LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Metro Detroit's biggest and best used book and media sale kicked off today at Laurel Park Place in Livonia.
This year kicks off the 19th edition of Bookstock with deals on over 400,000 used books, DVDs, Vinyl, and CDs.
Attending for the first time, Val Askew's bag was already filled with merchandise in under 45 minutes.
With merchandise refreshed daily, Bookstock has something for everyone. And the best part, most of them are under $3.
"It's all about literacy, it's all about books, and I'm a retired English teacher, and it's all about helping kids have access to quality materials," said Bobbi Gutman, Bookstock volunteer.
Gutman has been volunteering for the event for over 15 years. In fact, she is one of the more than 600 volunteers that are helping to make the weeklong event a success.
"It's all volunteer-driven, and everything goes back to literacy. From scholarships to writing contests to poetry slams, it fills the gamut," said Gutman.
Since its inception, Bookstock has donated nearly $3 million. But it's also a place for folks like Adrienne Lanivich, who's looking to make some serious cash.
"Right now, I'm scanning some books. I have a little scanner on my finger right now and it catches the barcode and ISBN on the back of the book. It tells me it's a book that's going to sell on Amazon or not," said Lanivich.
This is Adrienne's first day assisting her 24-year-old son Jonathan, a professional book scanner who goes by the name of Johnny Flips on social media.
"I got about three boxes of books here. People can make out pretty good. There are probably a couple of hundred-dollar books here. Its not uncommon to find a $100 book. It's competitive and a lot of people do it," said Jonathan.
Askew's advice for regular folks looking to make the most of Bookstock is to "bring a bag!"
April 30 is the last day. On May 1, local nonprofits can take any remaining books for free.
For more information, head to https://www.bookstockmi.org.
