A Little Reading... PaperBackSwap

Do you love to read? I bet you're like me and you can't get enough. Maybe you even have a bookshelf (or two?) full of books you have already read, just waiting for someone new to be able to enjoy them.

I have been a member of PaperBackSwap for about 5 years now and I have been continually impressed with the service. The site is basically a book swapping service located online. The concept is simple: You post your books you no longer want (10 books to sign up and you get 2 credits to start!) For every book that is requested from you, you get one credit. Every book you request costs you one credit. Simple.

Once a book is requested from you, you must print out a mailing label (all you need is a printer at home), send it to the person on the label, and mark it 'sent' in the system. You pay for shipping the book to the person who requested it (if you send it Media Mail this may cost you somewhere between $2-$3 for each book.)

When you request a book, all you do it request it from the other member and sit back and wait for it to arrive. You will get an email notification when it is marked 'sent' but the other member.

Easy, right? Other services they provide are an online wishlist, private messaging between members, reviews, and an online market where your credits can count towards buying books that are not listed in the system. The wishlist is especially useful and I use it often. You can add a book to your wishlist, and once it is posted, you are offered the book before anyone else is. You can request it or deny it, but you are always given the first chance to request that title. If there are multiple people wishing for the book you may have a while to wait, but you can also tell how many other people are wishing for the same title.

If you are a book lover like me (not just paperback, they have hard cover books too) then definitely check out paperbackswap.com. If you sign up and would like to give me referral credit you can put in my nickname if you would like: SAM52706.

This service is completely free except for the shipping charges you pay when sending out a book. Be sure to sign up now and take advantage since the service may not remain free in the future (they anticipate a $10-$20 yearly membership fee, which is extremely reasonable to me!)