers.
The Newark store also carries the chain’s broader mixed-merchandise identity, with sections devoted to toys, novelty gifts, and pop-culture collectibles that sit alongside the book stacks, plus a children’s section stocked with age-appropriate reading material and a layout that includes seating areas where customers can sit and read before deciding what to buy. That combination of browsing space and buy-sell-trade commerce sets the store apart from either a straightforward used bookstore or a big-box retailer, positioning it instead as a hybrid secondhand marketplace built around media and collectibles.
Newark itself is a college town anchored by the University of Delaware, and the Churchmans Crossing shopping area where the store sits draws a mix of students, faculty, and New Castle County residents from nearby communities including Bear, Glasgow, and Elkton, Maryland just across the state line. The store’s hours run Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the buyback counter closing an hour before the store itself, so anyone planning to sell or trade in items should plan to arrive with enough time before closing. The phone number for the location is 302-737-4306 for anyone wanting to check current buyback policies or ask whether a specific category of item, such as retro consoles or vinyl, is being accepted that day.
For book lovers, gamers, and collectors in the Newark area looking for a place to both find secondhand treasures and offload their own outgrown media, 2nd and Charles combines a browsable, ever-changing selection of used books, music, movies, and games with an active trade counter that turns clutter into cash or credit on the spot. 2nd and Charles in Newark, Delaware is a Books-A-Million-owned secondhand media superstore where shoppers can buy, sell, and trade books, music, games, and collectibles all under one roof near the University of Delaware.
