Eclipse Bookstore

Dave, the owner, has an outstanding knowledge of his inventory. If you’re looking for the out-​of-​print novel or poetry, or for the hard-​to-​find book, start your search here. I love the wall-​to-​wall rows of books, and the floor to ceiling stacks. The shop looks like what a bookstore should look like. This is not a prim and proper, orderly shop, and that’s part of its charm. With this ambiance, they could film the bookstore scene of a movie here. In fact, they have everything except for a cat who meets you at the door. But I think that only happens in movies anyway.

A really nice bookstore! The only reason for the two star review was that when I went in looking for a book the woman working was really condescending about how I skewed the pronunciation of Henry David Thoreau. It was my bad but being rude about it doesn’t exactly encourage readers to enjoy the classics.
Nevertheless I still bought the book but I won’t be coming back again.

I dislike the reviews some of the people have posted here.
Owning a bookstore these days is DIFFICULT and I commend the owner for keeping the shop open for those of us who still like books. To the guy whining about hippies in Fairhaven — go home and order from Amazon.
And yes I would be mad if someone was parking outside the store too and not visiting the store. I tried to drop off some books and had to park down the street. He, the owner, has to pay the rent and the taxes. So come on, give the guy a break.
Where I live most of our bookshops have been closed down so I am glad he is there. And YES he has to be picky! If he wasnt, then there would be no room for new stock. In Mount Vernon, Wa, the lady who owns the second hand bookshop will not accept books — simply does trades and it sounded like she was going to do me a «big favor» by glancing at the books I had for sale.
Books are becoming obsolete — so please people, more tolerance for those who are still trying to make a living at it!

I first went into this bookstore back in December, 2015, and I walked in at 11:05 am. The owner wouldn’t even look at my books. A couple of weeks later, I made sure I got there BEFORE 11:00 am and the owner looked over the 5 boxes of books I brought and took the equivalent of 1 box for $ 25. He then told me I could come back anytime between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. I haven’t gone back and I will be giving the rest of my books to Goodwill.
I am REALLY tired of the arrogant «hipper than thou» attitude I get in Bellingham and Fairhaven. This includes Henderson Books too, BTW.

Really cool bookstore but I’d be lucky to find a book that I was looking for I. That place. There were books all over the place. From the floor stacked up to the ceiling and flooding out the front door.

DAMN do I want to give this five stars. So badly.
I made a special trip out here from Seattle on my day off. Simply because I wanted to visit this amazing store. just look at some of the pictures. amazing! You will be overjoyed and overwhelmed at the endless shelves and stacks of books everywhere. A book lovers dream! There is something about stacks of books on the floor. EVERYwhere on the floor that is so satisfying. You can get lost in a store like this.
Unfortunately that is also the downfall of this place if you are looking for something specific. I went in with a bucket list of maybe six books and could not find any of them. I am certain that at least half of my list wasn’t there since I did find the author’s location on the shelves. but it is not organized in the best of ways.
For example, there is no section dedicated to biographies. If you want a biography, it is categorized under «subject» but even then I think it is hard to find anything. The woman working was very nice in trying to guide me in the right direction; lots of the biographies she seemed to know for sure would be under US History (generals, presidents, etc) but there was another section for literary biographies. anyway, it was confusing. The shelves and sections are labeled poorly (if at all) so you will end up wandering whether you want to or not.
Perhaps that is the upswing of this place. it is fantastic for drowning out the outside world and getting lost in books and books. Two floors of floor to ceiling books! Lots of mass market paperbacks one floor down. I think the more popular items will be hard to find… but I found myself a gem of a book! Just as I was about to give up! Items are very reasonably priced.
I think it’s worth the journey. After all, Eclipse did make the PNW section of a trivial Buzzfeed article on 44 Great American Independent Bookstores…

great store, beautiful location and view, great selection, good prices, the owner is very nice. I come down from Canada mainly for this store:)

Great bookstore with an awesome selection and good prices. The owner is really nice and is fair with buying books. Definitely recommend!

My gosh. I visited one of my high school friends in Bellingham and this is one of the stops she took me when we drove downtown. This place is stacked to the gills with books. On the shelves and the floor. Myself as a super bookworm, this was paradise. The second level had most my attention since it was mostly the fiction section. The book prices were so-​so. You’ll find some cheap buys and mid to high prices. I found some sun faded manga that I really like, but I’m sure it’s cheaper used on Amazon. I ended up just buying two small paperbacks for 1 $ or $ 1.50 each. Not bad at all. I had a good time visiting Eclipse Bookstore and plan to visit again when in the area.

I wanted to update my review because I have heard complaints about this store’s staff being a little unfriendly. I have to say, my last visit to this store would suggest otherwise. I bopped in on a whim as I was headed to Boulevard Park, and snagged a dollar book of poetry. The man that worked at the counter was so appreciative and friendly, I just had to mention it.

Visited from California and had to visit. It’s a nice used bookstore with an interesting owner. Some might call him weird but those people don’t know bookstore owners. I grabbed a few books and wish I could’ve bought more but be because of time contstraints I could not. I suggest you look at the table next to the door because those the recent trade ins. Besides that all books are alphabatized.

A small but good used bookstore. They have a good selection and are priced nicely.

I buy more books from Eclipse than any other used book seller in Bellingham. They provide a huge variety of rare and wonderful books that I will never find in any other place. Stacks of books everywhere remind me of my parents’ houses! There is a certain odd comfort in that.

Great selection of used books! Staff is helpful and the prices are reasonable. If you consider yourself a book person, then you’ll go hog wild here! (Do pigs read?) I couldn’t help but look through the piles of books off the book shelves. I found what I was looking for and like a typical bibliophile, I found more.

This is my absolute favorite book store in Bellingham or anywhere else. Sure, the place is kind of a mess, but it’s literally overflowing with cool books. Pricing is more than fair, and David, the owner knows where EVERYTHING is. It’s pretty amazing.
Bellingham has a lot of book stores, but this is always the first one (and generally the only one) i visit.

Great local book store, good pricing, way cheaper than village books.
The buyer for the store has zero self control, there are books everywhere, the first time I stopped in I thought they might be moving because of all the chaos and piles of books all over the floor… nope that’s business as usual, and I like it!
Be sure to pop downstairs (if you can find the stairs) and check out the 3 for $ 10.00 table

This store is very poorly organized. Stacks of books clutter the floor around the shelves, making it tricky to navigate the aisles. Furthermore, the sections marked on the shelves are small and hard to read. I couldn’t find any of the books (or even authors) I was looking for, and I gave up after about 10 – 15 minutes of searching. This store has plenty of curb appeal and nice hardwood floors, but these alone are not the makings of a good used bookstore.

I really love Eclipse bookstore. Yes, the store is organized is a not so orderly manner but it makes searching for books an adventure!
I’ve been in the store many times and each time I have left, I usually have 2 – 3 books in my hands.
The owner of the store is very helpful too, so if you have any questions, just ask!
I highly recommend this used bookstore!

About the best bookstore in Bellingham for killing the better part of a rainy Saturday afternoon. I over do it ever time I’m at their 3 for 10 wall of hardbacks… I still have a stack of books on my desk that I need to get through so I can’t go in until I have them read. (my rule, not theirs)

While this bookstore is seriously disorganized (e.g. stacks and stacks of books on the ground), that is also part of it’s charm. While there are other bookstores in Bellingham (and trust me, when I visit each one receives a visit) this is one of my favorites for used books. I usually end up taking at least one really great book home each time I stop in.