I’ve had quite a few members ask me about the book swapping sites I frequently talk about and I’ve promised several of them that I would post something to explain it all. I currently belong to three different book swapping sites. They’re similar in may ways—you list the books you have available to trade, you list the books you’d like to get (a wishlist), and then you ship books to others when they request them, and get books mailed to you. The only fee at any of the sites is the cost you spend to mail the books to others. You pay nothing for the books you receive or for them to be mailed to you, and nothing to belong to the club. So basically it costs you an average of about $2.23 (less for small books and more for large books….basic books are $2.23)
In other ways the three of them differ quite a bit. So I will try to describe the three I belong to and the pros and cons of each. Please post questions here in the forum as others will probably have some of the same questions you might. If you join through the links I provide here I will get a credit for it. If you don’t join through the link but join later and use me as your referral I will also get a credit. My nickname at all 3 sites is the same as here…..aliadam. If you prefer I can send you an email invitation if you provide me with your email address via PM. (don’t post your email address here on the forum).
PAPERBACKSWAP
This is the first site I joined and by far the largest. It is also the one I think is ran the smoothest. As mentioned above, you list the books you have available to trade and list the books you want and then just sit back and wait!! They will email you when someone requests your books and when any of your wishlist books of yours are available for you to request. For each book you trade you will receive a credit that you can then use to order books you want. When you first join, they will give you 2 credits to order books. They also have a “separate” CD swapping site on there where you list CDs to trade, etc. but the books and CD’s are not interchangeable….i.e. you cannot trade a book for a CD.
They use what is called a FIFO system….first in, first out. So basically it’s a fair system where you “get in line”. So if you’re wishlisting a very popular new release book, there may be several hundred people in line in front of you for the book. But you will “eventually” get the book once it gets down to your turn. Your wishlist will tell you where you are in line. For example it will say 2 of 25 meaning you’re second in line now and a total of 25 people are waiting. Likewise if you list a book that lots of people have listed to trade, your book will get in line, and once all of theirs are requested yours will be requested. So some books you list may get requested right away if they’re newer and more popular books, but eventually most books WILL get requested from you. I’ve had books listed as available for over a year and then suddenly my turns comes up and someone requests it from me. Same with requesting…if I request a popular newer book I may have to wait a while, but eventually it will come to me.
PROS of PAPERBACKSWAP:
#1. It’s LARGE. So most books you want you can eventually find in the system. Plus if you’re offering less well known books you may have a better chance of someone requesting them.
#2. It’s fair. The FIFO system insures that “eventually” you’ll get the books you want and trade away the books you’re done with.
#3. It’s VERY smoothly ran. You get email notifications of everything, so once you sign up all you really have to do is wait to get an email.
CONS of PAPERBACKSWAP:
#1. It’s LARGE. While this can be a positive in the number of books offered and requested, it also makes the site quite impersonal…at least to me. There are discussion forums where you can ask for suggestions for a certain type of book etc. but I don’t usually use them. This will not be a con for you if you are like me and just want to trade books and not belong to a “community”.
#2. You don’t have any control over the condition of the book you receive. There are minimum guidelines for the condition books must be to trade, but beyond that it’s just a “surprise” when you get the book. Most books I receive look almost new, but there’s no guarantee to that.
To explore the site and possibly join, follow the link below:
PaperBackSwap.com - Online Book Club offers Free Books When you Trade, Swap or Exchange books
It includes info on how the club works and a sign up link. Remember there is NO COST to join. So check it out.
FRUGAL READER
Frugal Reader was the second site I joined. It is the one I mention most here, because it does have more of a “community” feel to it. It is MUCH smaller with all the pros and cons that come with that. Again you list books you have available to trade and make a wishlist of books you want. It doesn’t really use a FIFO system. You are in line in the order you put books on your wishlist, but the system doesn’t notify you of a book available except once a day. So if someone else sees the book before you, even though you’ve been waiting for it longer they can request the book before you know it’s available. When listing your available books it will go into a list of that book available. So when people click on a book they want, they may see 5 people that have it listed. They will be listed in order, but they can select any of them they want to order. So usually they’ll select based on the listed condition or people they know. So even though your book has been listed the longest it may not be selected.
There are other differences also. You do describe the condition of your book so everyone knows what condition the book they’re ordering is in. Plus you can adjust the value of what you’re listing your book for…..I guess like a fair market system. So for instance if you’re listing a new really popular book you can list it for more than the default credit value (1 for paperbacks, 2 for hardbacks). I’ve traded some of the Stephenie Meyer books for example for 5 credits. You can also trade ARCs (advanced reader copies). You have to noteit when describing your book’s condition, but most people like ARCs since they’re new books. So I’ve gotten many books to read before they’re ever released and since I get lots of ARCs I can trade them here whereas I can’t on the other sites.
It’s also the one that has by FAR the most “community” feel to it. Theyhave the games and auctions I frequently refer to. Remember the game that I asked for help with the hints of what was going into the box? Well that was a game on this site. Also when my DD was going to Quebec, I posted to see if anyone had any of her wishlist books for her to take since it was such a long bus trip. Well I had numerous people offer to let her look over their listed books and just select any of them she wanted for free. And I had people send her snacks and game books and small toiletries etc for her to take with her. They tend to be very generous people. I ended up doing a contest to reward the people who sent her things and sent out “prizes”. They’ll also have auctions where they make boxes of goodies and you can bid on them with the credits you have. They also have book “rings”. For example, for 2 of the ARC books I received I offered them for a book ring. So people sign up to read them and you just circulate them around the ring. No credits exchanged, just sharing the book with others. I’ve read MANY books through the book rings.
PROS of FRUGAL READER
#1. It’s small. Because of this you get to know the people and know who are good traders. It’s smallness also lends itself to the “community” feel with the perks listed above.
#2. No FIFO system. For people like me this can be a perk. Since I check the site numerous times per day, I can frequently nab popular books before the people just sitting and waiting via wishlist get them.
CONS OF FRUGAL READER:
#1. It’s small. Although this makes the community aspect of it nicer, it offers many less books since there are fewer people trading. It’s not NEARLY as slick as paperbackswap. It has many more operational issues.
#2. No FIFO system. Although it can benefit you if you check the site frequently as I do, it will hurt you if you don’t. If you’re just sitting around and waiting on emails, someone will probably grab all the newer books before you’ll ever get them.
To explore the site and possibly join, use the link below.
FrugalReader.com Confirm
SWAPTREE
This is the site I’ve most recently joined. This site is unique in that it trades books, CDs, DVDs, and video games. So you list any of those items you have available to trade, and list any of those items you want, and then they make matches for you. This site is also different in that it’s a one for one trade. At the other two sites, for example, you may ship out 10 books and earn the credit for them but then sit around and wait until you find 10 things you want to request. Here you always ship out one item for every one item you get. The computer makes a match for you and notifies you when a trade is available. Then you decide if you want to accept the trade or not. I’ve gotten some GREAT books for my DS here that are hardbacks that sell for around $30 and all I had to send was some paperback book I’ve read. I also received a DVD brand new in the wrapper still for a used paperback. BUT….the people can turn it down. For example, if I’m requesting a video game and all I have to trade is a paperback book, the person may turn it down and say the values aren’t equal. But it is a great site if you’re wanting to get ride of some old games, DVDs, CDs, etc.
Any time you check in it will let you know how many things are available for you to receive based on what you have listed you’re willing to trade. Usually I have thousands of items I can get. So many books, so many CDs, DVD, games, etc. So you can also look through what’s available for you to get even if it’s not on your wishlist. For example, the DVD I got wasn’t on my wishlist, but when I saw it was something I could get, I ordered it anyway.
PROS of SWAPTREE
#1. Ability to trade more than just books. Great way to get CDs, DVDs, and video games. Again, all you pay is the cost of mailing out your end of the trade….usually around $2.23-$2.50.
#2. Lots of items available to chose from.
CONS of SWAPTREE
#1. The one for one aspect. I personally prefer the credit system where I don’t always have to trade something to get something. But others may not mind this.
#2. It’s the wild, wild west there!!!! There is basically no customer service. The site has grown so quickly that they tend to ignore the members when they have a problem or contact customer service. For me personally this has never been a problem as all my trades have gone smoothly and I’ve gotten all my items. But be warned….if you have a problem it will be very hard to get any help with it.
To examine the site or to join, check the link below:
Swaptree – Trade books like a book swap or trade video games and swap cds or trade dvds
So that’s it!!! If you have any questions, post them here in the thread. Please join through the link or by using my nickname aliadam at any of the three. If you’d prefer getting an official email invite from the site, just PM me you email address and I’ll have them send you one.
Want to know more about swapping books online?
) by trading a paperback I'd read on Swaptree!!!
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