A friend just asked for advice on places to look for used books in the greater Durham area. Here is what I told her. (Note: this is not a comprehensive list, just the places I've found that I like enough to return to semi-regularly.)

In Durham, my favorites are:

Nice Price Books, 811 Broad St
Books Do Furnish a Room, 1809 W Markham Ave

In Chapel Hill/Carrboro:

The Bookshop, 400 W Franklin St
Skylight Exchange, 405-1/2 West Rosemary Street
Nice Price Books, Carrboro Branch, 100 Boyd Street

But if you're looking for something specific on the used book market, the internet is probably your best bet: www.bookfinder.com and www.addall.com are metasearch sites that will return listings from thousands of booksellers. If you're looking for something relatively common, the savings on price is likely to make up for the expense of shipping, and if you're looking for something rare, this can be the only way to find it.

Happy Hunting! (And let me know if you stumble across any other used bookstores that should be on my list.)