Sandcastle Used Books

Huntington Beach, United States

3.1

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 714-847-9944
Website:
www.booksatsandcastle.com
Address:
16582 Gothard St Unit E, Huntington Beach, CA, 92647
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
3 mi172
3.1 mi33
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
No
By Appointment Only
No

Today

Today –
Local time (Huntington Beach) 12:59 AM Monday, June 23, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Having been in the Used and Rare Book business since 1992 with experience in the book trade since 1979 assures our customers great customer service, product knowledge and quality merchandise! We our a general Used and Rare bookstore having both Paperbacks and Hardbacks. About 40% of our store is devoted to first editions, signed books and limited editions. We also carry collectibles and antiques, vintage and modern jewelry and inspiration gifts. We are buyers for quality stamp collections. We take in Books as a credit towards other books in our store. We also sell books on tape, both in audio and cd. We carry a small selection of videos, dvds and music cds. We offer layaways, gift certificates and most charge and debit cards.

History

Established in 1992.

Having started part time in the book business since 1979 it was the passion of the present owner, Randy Mc Donald to own his own bookstore. We opened in 1992 in Huntington Beach in a 900 square foot store to where we are today in Huntington Beach with over 2600 square feet in an easy parking facility on Gothard street (Suite E&F) North of Warner and just south of Heil street. We have been at this location since 1994 and have grown to add antiques and collectible and the quality of the selections has also grown to offer high quality books and antiques. Our Bargain Corner is also popular with our customers where books are offered from .69 cents to $ 3.99. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support in this unstable time in our economy!

Meet the Business Owner

Randy M.

Business Owner

Hi, I’m Randy Mc Donald. I have been involved in the book trade since 1979 and have been an bookstore owner since 1992. I’m an Air Force Vet having been both a medic and later after my service to my country, an Optician for over 8 years. I’m now single and do have two children. I also care give for my 92 year old mother so I keep busy! I have a good general knowledge of collectibles and antiques and well as my expertise in the book market. I also have experience in both stamps and coins. I’m an intelligent, caring individual who values his customers and friends, family.

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20 reviews of Sandcastle Used Books

No registration required
Place rating: 1
Irvine, CA
This place is closed down. eviction… On door. Wish someone would of said something before ppl drive here! So EVERYONE ITS CLOSED.
Place rating: 5
Garden Grove, CA
I love this book store! They have books on books and books! Make sure you dig hard because you’ll never know what you will find.
Ask the owner about the books because he seems to know his stuff.
Place rating: 3
Cypress, CA
You don’t see many independent bookstores around anymore. Sandcastle has rows full of books in various conditions. I think the prices are a bit high for some of the books, but it doesn’t bother me too much if I find the right one.
Go inside and see if you could find something that interests you
Note: Be wary because Sandcastle feels like you are surrounded by books, but in a suffocating kind of way.
Place rating: 5
Hayward, CA
This place is a little eccentric, which is exactly why I loved it. The guy is a hoarder of books, and the whole place is organized chaos. You can tell he has more books than he knows what to do with, but they still have enough order to them to go searching. Not really the best place to go if you are looking for a specific book, but for a treasure hunter like myself it’s a blast to look through what he’s got and hoard some books for myself.
Place rating: 1
Huntington Beach, CA
How does this store stay in business? It’s 11:15 and it’s still not open. Second and last time I try coming to this store. Also another car was next to me waiting and they just left. Very poor business management! Man I would love to have a book store business. Advice to owner get with it!
Place rating: 1
Westminster, CA
Didn’t like this place.
Crowded, hot, disorientating.
The books aren’t even cheap! They’re only about a dollar or three off retail cost, which is just weird to me. Also a lot of the older books are hiked up at a cost that is obscene and not even correct.
There’s a lot of random «antiques» too but I don’t trust the prices or the stock to be genuine. The cashier was friendly, and very chatty, but I just didn’t like the vibe of the store. It felt like the walls were closing in and you almost trip over all the books everywhere.
Unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, I wouldn’t suggest this place.
Place rating: 1
Huntington Beach, CA
I’ve tried going to this establishment twice now, each within a week apart, once around 11:15 am and again at 11:55 am. Door locked, CLOSED sign placed just under their Hours. Looks like it might be interesting inside, but I’m too peeved to try again. Sandcastle, you’ve lost my business.
Place rating: 3
Westminster, CA
a little over priced for the condition i got my book for.
Place rating: 4
Westminster, CA
A friend introduced me to this shop in high school, and after all these years, this little Sandcastle is still standing tall.
Back in the day, there was no
, and Amazon was barely a babbling babe. We either got our used books at Huntington Central Library or second-​hand stores. Sandcastle was a gem.
Driving by today, I was delighted to see that this place has weathered the storm of Barnes & Noble, online shopping, and digital books. Its open doors still led to an interior stacked high with bound pages.
Having stopped by 2 other used booked stores in the past month with no luck, I was able to snatch a copy of Dan Brown’s newest novel ”Inferno” here. After I lamented that Dan Brown takes forever and a day to come out with a new book, the owner recommended James Rollins and Preston & Child which I may try in the future.
The paperback I bought, in like-​new condition, was a little under $ 7 with tax. Not a steal, but comparable to
for the same condition with shipping, minus the wait and worry of lost mail.
With so many methods to get a hold of reading materials nowadays, it may be years before I drop by this bookstore again. However, I do hope that Sandcastle will outlive the typical fate of its namesake.
Place rating: 5
Irvine, CA
Great place to buy used books! I have been in a couple times and usually find the books I’m looking for. If they don’t have a book I want, Randy is extremely helpful and will keep an eye out for the books you want; you just need to check back in with him. They have a huge selection to choose from and the books are in great condition. I highly recommend stopping by and if you’re concerned about them not being open, just call and check :)
Place rating: 3
Huntington Beach, CA
If you’re looking for first editions, rare titles, special prints, then this is a good place to browse. If you want an inexpensive copy of a bestseller, you might be turned off.
The store is well organized into many different genres which is nice. And there are enough books crammed in this store to keep you occupied for hours.
But common and popular titles that go for $ 1-​$ 3 at a thrift store or swap meet are priced around $ 6-​$ 14 here. They are justified charging more because they don’t receive donations or have non profit status, and they have more overhead than the swap meets. But the price difference is still a bit too high for me.
The owners are very knowledgeable in their field, and you can tell they have a lot of pride in the books they sell. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially since Prehistoric Pets is right next door, and visiting that place is always a blast.
Place rating: 5
Stanton, CA
What a find! I wandered in while waiting for my car to be worked on nearby. Huge selection. I wandered a round for an hour but could have spent all day. Next time I will come prepared with a list of books because I know they will have what I am looking for.
Place rating: 5
Aliso Viejo, CA
This was a wonderful find with a wide selection of old, classic literature. If you’re looking for a place full to the brim with books (and thus possibilities), check this place out.
Place rating: 5
Norwalk, CA
Love the smell of an old book store! This store had a enormous selection of old books that I remembered from my child hood! The owner was friendly and very passionate about the books! Went in with a friend who bought some great children’s book, look forward to going back and buying some old books to pass down to my kids! This place is a gem!
Place rating: 5
Costa Mesa, CA
BEST used bookstore in Southern California by far. The owner is very nice and helpful. His prices are great and selection is amazing. Highly recommend!
Place rating: 1
Orange County, CA
Everything is overpriced and there is literally no space for walking.
Place rating: 1
Anaheim, CA
To add to this review — the selection in this shop is varied and the pricing and display is of most concern. After siding through the haphazardly jumbled mountains of books; I finally found something of interest. And the price? $ 25 for something I’ve sen online for $ 3. The owner had no interest in trying to strike a deal. And his reply «I’m a professional dealer; I’ll get that price.» Yeah he will, from someone ridiculous enough to pay that amount; and adding in the other factor of whether he’s even open. After driving by, waiting, and returning again and again after almost a year; we finally stepped foot into this shop. We too came during posted hours, and never saw this shop open.
If you want to pay outrageous pricing for used books, be my guest. But take my advice, don’t bother.
*Update* That book that the «professional» wanted $ 25 dollars for… yeah, just found it for $ 1 at the City Swap Meet! I’m so happy!!!
Place rating: 1
Westminster, CA
This place is terrible. It’s barely organized. The front of the store just has books in stacks on the floor. And the books are way over priced. 10 dollars for a used copy of dune by Frank Herbert? Ridiculous. If you’re a collector then he does have some rarer books but if you are just looking for something second hand to read then avoid at all costs. Try the BookOff at Westminster Mall.
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
Posted hours begin at 11am. I showed up at 11:15 to find a big «closed» sign in the window, and upon closer inspection saw the «hours may vary ½ hour up or down» disclaimer scrawled at the bottom. Alright, so I can safely assume you’ll be here and open by 11:30, right? Nope. I waited around until 11:45, watched eight other customers come, wait, give up and go… then finally left myself.
If you don’t take your business seriously, no one will. And before the «mom and pop» cops jump all over me, don’t try to tell me that unreliable hours are the nature of small businesses. As an employee, I have to show up to work on time… as a business owner you may have the *luxury* of maintaining flexible hours at your customers’ expense, but it is not the «nature of small business.» You could find a way to make sure your shop is open at regular, posted hours every day, if it were a big enough priority.
While it’s entirely a shop owner’s prerogative to show up late or not at all, there should be no surprise if they disappoint would-​be customers in the process… and no surprise if it affects their Unilocal (or other) ratings. And it will most definitely hurt your revenue. Sometimes I hesitate to review in cases like this, since I never even made it inside the shop, but I did have an experience with the shop and it was not great.
My schedule has me down in this area with time to kill periodically for the next few months, so I’ll probably stop in again — hopefully next time I’ll find it open. If I do, and my experience overrides this low rating, I’ll update accordingly.
Place rating: 4
Santa Ana, CA
This place is a total fire hazard, but if you are not claustraphobic, then you will love it.
Also, one of the few places that takes trade-​ins for store credit.
There are way too many books piled up next to the entrance however. There is not enough space for two people to walk in and out of the store.