North Bend resident builds online bookstore with trade format

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 14, 2026

At Goodhaven Books, all books are worth a read — and another read after that.

The new online shop sells used books, but with a twist: customers get credits for sending in their used books, which can then be directly applied to purchasing more books. This format allows for books to obtain more value to the owner, according to founder Trevor Smith, a North Bend resident.

Smith, a lover of reading, wanted the option to send his used books to a good home while still getting something in return. Sure, he said, you can donate books to thrift stores or trade them to a used bookstore for a few bucks, but “that seemed like I was getting ripped off a bit.”

“You know, $25 for a book, and now you’re giving it away for $1 because once you get the contents, the value drops,” he said.

Now, those who love reading physical books can send them into Goodhaven for credit by creating an account at goodhavenbooks.com.

The idea for a service like Goodhaven first came to Smith years ago, but right around the same time, Amazon launched its first Kindle e-reader. Smith put the idea on the backburner, assuming a business based on physical books wouldn’t be a smart move.

“And then it just popped up again over the last couple years, and I thought, ‘Oh, wow, books didn’t go away,’” he said. “This problem still exists. [With] technology, it’s even easier for me to launch this now. Why not give it a shot?”

Smith is the only employee of Goodhaven. He has spent months collecting, photographing and writing descriptions for about 200 books of various genres, fiction and nonfiction.

It goes without saying that Smith wants the business to be successful, but he considers it a “micro business” currently and doesn’t expect it to ever be massive.

“The goal of this isn’t to build some billion-dollar business,” he said. “It’s to scratch an itch, in a lot of ways.”

However, Smith does hope the business grows enough that he can bring someone else on board to help out. He is an entrepreneur at heart, always dreaming up new concepts that he would like to pursue in the future.

Previously, Smith and his wife built a bottled cold brew company called Secret Squirrel, which they have since sold to a nationwide tea packing company.

Secret Squirrel was far from Smith’s first venture — the first was his independent paper route when he was 11.

“[Secret Squirrel] was the first one that was really publicly successful, but I’ve been an entrepreneur since I could maybe write,” Smith said.

After selling Secret Squirrel, Smith eventually started working for a snack company in California, which he still does part time while focusing on Goodhaven. It’s a good balance for him, but at his heart, he’s a business owner.

“If Goodhaven works and works well, then I’ll hire someone to come on and have a stake in the business and help grow it,” he said. “And then do that for the next concept and the next concept, and on from there.”

For today, Smith is just trying to spread the good word about Goodhaven.

“What I like about how I built this thus far, is that if we have one customer or 1,000 customers, they get the same experience,” he said. “But I’m still waiting for that first customer.”