Okay, those of you who live near me (Patrick, Mom) know I will not shut up about this website. I heard about PaperBack Swap in a magazine and decided to check it out. Well, it’s genius. Instead of figuring out how to sell my books for pennies on ebay, I now go on this website, punch in the ISBN on the back of my unwanted book, click to post my book, and I’m done. Then I wait for another member to request my book, at which point I use their online postage printer (for a small fee) and print the label right from my computer. Stick it in an envelope, tape the label, and mail the book from my house. Every time you use their system to mail a book, you get an instant credit to get another book from another member. You don’t even have to trade with the same person! You just get a little bank of credits and you can shop the website for whatever you want.
If you want a book that no one has posted, you can add this book to your wish list (and we all know how I heart a wish list) and when it comes available, you get an email asking if you still want it and if you have the credits for it. It will tell you how far down you are on the wish list (right now, I am wishing for some books after 100 other people, but hey… you never know). Once you’re done with the book you receive, it’s yours to keep OR you can just relist it on the site. It’s great for those books you want to read but don’t care to keep, and if you’re like me and want the convenience of the library from the comfort of home. And also… there’s no time limit, unlike the library. I am obsessed. I scoured our shelves today just to find more books to post. It’s addicting! Oh, and then I went through my Amazon list and found all the books I wanted but didn’t really care if I had new-new. I looked up all those books and managed to find like six of them available on PaperBack Swap (that’s PBS for those in the know). Now I don’t have to “waste” my gifts on these books!
I believe you get two free credits for the first 10 books you post, so you can start requesting right away. Obviously older books don’t get requested as quickly, but there’s no harm in posting them. Someone requested a 10 year old Norwegian travel guide from me just last week. Go figure.
If you sign up (which is totally free, by the way), and you love me, sign up through this link (the link, not the icon), and I will get a book credit when you post your first 10 books. And you still get your two credits, so it’s a win-win.
www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?r_by=fsuem@yahoo.com
