Frequently Asked Questions

  1. It comes from people like you! Hundreds of our customers bring in items to sell or trade every day that we are open.

  2. No, we don’t make appointments or take reservations. Items are processed as they come into the store. We stop accepting incoming items 1 hour before closing.

  3. Well, that depends on how busy we are and how many items you brought in. Our highly-trained buyers work hard to evaluate your items as quickly and accurately as possible. We try to process incoming orders in less than an hour. During busy times, it may take longer.

  4. Yes…and No! We want to process everyone’s orders in a timely fashion, so the number of items we can process in a given day from any one customer is limited. You are welcome to bring in larger orders, but you will need to sign a LARGE ORDER RELEASE FORM and leave those items with us. It may take days — or weeks — to process those large orders.

  5. A large order is an incoming order that is too big to be processed while you wait. The Greeter will evaluate the size of your order and the current wait time for processing, then decide whether we can process your incoming order right now.

    We have laundry carts to accommodate large orders. Before you leave your large order with us, you will need to sign a LARGE ORDER RELEASE FORM. Your signature on this form lets us know that you agree to accept our evaluation of your items’ cash and/or trade value. Rejected items from your large order will be put in the free box or recycled; they cannot be returned to you.

    You’ll also need to leave us an address and phone number so we can contact you when your order has been completed. If you’d like, we can mail payment to you.

  6. Unfortunately, yes. We only accept items we feel reasonably sure we’ll be able to sell. There are several reasons we reject items, including:

    • Age Limits — Software and most nonfiction categories are subject to age limits. These vary widely from topic to topic.
    • Condition, Books — We accept books that are in good condition.
    • Condition, Multimedia — We accept scratched and “very scratched” CDs and video games. However, some DVDs and software may be rejected due to condition. We perform a visual check of all audio books and VHS tapes, and reject any that are in poor condition.
    • Condition, Electronic Hardware — All video game components and MP3 players must come with the necessary parts so that we can test them. We only accept hardware that is in good working condition.
    • Free Items — In general, items that come free with purchase or are handed out free by religious groups or other organizations are not accepted.
    • Packaging — Audio books, CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes must be in their original packaging.

    We also do not take:

    • Lab Manuals that accompany specific textbooks or classes
    • Library books — current or discarded
    • National Geographic magazines
    • Reader’s Digest Condensed Fiction
    • Reader’s Digest Magazines
    • Ring-bound books
    • Sets — In most cases, CD, book, audio book, and video sets must be complete in order for us to accept them.
    • Solutions Manuals for specific textbooks
    • Stapled — We are very selective about the stapled material we accept.
    • Study guides for specific textbooks
    • Textbooks, Custom-printed
    • Textbooks, Issued: If there is any writing in the “issued to” box at the front of the book, we will not accept the book.

  7. Unless you had a LARGE ORDER, you can ask for them back when you pick up payment. If you don’t want them, we will put them in the free boxes in front of the store. Reject items for Large Orders are recycled or disposed of as we process the order.

  8. McKay issues trade credit for items brought in by customers. Here are the basics:

    • Credit may be used for anything in the store except gift certificates and new items such as posters. These are cash-only.
    • Trade credits never expire.
    • Once you’ve accepted trade for your items, that trade cannot be converted into cash.
    • We are unable to replace lost trade slips.

  9. Once a year, McKay offers free trade credit to public school teachers in our immediate region. Schools that wish to take advantage of this program should contact the store manager at the location nearest them for additional information.

  10. You can pay for your items with McKay trade credit, or you can opt for a more traditional form of payment. McKay accepts VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Bank Debit Cards, and Checks (with proper id). Cash is nice, too! We do not accept purchase orders.

  11. McKay has a limited return policy for defective electronic items. The policy is posted at the register and printed on the bottom of each receipt. Books are not returnable; they are sold “as is.”

  12. Although our turnover is pretty low, we are always accepting applications. What can we say? McKay is a great place to work! Feel free to visit our news section for up-to-date “help wanted” blog posts — or better yet — subscribe to one of our RSS feeds and you can get all the latest McKay news delivered conveniently to your RSS feed reader.

  13. Yes.  Due to incredibly high volume, we are unable to sell items over the internet or to ship items to our customers. 

  14. Our inventory is constantly changing.  In order to get product out on the shelves as quickly as possible, we do not keep waiting lists, conduct searches for items, or offer price quotes over the internet or phone.