BookMooch

Neito

Does anyone else use this? Basically, it's a way to get "free" books. You send books to other people, and you get points that you can spend on getting books. You pay for shipping books to other people, and they pay to send books to you. You can set it not to let people who would be international shipping for you mooch books off you so you don't have to pay a lot. It can be a lot of fun, and you get to get some free books. The only pain in the ass is that the selection is poor for some books.

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Do you get a set amount of points? Or the value of the book you 'give away' in points? Also, it's not free, it costs you books.

Neito

Do you get a set amount of points? Or the value of the book you 'give away' in points? Also, it's not free, it costs you books.

That's why free was in quotes. And you get one point for each book you send away. Unless you send it outside your country.

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Do you get a set amount of points? Or the value of the book you 'give away' in points? Also, it's not free, it costs you books.

That's why free was in quotes. And you get one point for each book you send away. Unless you send it outside your country.

Oh yes, I went with the free you said later, no quotes, forgot about the first one. Anyways, so that basically means you can send crap books and in return might be able to get awesome books you've always wanted.

Apreche

What if someone says they sent you a book, but you never get it? What if you send someone a book, and they get it, but they say they never got it? How does the system handle fraud? What prevents me from mooching off others and getting more books than I give?

Mosquitoboy

Why not go buy very bad quality old books from a used book store for like $0.30 and then trade em for regular books?

Schnevets

Why not go buy very bad quality old books from a used book store for like $0.30 and then trade em for regular books?

Because before you earn points for your books, someone has to actually request it. I'm sure there isn't a lot of demand for thing that could be bought for that cheap.

...That is, if this is organized like another swapping site I used to use (this one's for video games).
It may seem a little sketchy, but these services actually do a pretty good job. Although I'm not too sure about a book swapping one, considering the library is much more convenient.

Funfetus

I used to use Bookmooch quite a bit. I sent out a lot of books, and didn't request quite as many. I think I still have 13 or so points. (1 point = 1 book.) The main problem with it is that they don't tend to actually have a lot of good books, particularly if your interests are more esoteric. Most of the books on there are selling used on Amazon for like a buck.

Neito

What if someone says they sent you a book, but you never get it? What if you send someone a book, and they get it, but they say they never got it? How does the system handle fraud? What prevents me from mooching off others and getting more books than I give?

BookMooch prevents you from mooching more than twice the number of books you've sent out. And the site has a FAQ.

Lost in the mail: if a book is "lost in the mail" the sender gets their point anyway, and the receiver doesn't lose a point. You're allowed a limited number of "books lost in the mail" in order for us to limit possible fraud.

Jason

I have a restaurant two blocks from my house that has a book exchange in its lobby, and I've managed to pick up a couple of Elmore Leonard titles there. I find myself going there as much for new reading material as for the food -- which, by the way, is delicious. Lamb kabobs and souvlaki FTW.

ForcefulCheese

I use Paperbackswap quite a bit. I have even gotten some decent manga and graphic novels off there. Not much, but a few.

I have shipped/received probably 50 books and not once has anyone claimed a book as lost in the mail.

rhinocero

I have a restaurant two blocks from my house that has a book exchange in its lobby, and I've managed to pick up a couple of Elmore Leonard titles there. I find myself going there as much for new reading material as for the food -- which, by the way, is delicious. Lamb kabobs and souvlaki FTW.

You know, there's something that bothers me about this sentiment - the bit about the food. It seems like it's not really reasonable to be excited about the type of food as about the quality thereof, since there could be a place with shitty lamb kabobs and souvlaki. Is this at all reasonable, or am I being pedantic?