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A good used bookcase has shelves that don't sag, a depth that fits your books, and a way to fix it to the wall. Solid wood and modular systems like String last forever and resell well, while particleboard units are best bought assembled and close by. Measure your wall and your biggest books before you look.
Most paperbacks need about 20 cm of depth, hardbacks and art books 25-35 cm. An IKEA Billy is 28 cm deep, a Kallax 39 cm, which is good for records and boxes but wastes space on paperbacks. Shelf height of 25-30 cm fits most books; adjustable shelves give you room for large formats.
If the unit is also a room divider, check that it looks good from both sides and has no back panel, or a finished one.
Measure the wall too, including skirting boards, sockets and radiators. A 40 cm deep Kallax in front of a radiator blocks heat, and many older Dutch houses have walls that aren't quite straight, so leave a centimetre or two of space.
Long shelves sag under books. Particleboard shelves start to bow on spans over about 80 cm, and a sagging shelf rarely straightens again. Look along each shelf at eye level in the listing photos or in person. Solid wood and metal shelves sag less. A bowed shelf can be flipped or replaced with a cut board from a hardware store, so it is a reason to negotiate, not always to walk away. Thicker shelves (25 mm or more) and shelves with a metal or solid wood front strip hold up much better than thin 16 mm board.
Any bookcase taller than about 1 metre should be fixed to the wall, because a full one can tip forward. Most come with a strap or bracket; for Dutch walls you need the right plug for brick, concrete or plasterboard. A loaded 2 metre bookcase weighs well over 100 kg, so empty it fully before moving.
Tall units like a Billy at 202 cm need a van if they stay assembled. Modular systems like String and Ivar come apart in minutes and fit in a car.
Dutch listings use boekenkast, open kast, vakkenkast (cube shelf), wandkast and roomdivider. Brand names like String, Pastoe and Montana help a lot. On vindje.com you can ask for a solid wood bookcase at least 30 cm deep and no wider than 100 cm, and it checks measurements in the listing text so you don't have to.
Prices for IKEA bookcases are low and fixed by how easy they are to get new. Design systems are the opposite: a String set with the right panels sells quickly and often for a good share of the new price, so expect less room to haggle there.
| Item | Typical asking price |
|---|---|
| IKEA Billy 80x202 | EUR 15-40 |
| IKEA Kallax 4x4 | EUR 30-70 |
| Solid wood bookcase | EUR 50-250 |
| String shelf set, a few shelves | EUR 100-450 |
| Pastoe or Montana cabinet | EUR 150-600 |
Rough Marktplaats asking prices in the Netherlands. Condition, age and season move them a lot.
Describe what you want in your own words and vindje.com searches Marktplaats in Dutch, then reads every listing and keeps only the real matches. For example:
Solid wood bookcase, 30 cm deep, max 100 cm wide and 200 cm high, adjustable shelves, under 150 euro, within 15 kmSearch Marktplaats like this
About 20-25 cm for paperbacks and novels, 30-35 cm for art books and large hardbacks. Billy is 28 cm deep.
Keep spans under about 80 cm on particleboard, use solid wood or metal shelves, or add a support in the middle. Flip a lightly bowed shelf.
Yes for anything taller than about 1 metre. A full bookcase can tip forward, especially if children climb it.
Usually yes. String parts are standard, easy to extend and hold their value, so you can resell them later.