How to Swap Books Online with PaperBackSwap and BookMooch

About a year ago, a friend told me about a site where you can swap books. The concept sounded exciting to me because as a mother of small children, it is nearly impossible for me to find time to visit the local library and browse for something interesting to read. If I ever do get something from the library, chances are that I won't be able to finish it before the due date, even if nobody else reserves it and I can get a renewal period. Also, I had a bunch of books I'd read on my shelves and found the possibility of trading them for new books exciting.

I joined two different swap sites at the same time, PaperBackSwap.com and BookMooch.com. I have remained a member of both of these sites because they both take a different approach to swapping books and they both have advantages.

PaperBackSwap.com

When you first join PaperBackSwap.com, you are asked to list a minimum of 10 books. You don't have to list this many to get started, but if you do, you immediately get two credits to have someone mail a book to you. Otherwise, you will have to wait until someone else requests your book and notifies the system that they have received it in the mail.

One of the advantages of PaperBackSwap.com is that you can also buy book credits. At the time of this article, the credits cost $3.85 each with a service charge of $0.50 for each order. For this reason, I like to buy at least 3 credits at a time so I can divide the surcharge among the credits, effectively reducing the cost per book. PBS accepts PayPal and credit cards, so purchasing is easy. This is a great option for getting inexpensive used books regardless of whether you also mail books out to receive credits.

The main attribute of PBS that is different from BookMooch is the use of FIFO (first-in-first-out) queues (a.k.a. first-come-first-served). When you list a book, it is added to the end of the list of all the other books of that ISBN that other members have marked as ready for trade. Once the books before yours have been traded, yours will be the next one available when someone else requests that book. The same works for wish lists. If there are no copies available of a book, your name is added to the end of the line of persons requesting that book. Once all of the other people get that book, it is your turn. This is great because it ensures fairness.

There is one exception to the queues rule, but it is an advantage. When you request a book from someone, you are given the option to select other books from that person, even if they aren't the next book to be swapped for that title. This way, the sender can save on postage, and overall packaging is reduced.

Also, with PaperBackSwap, you can receive a credit for every friend you refer who lists at least 10 books.

PaperBackSwap.com is currently only available in the United States, but because of this they are able to calculate postage and print a mailing slip for your book.

BookMooch.com

BookMooch.com works on a point system rather than a strict one-to-one credit system. For each book you list, you receive 1/10th of a point. For each book you send to your home country, you receive one point. For each book you send to a different country, you receive 3 points. Each time you acknowledge that you have received a book, you will receive 1/10th of a point. Requesting a book from your home country costs 1 point, and requesting a book internationally costs 2 points.

You can see that with the BookMooch.com system, it is easy to rack up a lot of points without actually sending many books. For this reason, you must at least send one book out for every two that you get. If you have points, but haven't maintained this ratio, you won't be able to spend your points. However, sending a book internationally counts as sending three books, so you are more than compensated for the additional postage and able to spend your points.

A large advantage of BookMooch.com is the ability to receive books internationally. This greatly expands the diversity of the books available. I have ordered Japanese craft magazines from BookMooch that are difficult to find in the United States.

Also, BookMooch isn't strict about what counts as a book. This way, you can get items like magazines, booklets, and even participate in altered art book swaps where you decorate a page of someone else's book and send it on.

I find BookMooch also to be a more intimate community with lots of communication and friendship between swappers.

Also, BookMooch.com does not operate under a queue system. This means you won't get the advantages of having your turn guaranteed, but you also don't have the disadvantages. When you list a book, your book has an equal chance of being selected by someone as any other book of that title. Also, if you want a book on your wishlist, you can be the one to receive it if you log-in to the site before anyone else. BookMooch also allows for people to list the condition of their books, so you can wait for one in pristine condition if you like. Also, since you can pick which book you receive, you can choose the closest one for speed of delivery and decreased environmental impact.

Strategy for Using Both Sites

If you are a member of both sites, you can use the following strategy to maximize the number of books you receive and the speed of swapping.

First, gather all of the books you intend to swap. Add all of your books to your "Reminder List" in PaperBackSwap (this is the only way you can know how many copies of each book are available in the system). Add the 10 books with the lowest number available to your list of available books in PaperBackSwap.com. This way, you can get your 2 credits for joining and ensure that your books don't sit in the queue forever (i.e. save your Grisham novels for BookMooch where they have a fighting chance of being picked this century). Go ahead and order your first two books, and add any other books you want to your Wish List or Reminder List.

Next, list all of the rest of your books (and magazines, too) at BookMooch.com. This way, you can maximize your points there by getting 1/10th of a point for each book you list, and hopefully you will be able to receive enough points to request a book or two. Go ahead and spend as many points as you can so your books will be put in the mail soon. The sooner you get your books, the sooner you can read them and swap them for more books!

When using BookMooch, be sure to note that it may cost more than the book is worth to mail heavy books internationally. If someone requests something other than a paperback, calculate the cost to ship before you agree to send it.

Good luck and happy swapping!