8 Best Used Bookstores in Singapore (2026)

Singapore's secondhand book trade runs deepest through Bras Basah Complex, the multi-storey 'book city' where several used-book dealers have traded for decades, with further specialists scattered from Orchard Road to hospital lobbies and an antiquarian dealer near Bencoolen Street. This is a different hunt from browsing a mainstream bookshop: stock is one-off, always changing and rarely searchable online, rewarding patient, repeat visits over a single trip. This guide rounds up genuine secondhand and antiquarian specialists, plus two charity-linked stalls, each checked against its own website, social account or recent independent reporting. Treat it as a starting map for a browse, not a strict ranking.

Evernew Book Store began in 1988 as a book-rental shop at Bras Basah Complex, Singapore's long-time secondhand 'book city', before its owners moved into selling books as public libraries expanded. It says it now runs two outlets: the original Bras Basah store and a second branch at Beauty World Centre in Bukit Timah, both stacked with pre-loved fiction, non-fiction, classics and children's titles built up through years of trade-ins. The shop buys used books from the public and holds book fairs; its own site notes it does not accept textbooks, encyclopaedias or magazines. With close to four decades of trading, Evernew is among the longest-running secondhand booksellers in Singapore, and a reliable first stop for anyone new to hunting used books.

Multiple outlets
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Book Point is a family-run secondhand bookseller at Bras Basah Complex, with roots its own history traces back to a shophouse on the old Bras Basah Road, before that stretch was redeveloped. Several independent write-ups describe it as one of the largest stocks of used books in Singapore, spanning literary fiction, non-fiction, academic and religious titles, with a notable range of Singapore literature in English, Chinese, Tamil and Malay. Despite a storefront better known for assessment guides and ten-year series, the shelves inside run deep into general reading for students, researchers and casual browsers alike. It is also listed among the bookstores accepted under the government's SG Culture Pass scheme, a small signal of its standing as an established retailer rather than a fly-by-night stall.

Bras Basah
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GOHD Books is a long-established antiquarian dealer at Burlington Square on Bencoolen Street, trading in leather- and cloth-bound rare books alongside used and out-of-print titles. Its focus spans literature, philosophy, science, history, politics, religion and the classics, plus art and design, aimed more at collectors than casual bargain-hunters. Unusually for a bookshop, it also hosts small classes in classical languages, including Latin, Greek and Sanskrit, taught in a room at the back of the store. It keeps short hours, trading only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and says it ships worldwide for collectors who cannot visit in person. This is a destination for a specific find rather than everyday reading, so check social accounts before visiting.

Bencoolen
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Hungry Traveller is a tightly themed antiquarian bookstore at Bras Basah Complex, built around a single obsession: food and travel. Its owner, known to regulars as Peter, stocks vintage and antique cookbooks, exploration journals dating from the 1700s to the 1900s, military histories and signed first editions, alongside ephemera such as old maps, postcards, menus and travel labels. The store also lists inventory on rare-book marketplaces including AbeBooks and Biblio, putting its stock in front of collectors well beyond Singapore, and it has built an Instagram following in the tens of thousands. For anyone collecting culinary or travel history, rather than hunting cheap paperbacks, this is a far more specific stop than the complex's general dealers, and one that rewards a slow, unhurried browse.

Bras Basah
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Book Treasure is a husband-and-wife-run secondhand bookstore on the atrium level of Parklane Shopping Mall, trading for more than two decades. Regulars describe the pair as knowing their own stock inside out, guiding customers through cartons of fiction, non-fiction, parenting titles, comics, graphic novels and back issues of magazines such as National Geographic. Books are said to be individually wrapped and kept in notably clean condition for a secondhand shop, with a range that spans genres broadly rather than specialising in one. It keeps posted opening hours but has a reputation among regulars for occasionally opening late or closing without notice, so allow some flexibility if making a special trip. It suits browsers after variety and a personal touch rather than a narrow specialist collection.

Parklane Shopping Mall
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Books Beyond Borders is a social enterprise bookstore on Erskine Road in Chinatown, selling secondhand titles it describes as near-mint alongside rarer vintage finds. It says the business began as a Carousell store reselling used books and grew from there, with profits now supporting girls' education in Nepal, a model it frames as more sustainable than relying on donations alone. Alongside books, it stocks handmade pouches and bags it says are crafted by Nepalese artisans, including mothers of the students the enterprise supports. The shop accepts secondhand book donations from the public and offers doorstep pickup for larger drop-offs, feeding its own shelves in turn. It pairs a genuine secondhand bookshop with a clearly stated social mission.

Chinatown
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Dignity Mama is a network of small secondhand bookstalls run by Project Dignity, a social enterprise, inside the lobbies of several public hospitals rather than in a conventional retail unit. It says the stalls are staffed by young adults with special needs alongside their caregivers, selling preloved books and toys donated by the public as a way of building basic retail and entrepreneurial skills. Kiosks have operated at hospitals including Khoo Teck Puat, Sengkang General, Ng Teng Fong General and Changi General, though a given location can change, so it is worth checking before a special trip. Stock is a general, donation-driven mix rather than a curated collection, and buying here supports a training programme as much as a bookshelf.

Multiple outlets
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Ana Book Store is a veteran secondhand bookshop on an upper floor of Far East Plaza, widely described as the last used-book store left in the Orchard Road area. It is run single-handedly by an elderly proprietor, with no website or social media account, so a visit or a phone call is the only way to check on stock or hours. Despite the usual cramped, dusty secondhand-shop image, visitors often note the shop is unusually clean, well-lit and tidily arranged, stacked with fiction, non-fiction and vintage comics from past decades. Its survival in one of Singapore's priciest retail districts, long after other used-book dealers left the area, makes it something of a landmark for browsers who remember it from years past.

Orchard
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