# Why do most used book and CD stores smell nasty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995 "2005-07-18T17:09:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rpinrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@rpinrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rpinrd)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/21 "2005-07-19T18:58:53Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Whenever I’ve been in a used record store, incense was always burning somewhere. I’ve also _never_ encountered a used record store that didn’t sell incense. Maybe that’s what the OP is smelling? That and patchouli oil, another favorite of one subset of the used book and CD set, at least when I was in school. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/22 "2005-07-19T19:05:59Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Whenever I’ve been in a used record store, incense was always burning somewhere. I’ve also _never_ encountered a used record store that didn’t sell incense. Maybe that’s what the OP is smelling? I’d recognize incense or patchouli oil. The smell in question is definitely some variation on “musty.” Which still makes more sense as a byproduct of used books than used CDs. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/23 "2005-07-19T19:27:21Z")
> [@Interrobang!?](#): > > I’d recognize incense or patchouli oil. The smell in question is definitely some variation on “musty.” Which still makes more sense as a byproduct of used books than used CDs. The used-CD-store smell you notice is not universal. I’ve had the exact opposite experience from you – every used-CD place I’ve been in (four or five in a few separate places in Louisiana and Mississippi) haven’t smelled the least bit funky, musty, or anything. However, the old-bookstore smell is very familiar down here in the land of 95% humidity. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/24 "2005-07-20T04:14:27Z")
Where are all of these used record stores that sell incense?! I’ve been collecting vinyl for 20 years now & have yet to encounter one. Sounds like a 60s/70s phenomenon. Is that something that still happens? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/25 "2005-07-20T05:20:24Z")
There’s a difference between the musty “old book” smell and the smell of mold, which is what I think **Thin Ice** encountered. I also refuse all books with any whiff of mold in my bookstore. Just as that other proprietor said, it will spread quickly to other books, producing not only a magnification of the aroma, but discolored spots on the paper as well. The “old book” smell, on the other hand, I love. I keep all of my oldest books on the shelves right behind my desk in my office so that I can smell them when I’m working. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995.md?page=1)