York Emporium

this place is the best hidden treasure of York PA. at first glance, it looks like a small run down book store. But walk inside and be pleasantly surprised. This place is huge! and there is so much to look at. you can get lost in there for hours, and the best part you are free to brown for as long as you like and no one usually bothers you.

Great place, mostly books, i like ww2 collectibles and toy section. Great, helpfull and joyfull owner. He is well experienced man about lots of things. wish to come again. You must visit the store.

This is one of the best gems of York.
It may look small, but you can spend forever walking around this place. It’s great for quiet afternoons alone, with friends or a date.
You can learn a lot about people by what they read.
The variety of books, records, antiques, and comics are unlimited and the encounters I’ve had with the owner are memorable and friendly!
This place hosts really cool events as well!
Stop in one afternoon and you might see a Jedi! :D

The York Emporium is a literary and artistic oasis away from the grime and bustle of York City. The entrance, with its dark patio and overhang may not seem like much, but like many of these old buildings in York, the looks can be deceiving. Once inside you find yourself surrounded with odd trinkets, toys, and other memorabilia from a bygone era. From an ancient Coca Cola machine to an old juke box your eyes cannot help but wander from spot to spot as your mind struggles to take it all in.
You have your bargain books (though almost everything in this store can be considered to be a bargain), and books of almost every sort you can think of. If Barnes and Noble opened a chain of used book stores, that is how you could imagine the depth of what this store has to offer. From shelf to shelf you can drift, only to come back later and find something else you didn’t notice before. There are even sections containing movies, but this isn’t why you have come here. One of the best sections there however are the music areas. Old records and CDs filled to the brim of old Rock and Roll and Jazz. I personally had my eye on a Duke Ellington Record in its original sleeve with its original sticker prices of 10 cents moving up to 99 cents. These pieces of Classic Americana were for on sale for what seemed to be a lowly $ 20. Alas I do not have a record player yet, but when I do, this will certainly be one of the first places I look.
Back to the books, I bought two sizable novels for $ 8 dollars, and I am sure to find more the next time I go in. The service and help are wonderful and there are plenty of people who would just love to wonder this old place through its aisles gazing at its shelves. Its always worth a visit to go!

2015 update: I’m not changing my rating, but no longer have comic books. Hardcore book lovers, this is still your place, due to the extensive variety.
Of the stops our group made in York, this was one of the most debated in terms of ratings. I think it’s a clear 5, my one friend gave it a 4, and for organization my other friend said they would give it as low as a 3.
First, make sure to plan enough time for the stop. You can easily spend HOURS in the stacks upon stacks of books in here. Don’t come at 5 p.m.; come at 3 p.m. to make sure you have enough time. There are books, books, books, books; did I mention there are more books? I have been to large bookstores and libraries that don’t have the variety this place has. Store also has several shelves of used DVD’s.
The other people in my group felt the organization of the store was rather weak. While the store sections were organized into booth like areas, some were not clearly marked. Some sections did not have prices for items clearly marked so you could not be sure if you were getting a deal or not.
Free onsite parking lot so you don’t have to park on the street and feed the meter. Staff was friendly, knowledgeable, and pleasant to chat with. Stop in and shop for a few hours because it will be worth your time!

This place is the bombdiggity. Tons of used books in nearly any category imaginable spread throughout a building that’s probably 5x larger than you expected when you pulled up. The Emporium also sells all types of vintage, nerdy knick-​knacks and memorabilia ranging from Star Wars and Star Trek wares, long-​forgotten Cold War era board games, and historical artifacts. There’s a record section too. And more. It might sound a bit much, but it’s just wonderfully eclectic. Additionally, Jim, the owner, has a great sense of humor and is always ready to offer complementary coffee, friendly conversation, or assistance finding something. Oh, and there’s a free parking lot… because that in itself is like finding buried treasure, as anyone who’s been to York during the day knows.
Ideally, this is not a place to go if you’re looking to get in and out. The Emporium is loosely organized and intended for browsing and perusing. Numerous seating areas in the store’s nooks and crannies encourage customers to sit down, stay awhile, and enjoy a coffee and the intriguing read you didn’t know you were looking for when you came in.
I encourage college students (yes, you, YCP’ers!) to look for required texts here if edition or translation is not an issue. You’ll get a discount on top of already low prices.
My only consistent problem has been finding secondary texts recent enough to be viable for historical research (most are older than I am), but I’m a grad student with weird needs that only Interlibrary Loan can fulfill. With that considered, The Emporium gets a solid and well-​deserved 5 stars from this girl.

Just checked this place out for the first time and was blown away by it, it’s the best kind of used book store; sprawling and absolutely packed with stuff. A real treasure trove, where you walk in and feel like you could find anything amongst its many nooks and crannies. It’s the sort of place where you could go in with no particular shopping agenda, spend hours exploring, and leave with a big pile of cool discoveries. From what I could tell there’s something here for everyone but it should be especially appealing to those with slightly esoteric tastes — lots of sci-​fi and fantasy, pulp paperbacks and magazines, vintage and antique books, comics, zines, etc. York has some other pretty good used bookstores, but for sheer size, scope, and ambiance, York Emporium sort of blows them away. It’s the real deal. Please check it out if you love to read and live cool old shops like this. It would be a tragedy to see a place like this disappear.

If you like old books, you will love this place. If you like hunting for hidden treasures at yard sales and thrift stores, you will probably like this place too. I adore the York Emporium! Lots of fun to be had rummaging around this huge shop for many types of books and other interesting and kitschy goodies. During one of my visits I bought a rather new Jodi Picoult novel, an old microbiology textbook (with excellent tables and charts as supplemental study material for school), a German language comic book for my German-​major husband, and a few old classics.
My only complaint is that there is little/​no heat in the winter and no A/​C in the summer. We got really hot during one of our summer visits and left sooner than we would have liked due to the heat. But the York Emporium still gets five stars from me!

I agree with the other reviewers, this place is a hidden treasure. I can’t believe I didn’t come here sooner. Off in a side lot off Market Street, the building looks unassuming, but it is giagantic inside!
Aisle upon Aisle of books in this place, not the land of books no one wants either, if you can read and have an interest in anything you will find it here. Tons of out of print gems at pretty reasonable prices, I have visited similar stores in big metropolitian areas and haven’t been nearly as impressed. Plan on spending a fair amount of time browsing, not just books but interesting bric-​à-​brac and whatnots full of cultural and historical worth. Plus they sell used records and CDs.
From a Teddy Roosevelt election button to an original 60’s black light concert poster to 30’s pulp sci-​fi to a black velver Elvis. This is a great find! Just note, I went on a very cold day and it was chilly after looking around for an hour or so, so dress appropriate for the temp outside.

My wife and I go to the York Emporium every time we visit Pennsylvania. There is no end to the books and stuff you will find here. The store has SO many different areas. My favorites are the history section (which has shelves containing books for history buffs of all varieties), the paperback section (if you want a book, they have it) and the Civil War/​other collectible section.
Where else could you buy a pin from an early 1900’s political campaign, a piece of shrapnel from the Civil War, a vintage Atari and The Great Gatsby, all in one stop?
I usually leave the store with at least half a dozen books and usually some other stuff! If you’re in York, go check out the York Emporium!

Easily one of my favorite places in York, PA. We came in here around Christmas time and it was my first time in York. I always try to check out used bookstores whenever I go to a new city, and this one caught my eye. We drove down in the snow and sloshed around a nearly deserted street to find this amazing, amazing store. The guy at the counter (maybe the owner) was kind and offered us tea and hot cocoa. I bought a stack of books and had to hold back from buying any more than I could carry home. I was a little bummed out about York at first because all of my boyfriend’s old haunts (namely the cool coffee places downtown) had either gone out of business or just weren’t open. I’d like to come here in the Spring or Summer and see the city in work, but we didn’t see people walking around at all in all the city blocks we walked through. York Emporium though? A gem. It was kind of cold in the warehouse, but they had all sorts of cool stuff on consignment and a very vast collection of used books at really low prices. It seemed endless! They even had some old newspapers (collectors) and some Civil War/​Military archives and stuff. I’d like to visit there again soon with a bigger backpack on hand.

I discovered this place several years ago when I was attending college in York.
The emporium is quite the eclectic place. It’s more like a book adventure than a shopping experience. The place appears small from the parking lot out front — but looks are deceiving as it is a HUGE warehouse and chock full of books. Prices are bargain basement, and the place can be a little messy so plan on spending some time. At last visit I was there more than an hour.
It’s just a quirky gem. A unique experience every time that I hold dear. If you love books, or are looking for a gift for a book lover — go. You won’t be disappointed.
PS Note they have no ac, and it was very warm on last visit.

This place is the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
Ok, slight hyperbole there, but I am a book-​loving nerd, and have an obsession with old books. I’m a kid in a giant candy store at the York Emporium.
There are a bunch of different areas inside the store which appear to be rented or something by various different people. So there isn’t just one place to find certain genres of books (sci-​fi, classic fiction, etc)…you need to wander through the whole giant wonderful amazing store. But most of the cubbies are well-​marked with the genres it sells.
Most of the books are entirely reasonable, the staff are always helpful, and the whole vibe at the place is old-​skool. You can (and should) spend an hour or more here, but it’s also possible to pop in and out rather more quickly if you’re in search of something specific.

How to start, this is one of the most non commericalized stores ever because you could never find such a amazing couple and cool atmosphere. Think Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium cross it with a 1950’s 5 and dime and Add some couch’s and a Hipster vibe and it would be a type of place that JFK or Jack Kerouac. They have books at reasonable prices on every topic imaginable, and always go in a find more than I was looking for. A true Gem in the City with free parking and great hours!

I agree… If you drove by on Market St, you would miss this place. The front façade is deceptive. This is literally a warehouse of used books and other treasures. Some of the books are overpriced, but if you are looking for something hard to find, it can be found here.

Amazing place full of wonderful treasures — books as far as the eye can see!
Literally (ha ha) the best used book store I have *ever* been in. Neat, tidy, organized, with a thousand treasures waiting to be discovered.
They also offer all kinds of special events, and Thursday nights there are usually Chess tournaments.