PaperBackSwap

I cannot say one way or the other definitively; because when I tried to post a new thread on the topic, I was informed that one needs a certain level of [paid] membership to post on the help forums (lol; this may explain why when searching specifically for "cat urine", the results are from 2013). To me, this is poor customer service; very poor. The book reeks. Unless one is in the category of "nose-blind", one should not be posting such books on PBS. Apparently I have no recourse except to mark this as "received with zero problem"; because I'm not allowed to complain on the site via normal channels.

Original Review: June 14, 2020

I have made many swaps over the years and never had a bad deal. I mailed books or DVDs timely and got them in the mail. I take care to make sure the book or DVD is in acceptable condition. The only bad deal I made was putting money into the account. I have NINE credits and 39 swap credits in my book account. You are supposed to be able to move them to the dvd (or cd) account. But they won't let me. I could not log in to my dvd account and asked for a password. Hours later I still did not have one. They have very very very sophisticated systems to take money, and systems to ensure you don't set up another account...but nothing when you need a password and no customer service. YEAH it has been over 2 1/2 days and I have not been able to use my 39 swap credits. I have begged and pleaded and left like 95 messages to allow me to access my original swapadvd account to transfer my credits.

To this I say they are scam and a FRAUD. They don't offer refunds...and dont allow you to say anything bad on their boards. I just want access to my swap credits. I have had to pay again for seven trades because of their lack of service. This isn't right. I am shut out of my DVD own account they decided to close and open under another email. Their system wont allow swaps to another email. They know this. They are just having fun at my expense. Well I am going to post negative reviews all over the web at THEIR expense. Customer service is not ok. Scamming me out of my money is not ok. They are frustrating and annoying to deal with. I just asked to have ONE password reset. 60 hours later...I can't use the account.

I've been a PaperBackSwap member for 10 years, and during that amount of time I've mailed 269 books and received 264. You list your books to the platform and people request them. You pay the postage to mail a book, which results in getting a credit. You can then spend that credit to get a book that you want. Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to PaperBackSwap. Each book has a queue, and when you put it on your wishlist you get in line behind everyone else who has it on their wishlist. (There are lots of books that people have listed that others haven't requested, though.)

I've waited years to receive some books, but it's always well worth it. A tip - To cut down on the wait, I tend to research books before they come out so I can put them on my wishlist early and be one of the first in line. Sometimes things will get quiet for a few months, but then I'll get 3 offers for books in a week. The books tend to be in near perfect condition, and come out to at most $5 each when taking into account media mail costs and site fees.

I pay the $20 per year to be a premium member with a 500 book wishlist, which I always have near or at the limit. When they began charging a yearly fee, it made me really think about whether the service has been worth that to me. It has been, and it's a pretty small amount to pay in comparison to the benefit. There are fees to print out postage and purchase credits, but I don't really mind those either - all of this goes to supporting the site so that we can continue to swap. In the end, the books end up being much cheaper than buying used these days. If you're looking to get amazing books for a low cost, I don't recommend the marketplace. But otherwise I've had a consistently wonderful experience swapping with others on the site. It's always so much fun to get that message that a book you've wanted is available, and then having it show up in the mail!

Media mail is calculated by the pound. That way my credit earned only costs me even less. Sometimes I’ll send out five books to a member and get five credits for around $4. I use my own postage mostly, but once a month standard members get a free postage printout, so I’ll save the .55 they charge for that. And when you use the printable postage from PBS you get your credits automatically as soon as you mark your package mailed; you don’t have to wait for the recipient to indicate they’ve received the book(s).

It is important for members to send books that meet the swapping guidelines, which mean no water damage at all, no stains and fairly good condition. Sending books in ‘unpostable’ condition means the recipient can request their credit back since they won’t be able to re-swap the book. I’ve only rarely received unpostable books and I think most members are careful to send books in swappable condition.

Over the years I’ve sent and received hundreds of books. I still buy books from other online sources too though I try to stay under $5 per book. PBS has a wish list (WL) and you have to wait in a line for popular books to be posted. I will admit it can take a while. But the more active you are and the more books you post the more you will be able to get as well. All the books I get no matter the source are reposted at PBS for credits. On average I get around 5 or 6 books a month. By the way, PBS also sells books directly in their marketplace to members and non-members alike. Members with credits can get special pricing on marketplace books.

Recycling books is also the green way to go. I use the site primarily for audiobooks and when I'm done with them, I list them. It's much cheaper than Audible. I transfer credits between the 3 sites when I need to. The CD and DVD sites don't have an annual membership fee. I have had no problems with communication and swaps for all these years and would highly recommend this site. I don't expect it to be perfect and to get a new book at once. I have so many to read that it's not important to me. As soon as I hear of a new book I want, I put it on the list. I also do not mind that media mail is slow. If you want a brand new book quickly, I advise you go to a book store and buy it.