Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion
paperbackswap.com
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I am a member there, and have found some stuff I've enjoyed reading. However, overall the selection is strongly geared toward a more mainstream audience.
I'm a recent member, and so far no complaints. I've managed to complete my collection of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter mysteries, and found a couple of SF books that I wanted. A nice feature is that the site will automatically tell you if somebody has posted a book on your Wish List.
I have been a member of paperbackswap.com since 2005 and found the majority of traders send books promptly and in good condition.I love the Wish List, convenient wrappers, printable postage and ability to buy credits.
Many of the titles I received from PBS are hard to find, out of print and unusual books that I'd never expect to find there.
It's a great site!
I love PBS.com. I have "swapped" a lot of books and received some in return. I like it when I want a book but do not neccessarily want to by it. I have saved some money too.
Is it like a library where you have to send the book back? Or if you get it & love it, can you keep it?? I've heard of this through some other folks here on Goodreads, but I haven't had time to really check it out. Every year I end up donating a ton of books to the local library for their annual book sale or to the local church for their books sale (because I have made out big time at the latter in recent years & feel I must give back for the good finds I've been lucky enough to get.) However trading them for something specific I want sounds like a great idea too! Those of you who use it, please give more details of how it works...is it expensive? Is it fast? Have you ever been ripped off??
I love paperbackswap.com. I can get rid of the books I don't want and now I have a pile of about 30 books to read. It isn't like a library, once you send a book to someone, you're never going to see it again. You start with posting 10 books, and each book is worth a credit. So the more books that are requested of you, the more books you can get from other people.
The one downside I would have to admit to is the lack of popular books. If you want anything like The Kite Runner, or Eat Pray Love, expect to be in line for months at a time. If you search for a book, it will tell you how many people have it on their wish list.
I have never gotten ripped off, and it isn't expensive. It is $2.13 to send a book to someone, but someone else will cover that cost to send a book to you. Also, you can buy credits for about 3 something, which basically means you just got a book for 3$ instead of 8.95 at B&N or Borders.
Depending on where you live, books generally come fairly quickly. Keep in mind that this is Media Mail, though. If you go to the website it will give you a tour on how the process works. It's not for everyone, but I had a lot of books to get rid of, so it is working out for me.
Happy Reading!
When you first join PBS and post your 10 books, you receive two free credits. Currently, the site is free but members may eventually get asked for $10 or $20 yearly membership fee. I've been surprised on a few occasions with popular wish list books and found I've waited only weeks instead of months. If the books are popular many copies will be listed and wishers may not have to wait that long.
Buying credits is definitely a good deal and an option I've used when I'm short on credits. Now, I've got so many books at home that I can afford to sit on credits and save them for my wish list.
Out of 383 books I've received, maybe 4 or 5 or so were in poor enough condition that I couldn't repost them. And only three were lost in the mail.
Thanks for all the info, everyone! Just the kind of stuff I like to know before I try something new out. I think I'm going to have to check it out!!
This sounds great, thanks for sharing, I am going to check it out!
Wow! Even though I have been a happy member of PBS for sometime it never occured to me to buy credits. The only other issue I have is with popular books that you post (i.e. The Corrections) so many other people have posted it that your book may never be requested. Did that make sense? Overall, I love the idea of it and have received so many books via that way.
I try to find out ahead of time what books are coming out this year and post them on my wishlist before they are published so it some cases I have a really low number on the waiting list (Like in the top 20). I also belong to bookmooch.com where they seem to have smaller waiting lists and it is first come first serve when someone posts a books you want. Sometimes I havemissed a book but other times I have gotten it much faster than PBS. I have also gotten several ARC of books that haven't come out yet that were on my wishlist on PBS. This is also a great way to get rid of books.
I just started trading books through PaperBackSwap and Swaptree.
They are both easy to set up with basic information and email confirmation. Both are also easy to use, with book listing done by ISBN number. (Though I haven't tried any of the paid services. I just have the basic free accounts.)
Swaptree:
more new, popular, and trade-size books
you can also swap for CDs, DVDs, and video games
you decide what you trade, when and with whom
books are rated by condition
members are rated by number of trades and feedback
categories are easier to navigate
PaperBackSwap:
you list your book and when someone wants it, you get a notice to mail it out
you accrue points wich you can then use to order books (I got three starter points for listing the first ten books.)
popular/newer/better books are available when your name gets to the top of the want list
books must meet minimum condition requirements
will generate a wrapper for you to print out (though the suggested postage is not always accurate)
At the postage cost of $2-$3 per trade, either service is a bargain for book buyers. For me, I like the greater control offered by Swaptree.
They are both easy to set up with basic information and email confirmation. Both are also easy to use, with book listing done by ISBN number. (Though I haven't tried any of the paid services. I just have the basic free accounts.)
Swaptree:
more new, popular, and trade-size books
you can also swap for CDs, DVDs, and video games
you decide what you trade, when and with whom
books are rated by condition
members are rated by number of trades and feedback
categories are easier to navigate
PaperBackSwap:
you list your book and when someone wants it, you get a notice to mail it out
you accrue points wich you can then use to order books (I got three starter points for listing the first ten books.)
popular/newer/better books are available when your name gets to the top of the want list
books must meet minimum condition requirements
will generate a wrapper for you to print out (though the suggested postage is not always accurate)
At the postage cost of $2-$3 per trade, either service is a bargain for book buyers. For me, I like the greater control offered by Swaptree.
I may have to look these up as well..I have been using BookMooch for over a year with great success...I love it!!! but I cannot compare it with either of these as I haven't yet tried them..I know that on BookMooch I have had great luck..and as one person said it is a first come first serve basis, which works well as long as you check your emails often...sometimes it is gone w/in seconds...lol...but I have been able to get quite a variety of books, which is nice..I have about 5 that I have to send out this weekend...
I went and checked out Bookmooch and within a few hours I had requests for the books I have posted. I am eager to send them out, but I am curious to know if it works in the same way as PBS.com.
Jo- There are some slight differences between PBS and bookmooch,1, with PBS you don't get credit for the transaction until the other party marks that they have received the book. Only exception to that is if you buy your postage throught them on line. Bookmooch gives you credit as soon as you accept the transaction.
2. With bookmooch you get .1 pt for every book you post in your inventory and you get another .1 pt when you get a book and mark it received.
3. PBS with the wishlist you are assigned a number when you ask for a book not in stock. Bookmooch puts your name on a waiting list and when that book is posted who ever requests it first at the time of posting gets it. There are advantages to both ways. On bookmooch I have responded to a book offering before people who were already on the list and I got it but it can happen in reverse and someone else can get it before me. On PBS I always know what # I am on the waiting list.
4. For really popular books PBS uaually has longer waiting lists but more books are offered on that site.
Hope this helps and I belong to both.
I've belonged to bookmooch for about 3 months & I love it. Very satisfied.
I belong to both bookmooch and PBS too and I love BM way more. BM has many more hard to find book from what I've seen and the number of books is astounding. You can't but credits on Bm but from what I've sene you should never have to. If you have at least ten books to list and you buy books at least sometimes, (bookstore, yard sales, library, wherever) you'll never be at a lose for credits. I think I have almost a hundred at the moment and I couldn't even find 100 books I want to read right this second. I'm staying with PBS because of how they do their wishlist and because I was with them first. Their wishlist goes in order of who wishlisted it first so if you're a top number you have a good chance of getting the book. BM is first come first serve, you get an email and if you're quick enough then you have it. I like the feedback aspect also. PBS does the first two credits free and may charge in the future and BM is saying they'll never charge and you get a tenth of a point for EVERY book you list and for every book you mooch that you mark received. You can't beat that!
paperbackswap.com and bookmooch.com are the BEST!!!
"If you're an avid reader, you may really love paperbackswap.com. All you have to do is choose a book you'd like to read from a list and you'll receive it in the mail.
At the same time, you list the books you want to get rid of. When someone requests to read it, all you have to do is pop it in the mail. You will have to pay for postage, but it's usually around $2.13."