Cheever Books

I am an avid book lover, and this place was a paradise. Well; almost. The old woman that was running the place was very rude. When asked if my brother could use the restroom, she retorted in a snide sort of way that it wasnt for public use. Another customer walked in an asked for a book, And she retorted to look in the shelves for it, because if they had it, they wouldnt bother to order it. The shelves are stocked with books. It would take days to look through them all. The man looked around for a bit and left frustrated. I will not come back to this store because that old woman was very rude. She ruined a beautiful place for me. Ill continue to go to the half-price books down the street. more

Cheever books is everything a book lover could ask for. I continue to find ""jewel"" after ""jewel"" at Cheever Books. I love the home library that Cheever's has helped me build, and I have to say that shopping for each book was a fantastic experience as well. When I go to Cheever's, which is often, here is what I expect to find: 1)One of the best book selections anywhere in the state. 2)A fair price for my books when I am selling. 2)Very reasonable and low prices on all their inventory. They really price books to sell. 3)Great, courteous, and knowledgeable customer. service. It doesnt matter weather John, Marsha, or Cece is working, I know I am in good hands. All three of these people have at least two very important things in common, they love their customers, and they love books! If you love books then come see for yourself. It is a blessing to have a store like Cheever Books right here in San Antonio. more

At first glance, Cheever's Books is a book lover's dream come true. Almost every category imaginable is covered, from literature to sci-fi to humor to biographies; and in each of those divisions are brand-new books intermixed with older editions, up to and including signed first editions. What's more, some of the books on display are rarities themselves-- some titles out of print, others that were barely ever in print to begin with. Unfortunately, the experience ends here. Try and actually do business with the owner of Cheever's and you're setting yourself up for disappointment at best and a creepy, potentially scary experience at worst. The first clue to the owner's mindset is the sign regarding his shoplifting policy. Many small businesses have signs humorously threatening violence against shoplifters or trespassers. Cheever's is the first small business I've encountered that instead has a photo of a bullet-riddled corpse prominently mounted near the door, the dead, wide-open eyes staring blankly into space as a warning against shoplifters. To be fair, the photo is in black and white, and appears to be a newspaper photograph from the days when it wasn't unusual to see a shot-up gangster or outlaw splashed across the front page; but it's still a somewhat disturbing site in a quaint little used bookstore, and serves as a window into the owner's mindset. Recently my wife and I went to Cheever's and she attempted to make a purchase. When the owner gave her the price she offered him her debit card; he refused to take it, and only offered her what I can only describe as a creepy look, just staring at her with something between a scowl and a leer. When she asked if he didn't accept debit cards, he only sarcastically repeated the price of the book and continued staring at her. It was at this point that we realized the price must be below some minimum debit purchase price. Again, I've shopped at many small businesses, and it isn't unusual for them not to accept debit transactions below a certain dollar amount. I understand this; I'd have understood if the owner had simply informed us of this, or if there'd been a sign by the register saying so. Instead, he tried to get into an argument with a woman some thirty years his junior. When we informed him we didn't have any cash, his manner became even more hostile and he (again sarcastically) repeated, ""Don't have any cash!"" It was at this point we made a quick exit from the store. I'm sure that Cheevers does fine business with many customers, since they appear to be thriving and have a rotation of new and used books coming in. Just come with cash-in-hand and a readiness to tolerate incredible creepiness at best and outright hostility at worst. Or, you can go to the Half-Price-Books about a black away, which also has a considerable rare book section; they seem to be doing even better business. I can't imagine why. more

Kind of a catch-22. On one hand, the very atmospheric store is packed to the rafters with just about anything you could imagine: out of print books, rare books, mass market paperbacks, modern releases... A shopper could spend days in the store just lifting up one pile of books to find another tucked behind it. \r \r On the other hand, you may be hard pressed to actually buy anything. That he advertises his shoplifting policy with a black-and-white photo of a bullet-riddled corpse should cue shoppers in to what sort of person runs the place (yes, it is a photo of a real corpse, tacked up near the front door, and yes, it is pretty graphic). On my one (and only) visit, my wife attempted to make a purchase when the owner silently refused to accept her debit card and only gave her a dirty look by way of response. When she asked if he accepted debit, his only response was to sarcastically repeat the price of her purchase. \r \r I realize that many smaller businesses prefer not to accept debit pu more

When I'm in San Antonio, I always make it a point to visit here. They have an excellent selection of classics, first editions, science fiction and fantasy, even foreign-language books. Wonderful place to lose yourself! more

Wonderful bookstore with plenty of time to browse books from every genre and every era. Worth the visit, indeed! more

Cheever's is tucked away off the main street in what looks to be someone's home. Inside are the treasures of a lifetime- books one hasn't seen in years, books that have been all but forgotten.\r Walking through the crowded rooms and looking at the over-stuffed shelves is like visiting old friends, and being introduced to new ones.\r Every time we are in San Antonio, whether for business or just passing through, we stop in just to see what's new. And we always find something we didn't know we needed. more

I am not a big fan of book stores cause the prices a generaly outragous to me. I would rather go to a used book store to purchace books. There are times though if I need a particular book or want to research a certain subject an new book store is my only option. When that time comes Cheever Books is one of the first places I go. They have a real good selection of books and if they don't have what you are looking for they can get it. Compared to most of the other book stores they are very reasonably priced and the staff if always very helpful. As far as book stores go I love this place and will continue to do buisness with them as long as they are around. Check them out you will be glad that you did. more