Paperbackswap or Bookmooch

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Paperbackswap or Bookmooch

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1kaykwilts
juny 11, 2008, 6:08 pm

I signed up for paperbackswap about a month ago and just signed up for bookmooch a few minutes ago. Is anybody else here a member of both? Which one do you like better. I am finding that there are some books on bookmooch that people are wanting that were just sitting on paperbackswap. Still haven't found the books that I want but it's nice to be able to get them out of the house and into good home and at the same time get credit to get more books.

2DaynaRT
juny 11, 2008, 6:24 pm

I use both sites. I much prefer BookMooch because PBS is a little overbearing and likes to babysit its members at times.

3ktleyed
juny 11, 2008, 10:36 pm

I belong to PBS and love it! I also belong to Bookmooch but never have much to do with it. And I too noticed that some books that have waiting lists at Bookmooch are available at PBS. I like PBS's instant credit postal system too - very convenient!

4little0wl
juny 29, 2008, 10:38 pm

I use both, but I'm so torn between the two! I love the ease of BookMooch and and seemingly abundant points you receive for every little thing, but PBS has more of the titles I want available! Both are SO nice though. I'm so glad I found them!

5kaykwilts
set. 10, 2008, 6:32 pm

Seems like I have been waiting forever for the person I sent the book to acknowledge they received the book. I can't get my point until then. I have zero points and I need that point in order to order a book my husband wants. I wish people would not procrastinate about making a notation that they received a book. I am seriously considering closing out my paperback swap account. All the books I want have long waiting lists. Much easier to nab a book on bookmooch.

6qwiksilver
nov. 3, 2008, 2:48 pm

I use both. I prefer PBS simply because of the printout labels. Life is so much easier that way. I also like the interface of PBS. Easier to find books and preview them. I can then use whichever one actually has the book. I wishlist on both as well. Doubles my chances of getting the book.

I like to list just enough books to keep things flowing at BM but prefer listing on PBS simply because of the easy of labelling and estimating postage.

I really think BM could grow up a bit and get a better interface. The current interface is so 1999.

7iwillrejoice
nov. 23, 2008, 5:22 pm

I use both (plus 1 other), but much prefer BookMooch. I like to be able to choose who I mooch from, & I like seeing the condition notes before I mooch. I've gotten so many bad books from PBS, despite the posted rules... And things seem a bit anal over there. ::shrug::

But, to each his own. :-)

8kaykwilts
des. 4, 2008, 8:43 am

What is the other site people get books from besides Bookmooch and paperbackswap?

9iwillrejoice
des. 4, 2008, 10:14 am

#8 kaykwilts --

I don't know what others use, but I also swap on SwapTree

10qwiksilver
des. 4, 2008, 7:34 pm

I much, much prefer the wishlist system of PBS. Bookmooch will send you and email that a coveted book is available on your wishlist and by the time you get to it someone else has snagged it. Especially if you live on the west coast. I've had out of a dozen of these emails only one that I actually got.

I haven't gotten any bad books from PBS. In fact, I got a signed edition of one book and a beautiful 40 year old hardback edition of another book in near new condition. Beautifully preserved. I don't think it was ever read.

11reconditereader
des. 4, 2008, 11:40 pm

#8: http://bookins.com/ is what I use and I like it a lot

12Quaisior
juny 10, 2009, 10:45 am

I'm on both sites too and I like aspects of both, but I prefer Paperback Swap's wishlist and the availability of books. Unfortunately, I haven't had many trades on there in quite a while, so I've had to buy points here and there (still cheaper than buying a new or even a used book though). I don't like the mooch ratio at all on BookMooch and the wishlist is frustrating, as is not finding books.

13rcgamergirl
jul. 16, 2009, 12:57 pm

I've been on PBS for a while now, and I've enjoyed it. I just joined Bookmooch. So far I like the way more details about the conditions of books are given on Bookmooch. It also seems less picture intensive (I've got a slow internet connection). I'm not sure how I feel about the mooch ratio yet.

14dadena
jul. 16, 2009, 4:16 pm

Aquest missatge ha estat suprimit pel seu autor.

15dadena
jul. 16, 2009, 4:22 pm

Oops, meant to just edit my previous post. Anyway, I was just going to say that condition notes are one of the things I really like about Bookmooch. I've been frustrated many times with receiving books on PBS that did not meet posting guidelines. At Bookmooch I'm rarely surprised by the condition of a book. If I get a book from PBS that isn't up to standards I just post it on Bookmooch with condition notes. People are often happy to have them anyway, but they have a right to know specifics before they request. I also like that Bookmooch is international. It opens up more options, and I have found that even though the cost of sending a package internationally might be a bit more that is more than compensated for by the fact that they give you three points for book in international mooches. My per point cost often ends up being cheaper.

Like everyone else, I do like the wishlist system at PBS and often find it easier to come by wishlisted books. It is harder to get the points, though. For some reason I seem to get a lot more requests through Bookmooch.

16carmahaston
jul. 26, 2009, 11:38 am

I've been a Bookmoocher for years but just found PBS yesterday. I have to say i LOVE PBS so far much better, all the books I want are there! Woot. I haven't given up on Bookmooch but boy I'm loving PBS. Maybe it will wear off lol

17timepiece
gen. 2, 2010, 4:09 pm

I used to be on Bookmooch, but I hate the way someone can grab a book out from under you. I like PBS' FIFO system, even if it takes forever to get to the front of the line sometimes.

And I do really like PBS' labels, that's a very nice feature. Plus, being able to swap points to the CD and DVD sites definitely comes in handy for me.

I think Bookmooch is only good if you like to browse for new things among what's available - it's not as good for fulfilling a wishlist. PBS is good when you want something very specific and you're willing to wait for it. And I don't know how it is now, but people on Bookmooch used to not be very fussy about listing the exact edition of their book - I once ordered a hardcover edition that was going to be a keeper, and got a paperback with a different cover entirely. That may have changed as it grew though - that was at least 3 years ago.

Although I do still occasionally check Bookmooch for things that were published abroad that are much harder to come by in the US.

18hruodland
maig 12, 2010, 3:52 am

I prefer Bookmooch.

You're freer. You deal more directly with the other party. Swapping on PBS is a bit like dealing with a government bureaucracy. On Bookmooch you can post condition notes. You can also post books with problems like underlining and note what the problems are so it's the other guy's choice. If several copies of a book you want are available you can choose which one.

You move books faster because people get points faster. You get the point as soon as you say you'll send the book, while at PBS you wait until the other guy says he got it. Also, you get 1/10 point for posting a book and for notifying the other guy you received a book. (The drawback of having all the extra points sloshing around is that fewer titles are available.)

They've got a neat tool for adding whole lists of books from Amazon to your wishlist. I also like the RSS feed at Bookmooch that notifies me when something comes up on my wishlist.

You can get books from other countries, although you pay 2 points instead of one. (The sender gets 3 points.)

Still, I have to say I have accounts at both places. If you do the same and you're posting books I'd suggest posting them at one of the sites and waiting a while before making them available at the other. That way you're much less likely to have two requests for the same book.

19TheMadTurtle
maig 13, 2010, 3:23 pm

I'm a member of both and I prefer Paperbackswap over Bookmooch. PBS is just easier with the ability to print the mailing label right online and being able to simply mail it from home. Bookmooch does seem to have more overseas users, though, so sometimes stuff that's hard to find on PBS is available on Bookmooch, although, that seems to contradict what you're saying you saw...

20rxtheresa
maig 13, 2010, 3:38 pm

I have been a member of PBS for a year now and have had about 300 swaps and I love it! I heard about BM last November and joined. I had 5 trades of which 3 of the books I sent out were new books overstock from my book business.

Three weeks after I joined my BM account was locked and canceled by an administrator. They said I had previous accounts with them that had problems and I was not allowed to rejoin. I was shocked. I had never even heard of BM until November. They told me those accounts were held by a person from TN. Well I never lived in TN. I live in Atlanta GA. I was even at the point I thought someone from TN had stolen my identity.

I sent numerous e-mails back and forth verifying that I had been living in Atlanta since 1978 and had never had a BM account before nor had anyone in my family. I was finally told that because of their international trading they have very strong security and mistakes happen. They never admitted it happened in my case. They said if I was a member of PBS maybe I should just continue to trade there and have not reinstated my account to date.

So obviously I have continued to trade on PBS for my personal reading and gifts and love it. I have never had any of the problems with trades that I read about in the BM group.

21lareinak
maig 25, 2010, 4:24 pm

I prefer PBS. I like being able to see the picture of the book. I like the wish list much better and I like how you can see a short thing on the book without leaving your browser. Plus the browsing thing is a million times better on PBS. I also prefer PBS's availabiliy. It always seems to have the books I want. The only bad thing I can think of about pbs is that their is a limit to how many books you can wishlist.

22oswaribakabaka
juny 5, 2010, 6:46 pm

I like each site for different reasons...

PBS usually has the hard cover or harder to find books more readily available and I like the wishlist there. I don't have to babysit my wishlist and hope I get to a book first, PBS holds it for me. I like how their seach browser works. I am to downsize a huge list of posted books by date and binding.

For paperbacks I like bookmooch. Many times I am to snag up and find my romance novels and many times they only cost me the free credits I managed to earn listing books or providing feedback. People dont seem to be as picky about the books they receive through bookmooch. Where as on PBS I have had people complain that they didn't get a "brand new" book on a used book site.

As for SwapTree that someone mentioned... I will NEVER use that site again. I only did a total of 12 trades and 4 of the trades ripped me off. Not worth the hassle to wait to be matched up just to be ripped off!

23ladybugsbooks
nov. 1, 2010, 5:42 pm

I was ripped off on Swaptree too and left because of it.

I like and use PBS the most but I also list books on Bookmooch.

I find that if you play by the rules you do fine at PBS. There are minimum book quality standards there. Used or ex-library is fine. Stained or writing/highlighting is not.

BM is much a much more relaxed site but their forums are kinda outdated the way they're set up. It's much easier to chat and read/post stuff on the PBS forums.

I appreciate the condition notes on BM and the ability to choose who you mooch from but not everyone uses condition notes and people can wait as long as they want to send your book. I requested a book there once in November and didn't get it till the following March. The sender waited forever to mail the book.

On PBS there are minimum standards so even though all don't follow the rules you have some recourse if they send gross books. Even if they don't refund your credit they won't get to do that to many more people before they're gone.

Oh, and a very few people who did send gross books complained that I was picky. I think they were just mad that I said something about the book (even though it was true). I've received a couple that were so badly stained they had to go straight to the trash. I don't think anyone anywhere would've wanted them so I don't understand how that makes me picky.

Oh, and I've been on PBS since 2007 and have gotten probably over 50 wishlisted books there (some rather quickly). I can probably count on both hands how many I've gotten from BM.

I think PBS is my favorite site of all three.

24Muscogulus
Editat: nov. 3, 2010, 4:43 pm

I’ve been at BookMooch for about three years and PBS for less than a month. I list books on both sites.

PBS has a much larger inventory, and it’s easier to give books away there. They’re more likely to be claimed quickly.

The two-sheets book wrapping method is brilliant. I find that it gets me sending books much more quickly (well, not least because the PBS bureaucracy imposes a deadline — probably a fair practice, as I have been guilty of waiting more than a week to go to the P.O. to send a book to a moocher.)

Wish PBS let you place condition notes on your public inventory. My workaround is to put them in a note attached to my copy. When I get a request, I PM the requester with the info in my note, asking them to let me know if they don’t like what they see.

The feature of sending out your own conditions for receipt of a book (e.g., no former library books) is a great PBS idea. Also putting a header on your public book list.

Another difference is the presence of “John” at BookMooch (and at his music site, Magnatune) and the site's casual experimental feel, contrasted with the facelessness and general "Windows 95" look-and-feel of PBS.

Finally, I'm partial to the fact that PBS is HQ'd in metro Atlanta (Suwanee, a town I've actually been to). If I really felt I had to, I could drive to their place and buttonhole them. :-)

I've received both really ugly and beautiful books via BookMooch, but only the beautiful ones came as a surprise. People have been pretty transparent about what they’re offering. My experience with PBS is too limited to judge, but the site keeps reinforcing its "code of conduct" about book condition.

25Sandydog1
Editat: des. 21, 2010, 11:47 pm

I'm new to PBS and even newer to Bookmooch. The latter is driving me nuts. I know the genres are generated elsewhere, but they seem a bit stranger than those of PBS. Under the BM category of "Outdoors and Nature", I see Stuart Little, The Devil Wears Prada, Herbie Rides Again, 'Tis, Billy Bathgate, Bonfire of the Vanities - everthing but a book of the proper genre. Oh, Black Beauty is in there. I guess horses may occasionally spend some time outdoors!

I enjoy the micromanagement prompts from PBS. I also enjoy the browse categories. If I want a Science book I go to "Science". BM doesn't even have that category, and who knows what would be found in that, if the category existed.

I wish PBS allowed a few more in their wishlist. Two hundred just isn't enough!

26Sandydog1
feb. 19, 2011, 8:34 am

My previous post regarding browse features was a bit of a noob rant. Neither site is set up to really choose books. I now know that, if you know what you want (LT can help with that!), wishlist it, and be patient, the books will flow.

I still love the command-and-control discipline of PBS, the instant credit feature (ie, the modest shipping confirmation fee), and the communication. Again, I haven't been at this for long, but I've had much fewer problems with PBS swaps.

27AnnaClaire
feb. 19, 2011, 2:24 pm

One thing I've noticed quickly about PaperbackSwap that I really like is that we're not obligated to leap on an available wish list book should it become available. Granted, this was less of an issue on BookMooch once I got some points accumulated, but it's one reason I ended up not really liking BookMooch all that much.

I've also noticed that on PaperbackSwap the edition you see is the one you get -- though this should be taken with a grain of salt since I only joined a month ago and my sample size is still small.

28Sandydog1
Editat: feb. 26, 2011, 8:49 am

The only pet-peeve that remains for PBS is that it only allows you to wish-list 200 titles. I wish they'd increase that by 800 or so!

29rxtheresa
feb. 20, 2011, 2:37 pm

>28 Sandydog1: Yes especially since many of the books on my WL are just different editions of the same book as I will take which ever one is posted first. When I get to 200 though (and I'm hovering it now) I usually find something that I've lost interest in to pull off and put on my reminder list. LOL

30Sandydog1
feb. 26, 2011, 8:58 am

It is a very minor inconvenience indeed, especially when I have a dozen excellent town libraries nearby, a wonderful local used bookstore and 300 TBR-owned volumes piled about! When it comes to books, I am indeed wealthy.

I've thought of another minor pet peeve: The inability to offer books in crappy condition, with OF COURSE meticulous condition descriptions. I think that I'm missing out on some good readable copies. I just BM'd a delightful taped, dog-eared, creased, yellowed copy of Goodbye, Mr. Chips, complete with campy stills of O'Toole and Clark from the movie.

This particular one could never have been offered on PBS.

I am still loving PBS, much, much more so than Bookmooch.

31skittles
Editat: feb. 26, 2011, 9:14 am

#30: you can offer them on the Book Bazaar. If you have a digital camera & a place to post a picture, then post it there with a good description &/or a link to a picture of the book. Picture is just a bonus for the swapper.

I once got a copy of a wishlisted book (non-fiction) via PBS that the post office destroyed in transit! A hardcovered spiral book that they literally folded! Still readable or usable, but not for a bookshelf. So when I joined BM, I posted it there with very clear condition notes... it was grabbed very quickly.

For me, BM & PBS mesh quite nicely. On PBS, I was #45 for a silly short read book. The wishlist was moving quickly. It showed up on BM & I was able to mooch it. When the book gets to me, I will remove it from my PBS wishlist and move another book onto my wishlist.

I have books that have been on my wishlist for 5+ years. I won't remove them because I still want them. I'm patient. PBS taught me patience. BM reinforced it.

32Sandydog1
març 7, 2011, 8:55 pm

Thanks, skittles; 'great information!

33RidgewayGirl
maig 27, 2011, 5:52 pm

I think they work well together. I like that BM rewards persistence a ginormous wishlist. I like that people have to ship within a set time limit and the set up of the site--it's certainly more professional than the cobbled together on a budget look of BM.

In general, I get more hits on BM, mainly because I check my wishlist everyday. But PBS feels more like a site that won't disappear in the middle of the night.

34oldbookie
jul. 16, 2011, 2:48 pm

I'm on both, and I find pbs has a much larger inventory. I also like the "anonymous" nature of the swapping on pbs - limits those who are upset at someone from refusing to send. This happens quite a bit on bm, judging from the forums. I also like that you can buy credits on pbs - on bm you sit with hundreds of points and no books you want, so you're stuck. That doesn't make much sense. One person who is on both said to me, "PBS runs like a business. BM runs like a hobby." I think that's true. I'm on both, but by far the majority of my activity is on pbs. I like the admins on pbs better, too - way more professional. The ones on bm get a little big-headed and deliver verbal reprimands for legitimate questions.

So, that's my two cents worth!

35Sandydog1
nov. 15, 2011, 8:32 pm

Snore...

I want a whole boat-load of apparently obscure, expensive, sought-after books. My position (this is a real cool feature) in the que seems to move at geologic pace. I hover around 800+ for my Bookmooch inventory.

I wish PBS allowed me to ask for more than 200 titles. It may not speed things up, but at least I'd feel better tryin'.

36auntmarge64
nov. 16, 2011, 7:19 am

>35 Sandydog1: Sandy, have you looked at the new membership level at which you can have 300 titles?

I have some expensive ones on my lists, too (both PBS and BM), but I don't expect to ever receive them, unless someone's feeling awfully generous. I've started requesting some via ILL to see if I can read them that way, or to see whether I really want my own copy, and a few I've found in reasonably cheap used copies online.

37rxtheresa
nov. 16, 2011, 3:53 pm

Sandy, With PBS I put my overflow on the reminder list. Then about once a week I check it to see if anyone has posted any of them. I've gotten a few that way. It especially works if you notice no one else has the book on their wishlist.

38KarenRice
feb. 9, 2012, 2:01 am

Also bookins.com

39TheMadTurtle
feb. 21, 2012, 8:11 am

I started with Bookins.com until I found PBS. PBS is much better, in my opinion. I have tons of credits at bookins that I'll probably never use... :P

40Sandydog1
feb. 23, 2012, 10:28 am

I just posted this over at a BM thread:

Things have still been really slow over on my 700+ wishlist, so I checked PBS and grabbed 3 for 3, in quick succession. They are on their way (we all know how autocratic and efficient PBS is).

I don't want to pay more on PBS, but it would be really interesting if I could wishlist all of those 700 BM titles.

So, "remove, remove, remove" from my BM wishlist...

41skittles
feb. 23, 2012, 10:42 am

#40: I combine my wishlist needs with the reminder list & a tag, especially when no one else is wishing it. Then I pull the tag up & sort it in available/posted order, descending. The tag can be anything you want that isn't also used by another PBSer.

But I will also say that I got a "similar to your wishlist book" email and it was just a different edition and I grabbed it!! So those 'similar' emails are useful.... sometimes.

42Sandydog1
feb. 24, 2012, 6:46 pm

Thanks! I was recently reminded about the reminder list. What a great feature!

43Caroline77
Editat: feb. 5, 2015, 9:15 am

Aquest missatge ha estat suprimit pel seu autor.

44Sandydog1
Editat: abr. 20, 2013, 8:43 pm

Bookmooch has slower responders, has more "vacationers", has more failures to deliver, has horrible, unusable, search capability, and has virtually no inventory. Otherwise, it is as good as PBS!

45paualegraham
gen. 10, 2014, 10:47 pm

Paperback does babysit its members more. That is why you actually get the books you order there and in good time.

What the above poster said is true also.

46dlb0037
oct. 8, 2015, 8:05 am

I've been using PBS since 2008. I've mailed almost 700 books. My book conditions are "Heck, the books are free. Unless they are falling out of their covers, I'll take them!" I get lots of positive comments about that. And I've rarely received an unacceptable book.

I do ship books with highlighting, but only after I PM a requester and ask them if it's okay. There's lots of us out there that find a book's value is increased by other's thoughts and highlighting.

When a requester has a long list of "conditions" I typically say that my book does NOT meet the requested conditions, even if it does. I think the spirit of PBS is about swapping used books - NOT necessarily providing book store quality NEW books, even though many of mine are.

47MyriadBooks
Editat: oct. 8, 2015, 9:06 am

>46 dlb0037: I've been a member of PBS since 2011 and have a send/receive ratio of 1/0.8. Your experiences are so interesting to me, because my approach is pretty much the opposite. I never really felt that the books were free; after all, I paid $2-$4 shipping to earn that book credit, plus whatever the new PBS transaction surcharge is. While I understand that any transaction is a swap and not a sale, I think that condition information is entirely fair.

I've had one unhappy PBS transaction where I was flat-out told that my request was declined due to my condition notes -- not that the notes were lengthy or unreasonable, but because they were there. I even started a dialogue with the declining member to ask what was objectionable about my notes and was told that they were perfectly succinct; the member just felt that anyone who set condition notes was too picky to bother with. And since that member was the only one offering this book and I was the only one who had it wishlisted, PBS started auto-sending me helpful messages about failing to request wishlisted items and moved the book to my reminder list. At that point, I went bought the damn thing from Amazon.

48mirigall
ag. 6, 2016, 4:19 am

I used to prefer PBS as my swap site and list my books there first, but recently I've changed my priorities. I joined both sites originally to be able to give books I no longer wanted to people who did want them, so was less concerned with getting books that I wanted, most of which are now academic and unlikely to turn up on either site. Recently I realized that PBS only works with books that have an ISBN--it seems they don't match titles, and then I found that the instructions actually discourage you from posting books without an ISBN. So many of my books are older and don't have one, that I am finding I get many more requests on BM, which apparently does match titles. I'm not sure yet if there's a way around that problem on PBS by using ASIN numbers. Originally I thought the time limits on PBS were a good idea, but I'm increasingly frustrated by them because I have good and bad sciatica weeks. On BM I just promise to send books within two weeks and I can usually get to the post office in that time frame.

49IreneF
ag. 6, 2016, 9:23 pm

I've had good and bad experiences on both sites. My biggest problem with BookMooch is that I got in trouble with The Powers That Be. I have only a vague and hazy idea about what I did wrong, and they refused to explain it. I've still got their screed about my character failings on my bio page.

I do get a certain number of smelly and/or falling-apart books, but it's actually a small percentage. I leave condition notes for nearly all books in my inventory. I've had people happily mooch books with condition notes like "this book is falling apart". And I've mooched some wonderful but obscure books.

I have higher standards for PBS. I expect to get a book without stains or writing, etc. I also have several requestor conditions, which seems to tick some people off. I think they are reasonable, but I also think some other people's are unreasonable.

You can post non-ISBN books on PBS. Sometimes ISBNs are added long after the book was published. The book won't show it, but WorldCat or Amazon will. You can also search PBS by title to see if the book was previously posted and re-use their self-assigned identifier. ASINs didn't work when I tried.

Right now I'm ok with the membership fee. It still costs less to use PBS than to buy used books. (Part of that is Amazon's inflated shipping fee.)

50mirigall
ag. 8, 2016, 8:26 pm

I'm reluctant to use an ISBN that isn't on the book even if the cover matches, as I'm not sure it really is the same edition (although with most books that doesn't matter). On BM I just note in my condition notes that mine is an earlier printing with the same cover. I guess I'll worry about it if a lot of my wishlisted books suddenly start turning up on PBS and I start running out of credits.

51.Monkey.
ag. 9, 2016, 2:28 am

If it's an old book with no ISBN, then no, one with an ISBN is not going to be the same edition. It is possible that the same company has done further reprints and not changed anything at all in the text, so "edition" in that sense could remain the same, but...

52IreneF
ag. 9, 2016, 8:18 pm

I've found legit ISBNs assigned after publication. Sometimes they are based on the SBN, which was a predecessor to the ISBN. They could be added for a later print run but not a new edition, which should have its own distinct ISBN. This seems to have happened with some of the old Time-Life series.

You can double-check that you have the correct ISBN by running it thru a database or two.