Bookmans Entertainment Exchange Turns 50 in 2026: The Tucson-Born Buy-Sell-Trade Institution That Started When Bob Oldfather Paid His Father $1 for a Used Bookstore in 1976 — and Now Anchors Two Air-Conditioned Midtown and Northside Stores Right as Tucson's Hottest Months Arrive

Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, the Tucson-born buy-sell-trade store and the largest used-book retailer headquartered in Arizona, reaches its 50th year in 2026 — fifty years after founder Bob Oldfather bought a small used bookstore's inventory from his father for $1.00 in 1976. The company now operates four Arizona stores (Tucson, Mesa, Phoenix, and Flagstaff), including two in Tucson: the east-side flagship at 6230 East Speedway Boulevard (opened 2001, about 27,000 square feet) and the northside store at 4841 North Stone Avenue (opened November 10, 2023, about 22,000 square feet), which consolidated the former Ina Road and midtown-Speedway stores and absorbed roughly 287,000 books, 54,000 DVDs, 12,800 CDs, and 7,400 records. Both Tucson stores run Sunday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Bookmans trades cash or store credit for books, magazines, vinyl, CDs, DVDs, video games, electronics, instruments, and sporting and outdoor gear — and hosts a year-round slate of free community events, with the free Summer Kids Events series back for summer 2026. Here is the May 25, 2026 sourced spotlight for locals and relocation buyers weighing Tucson's independent-retail character.