Book-Swapping 101: How to Get Books for Free

For many people, the start of a new year brings with it numerous resolutions. If one of your goals for 2008 includes reading more, you should consider book-swapping as a way to get your hands on a wide variety of books for free.

The Basics

Book-swapping sites are popping up all over the internet. Sites such as: Bookmooch, Paperback Swap and What’s On My Bookshelf have become increasingly popular among readers. They are a great resource for getting free books and they are simple to use. Swapping books is ideal for an avid reader who only reads a book once and it is also a great way to get your hands on those bestsellers you’ve been dying to read for virtually nothing.

Most book-swapping sites work in similar ways. You create an account and list the books you have and no longer want. You can also create a wish list of books that you do want, which makes searching for books easier and less time consuming. Members then search the site by book title, author or ISBN number and request the desired book(s) from other members. Members accumulate points for giving away books, so for each book you give, you are earning another.

The only cost related to participating in a book-swap is to cover the postage to ship the book to the receiving member. Most books can be sent within the domestic United States via Media Mail for less than $2.50 per book.

The amount of books offered and overall selections varies among sites. You can typically expect to find a majority of books by popular authors in abundance, though you may have some difficulty finding new releases.

Additional Benefits

As if getting free books wasn’t enough, some book-swapping sites offer additional benefits such as:

You have the option to donate your unwanted books to a wide variety of charities such as: libraries, schools and prisons. By giving away books, you are not only earning points towards books you want, but you are also doing something that makes you feel good.

Many book-swapping sites also serve as a means by which to meet people with similar interests. Consider these the Myspace or Facebook for book lovers!

By sharing your unwanted books with others, you are also doing yourself a favor by freeing up some space around the house. What better way to make room for new books to add to your library?

Book-swapping can be viewed as a means by which to recycle your old books. In this eco-friendly time, everyone wants to do their part to “go green” and what better way to cut down on the waste associated with printing of new books than to find a second-life for your unwanted books?

So whether you consider yourself a hard-core bibliophile or you just want to read more, you owe it to yourself to check out book-swapping sites. You have nothing to loose but your old books!

The copyright of the article Book-Swapping 101 in Literary Culture is owned by Lisa Rufle. Permission to republish Book-Swapping 101 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Dec 3, 2008 11:38 AM

Guest :

paperbackswap.com is a great site until you have problems, then they have very poor customer service!!!! Try bookmooch.com or any of the other much better sites.

Dec 12, 2008 11:41 AM

Guest :

I agree with the above post. Paperbackswap.com leaves a lot to be desired.

Steve

Jan 25, 2009 10:57 PM

Guest :

i dont like paperback swap.com. They suspended my account for fake swaps.I already informed them my computer had been hacked into,they still blamed me.

Jan 27, 2009 1:59 PM

Guest :

bookmooch is not the answer though. books usually sent are not great condition unless the sender is a decent type. The best so far is readers united and Novel Action! warning: bookmooch has a lot of scammers on there people who get books but delay to give any (until they give none) and owner does not patrol the site he seems very hands off to me. the staff he has are all volunteers and I get the impression just smart aleck kids. Novel action has a 25 dollar membership fee but is far far superior because you send the book to a centralized address at their headquarters and they mail it and so nobody can say they didnt receive the book also nobody can send you crap and call it cool whip.

Mar 9, 2009 9:08 AM

Guest :

Book Mooch has HORRIBLE customer service...I have been trying for 3 weeks now to have them approve and verify my email address for the account so I mooch books...NOBODY has sent nothing and I have emailed them repeatedly on this matter...DO NOT RECCOMAND!!!!

Mar 18, 2009 6:52 PM

Guest :

I agree. PaperbackSwap has horrible customer service.

Jun 11, 2009 9:46 AM

Guest :

I've used Paperbackswap.com with no problems, so far. I added "Requestor Conditions" in the settings menu. Swappers have to click that the book they are sending meets my conditions. It may take a bit longer for a sender to agree that their book meets my conditions, but eventually, I get my book. Avg shipping cost $2.50-3.15 media mail, pay shipping to--not from.
Swaptree.com is also a good site, which arranges three-way trades; When listing books, a condition rating system and book description is required. You can choose to accept or reject a trade. Avg ship cost $2.75-$3.50; pay ship sending; not receiving.
Bookins.com offers the most customer service, but charges a little more for shipping $4.49 only when receiving, not sending.

Aug 21, 2009 12:36 PM

Guest :

PaperbackSwap can be great unless you have a problem. Their customer service is rude and nasty. Guess there's a reason it's free 'cause with attitudes like that they wouldn't be in business very long. I sent out several books that the requestors didn't mark as received. I didn't think it was a big problem since I had USPS delivery confirmation. Since the postage & confirmation were not purchased through Paperback Swap it was useless. I didn't purchase postage or dc through them because of the fees they tack on for both buying postage and for putting money in an account to buy postage). I'm out the books and the postage.