PaperBackSwap Reviews

I came across a buyer who wanted my book from Hawaii. I requested 2 or 3 dollars for additional shipping for first class mail. She complained and they kicked me out without warning and I lost my 7 credits that I earned over my first 2 or 3 weeks with them. Later I realized that it doesn't cost more if shipped by media mail to HI. So, it was a learning experience.

I have been a member of PBS Book Swap since 2007. While the site has changed and expanded over the years and the paid membership rules are now in effect, I've never seen so many disgruntled people filing complaints against such a well run site, for things that were their own fault and not the book clubs. Is it a perfect site? No. But none will be. And I really am astonished that people don't think that some sort of membership fee is warranted. These sites don't "run themselves". People need to be paid a living wage to run the website, and no one ever claimed this was a "non" profit outfit.

I've been a member of PaperBackSwap for many years, probably since shortly after it started. I was dismayed when they started charging a yearly fee, but I chose to continue as an a La Carte member without paying the yearly fee. It's been perfect for me. I use the printed postage, get charged a 55 cent fee and get 1 swap credit (which would be 49 cents anyway - so in essence, I'm paying 6 cents extra). I feel this pays for my membership. I don't care to post messages on the forum; I can do that on Facebook or Twitter if I'm so inclined. I only want to trade books, so for that purpose PaperBackSwap is a good fit.

I joined PaperbackSwap back in 2008 when it was actually the free site they claim it is. I've mailed 603 books and gotten 754, while maintaining a bookshelf of 250 books I can swap. In the beginning, you posted books you were willing to swap to your bookshelf for other members to request. When requested, you mailed the book to the other member (for about $3 in postage) and got a credit you could then use to order a book from other member's bookshelves for yourself. Everybody got a 200 book wishlist. It was great! I mailed out and received books regularly.

The price of my limited membership was $20.00. Plus PBS deducts another fee as a “transaction fee”, which is neither disclosed nor consented to. When I went to pay the $20.00, there was another fee debited from account which I had to email PBS about thinking it was a fraudulent error on the payment processors side. But no, I have an email from PBS saying they take the money as an administrative cost because PBS didn’t realize how expensive their payment processor was going to be and how they are “losing money” when people pay them. Seriously. This was the explanation. I imagine if you take an additional $1.00 from a thousand or so members, you have quite a tidy little monetary fund. Is this recorded as income? PBS does not seem to include as part of the income from membership fees.

I've been using paperbackswap.com for about 10 years, or almost as long as it has existed, and have mailed and received close to 1500 books. And I can't think of any bad experience I've ever had with them, though a few, mildly annoying ones (book not in good enough condition, order being canceled because the person couldn't find the book, etc.).

We used PBS for years and thought it a great service and a great concept to recycle books. It should be pretty obvious what happened once Amazon, the number one bookseller in the world bought the company. Their institution of fees and membership charges was not done to help them make a profit with a business they bought. Their abusive attitude towards their customers (myself included) was not just poor business by an inept company, but a strategic drive to eliminate the free exchange of books from the market. Their actions were in my opinion, not to try to make money from PBS but to drive it out of business, eliminate an alternative to high priced retail book sales, and so that they could capture retail sales of new books. A classic case.

I have been a member of Paperback Swap for four years. I have exchanged over 100 books -- getting the latest action thriller, obscure history books, or a needed reference book. The service is very easy and I get books conveniently at a remarkably cheap price. Here's how you earn a credit that gives you the right to request another member's book -- you list your own books that you are willing to send to other members. When someone asks for one of your listed books, you mail it off to them. Once they receive it, a credit is added to your account. With that credit, you can ask for any book listed on the site. Never have I had any issue.

I found the reviews posted on this site to be quite different than my own personal experiences with PBS. I Have been a member since 2007 and have sent 301 books and received 274. I always use their postage plan because it's easier and less time consuming than going to the post office. I don't think the company is "gouging members", as some have stated they have costs to exist just like any other business. I have only had perhaps one negative experience in my entire 9 yrs as a member - there are always crazy people out there - but that's pretty good odds! The overall experience with other members and the site has been amazing and wonderful. I think people tend to write reviews when they have complaints and that is why I write this positive one!

I've swapped about 30 books on here and, like others, I look the old organization better. The new rules and fees are making the site feel like a rip off at times. A person I mailed a book to first class on 12/20 for delivery Christmas Eve says the book never arrived. I stood in line at the post office like an idiot during Christmas rush so they could have their book. I had a receipt with tracking number. Paperbackswap says that they don't take USPS documentation as proof of mailing. WTF? I mean, seriously, W-T-F??? They don't take our government's postal receipts and tracking numbers as proof of mailing?

Paperbackswap.com used to be a really great website. Then I found myself sending out more books than receiving. Once they changed over to a subscription website, less books seem to be available. The selection seems to have drastically decreased. I have sent out way more books which cost me in transactions fees, postage, and PaperBackSwap fees than I am saving. NOT WORTH IT ANY MORE. Bad leadership, bad business practices. You are driving away your loyal users.

After reading these negative things, I felt compelled to write this review. I've been a member of PBS for 5 years now and have had many GREAT experiences trading books. I've mailed out 295 books and received 249 books to date - with only 1 complaint from a receiver during this time and I myself only complained 1 time about a book I received. Where else are you going to get a book for $4 without having to leave your home at all? The 50 cent transaction fee is a bargain in my opinion and I'm more than willing to pay it in addition to the media mail postage fees. I signed up for free, received 2 credits and have been happily trading ever since.

I have been working with PaperBackSwap for over 7 years. I get books donated to me by the crate load because no one wants to throw away books or donate them to libraries where they just sit around. I try to find the books great homes and enjoy when I am successful. I have sent over 1600 books and received over 1000. I gave away several hundred points to schools and to help out. When someone asks me about a book, I look here first because anything beats Amazon! I gladly pay the few pennies a day (20/year) to be able to receive as many books as I want. Most of the people who complain are just trading a few books and only care about what they receive. In fact, since people have left the site and locked their accounts on permanent vacation, I have seen the books requested from me double. I will continue to use Paperbackswap.com as long as they stay up.

While I wasn't thrilled with their "new" membership dues, this is still one of the best places to swap books. At around $8 for paperbacks and $20 for hardbacks bought new, one credit (valued at around $4) it still a great deal for a nearly new book. I saw that several people said they had received books in very bad shape. If you receive a book that is unreadable, you only had to state that fact, and PBS generally gave you your credit back. You can also take that one step further by putting conditions on your expected books. I state that I expect them to be in good enough shape to trade again. Then if they are not up to your expectations, PBS definitely gives you your credit back.

This used to be one of my daily haunts on the internet. Those days are long gone and it's been especially bad since they instituted the transaction fee. Today I delete my account with them. Very sad. I got some good books through trades with other members. Thanks for the memories.

I gave five books away on Paperbackswap and paid for their shipping. I was promised I could receive 5 books for free in return. Well, after one year, those book swap credits EXPIRED, in other words, were stolen by the site. I paid out of pocket to give away my books and receive nothing in return.

This was originally a great service - swap books with other people, the whole "reduce, reuse, recycle" concept. I sent out 150 books to other members at an average of $3ish per mailing, which was ok. I understood the original terms of use. I am very unhappy that now in order to receive books in exchange for what I sent out, it will cost another $70ish. I understand the owners want to change the terms, and they did send out an email a few weeks in advance of the change. However, I feel that they should've grandfathered in all the exchanges that had already been made for existing members. There seem to be a lot of other disgruntled members who share this opinion. I also feel that the relationship with Amazon has not brought me any additional benefits. Whenever I do a search now, the results favor purchasing the book on Amazon instead of procuring one from another member.

My family loved using this site to swap books for years. We mailed over 220 books to other members. We ordered even more books from other members/the PBS/Amazon partnership and via Member Appreciation books and discounted books. And then, this morning, five of my credits for books disappeared. No email first, no phone call first. When I questioned the action, the reasons varied between me mailing books a few days late, to receivers not marking books received (why would that be my problem?) And when I defended myself, the PBS "Librarian" became fully accusatory and just downright rude.

I am a charter member who has posted and incurred the cost of mailing books to other members. I have mailed large and/or hard bound books at at significant expense. It can be a long wait to have requests fulfilled. The shortest wait has been 3 months. Most of my requests are not fulfilled after two years. It feels unfair to me for Paperbackswap to change policy so that members who invested the postage costs and waiting times now must pay a fee to accept a book.

First to the other person that said they didn't give a reason for the change, there was a long explanation of how they want to develop an app and do more things with the website. We have had very positive experiences with the website and other swappers. We enjoy trying authors we haven't before and with it getting harder to find books in our area we really appreciate paperback swap. I also enjoy getting and making suggestions to other members I swap with and have on my friend list. It costs about $3 to send a book and you get a credit to get another from someone. Try it and enjoy reading!

Like some others here, I was a member for several years and traded regularly before PBS made the unannounced switch to charging for swaps. I was astounded. No announcement, no grandfathering in of old members, no lead time to get rid of books before the new rules took over. This site was already making money due to its affiliation with Amazon. If they needed more money they should have stated the reasons why. If I had had a reasonable explanation, I would have DONATED money to them. Also like some others here, I am keeping my membership only because I have so many credits piled up.

$8.00+ the little fees PBS charge is still a bargain!

This "swap club" site switched from a free service to an annual membership with about 3 weeks' notice. I was a "member" for more than 5 years and paid postage to ship books to other members. This earned me "credits" on the PaperBackSwap site. Took me several years to build up credits. I now have 27. Now I just feel like a fool. It cost an average of $4.00 to ship each book. Not a problem if I will get a book from another member. But they switched to a membership fee so now I have to pay a 49 cent transaction fee to do any swap. Worse though is that with the fee, membership dropped drastically. There's now no realistic chance that I'll get even half the money I paid in postage back from others who might ship me a book.

If Paperback Swap needed to start charging fees, they should at least have allowed existing members to use up accumulated credits without having to pay fees. The way they did it was totally unfair and also not nice. I'll try to use up the credits I have but then I'm going to quit.

After shipping 21 books and spending more than $60 in postage, I expected "free" books in return - as were the terms of the agreement. Paperbackswap has now initiated a .49 per swap fee. If Paperbackswap wants to change their terms, that change should not affect people who agreed to earlier terms.

My original free membership has been changed to Ala Carte unless I sign up and pay for annual membership. As an "Ala Carte", I am not entitled to any online help, I cannot send a personal message to friends in my friend list. There are fees for doing everything because I am not a paid "annual membership". I gave my book credits to my friends, deleted my library and closed my account.

I became a member a few weeks ago, after listing 10 books they were requested and I sent them out, the shipping was over 20 dollars and the books were like new. They finally got them and I got credits. I requested my first book. After requesting my first book they wanted a "membership fee", and I had to have swapapaperback money. Which they charge 50 cent per Paypal fee. I thought you could not charge to use Paypal. Even after the membership fee it only gets you a few credits then you have to pay 50 cent per book order. So just to get a "free" book I would have to give them another 20 dollars. Don't believe me. Sign up and find out. Also I have seen and heard a lot of people tell me about the bad condition the books are in. Thanks for wasting my money. I will not recommend this site to anybody from church, library ,school or work. They are false advertising as well it says free and no fee.

I quit paperback swap because they have decided to charge membership fees... about $20 bucks a year or .50 a transaction. I thought that was a rip and canceled my membership, and know my friends will too.

I had an account with paperback swap and I had about 100 books. All my books were picked up really fast, and I got the credits for it, but there rarely was anything I wanted. When I did get a book I wanted, it'd be torn, moldy, or otherwise damaged. I love my books and take really good care of them, so I basically exchanged almost 100 like-new books for books that I had to take to get recycled.

I have been a member of Paperbackswap for several years. All in all, I think it's a great service if you can find other members with your same reading interests. I am only interested in reading books written in Spanish. I have sent out over 150 of such books, but only to members who want them for charities, libraries, an orphanage, schools, missionary projects, etc. In other words, to people who want books written in Spanish to give to others, but who do not read them themselves and, therefore, don't post any to their bookshelf so people like me can order them. I think that I have ordered about a half dozen books, some that I really wasn't interested in (a dictionary, thesaurus, etc.) in my time as a member. So the club works if your reading interests are popular books. If your interests are more esoteric, be prepared to spend a lot of money mailing out your library books and getting little in return.