Paperback Swap

Looking for a way to get some cheap books? And maybe recycle some old books that are collecting dust on your shelf?

I have recently become a member of paperbackswap.com. This is an online free book club where you can trade all kinds of books (not just paperbacks) with people all over the country for very little money.

Here’s how it works. You sign up, list as many or a few books as you are willing to part with, then wait for someone to request one of your books. When someone wants one of your books, you will receive an email from paperback swap indicating the request along with instructions on how to mail it off. Once the other person has received the book, they will log in and report it received and you receive a credit for a free book!

The website is extremely easy to use. When listing the books you are willing to trade, you simply enter the ISBN number located on the back of your book and the massive database will find it, usually show you a picture of the book cover and other information about the book and give you a chance to confirm that it is indeed the book you want to list. When one of your books have been requested, you will be given instructions and a link to print a mailing label and instruction on how to wrap the book in plain paper so that you don’t even have to use an envelope (unless you just want to). You can also print your own postage. This is where the little expense comes in: you do have to pay for shipping of the books that you send out. But, the books that you order, the shipper pays the postage. Paperbackswap recommends shipping media mail. Which is around $2.40. This means that it will take a week or more for it to reach it’s destination. But, that is all you have to spend! There is no fee for signing up with paperback swap.

Right now, they are offering 2 free credits to get you started when you list a minimum of 10 books.

So, far I’ve had 3 books requested and I’ve requested and received one book with no problems.

Go hereto check it out. They also have sister websites: cdswap and dvdswap, I looked at those briefly and they seem to have a very similar setup.

Happy reading!