The company's original motto is "We buy and sell anything printed or recorded except yesterday's newspaper", and many of the used books, music, and movies for sale in each location are purchased from local residents.

[1][2][3][4] Founders Ken Gjemre (1921-2002) and Pat Anderson opened the first store in 1972 in a former laundromat in Dallas, Texas, filling the shelves with 2,000 books out of their personal libraries.

[10] On July 13, 2023, employees from the four unionized Half Price Books locations in Minnesota began a strike, citing the company's conduct throughout the contract negotiation process.

[10] Half Price Books employees in Greenwood, Indiana won a union election on April 1, 2022, becoming the fifth store in the country to organize with a local United Food and Commercial Workers chapter.

In 2008, Half Price Books launched a formal environmental education initiative called "B(eco)me Green" to help spread knowledge about the health of the environment.

[15] In addition, the chain donates millions of books and its overstock inventory to non-profit organizations around the world such as Feed the Children and American Red Cross.