PaperBackSwapReviews 27

You cannot change your address on your own on this primitive website. You have to "send a request" then wait. Also, they have some weird methods for you to add PBS money and book credit etc and then you have to separately for back and request the book. I'm sure they will have some story as to have it's a good cause, they're all volunteers etc.
You get what you pay for I guess.

Highly recommended. Every transaction has been pleasant with no issues. Its not a fast process but it is 100% reliable. The site does charge fees but not much at all. Its cheaper to ship the books media mail versus using their automatic shipping (just FYI).

This used to be a quality site & chock full of trades. Now? Ads. Nothing but ads. Hardly any trading.

This was really an awful experience. I used their website functionality incorrectly but to the best of my ability, given the way its laid out and the instructions on their website. Then I received an extraordinarily rude and condescending email from them, attacking me for having not used the website correctly. The email isn't even signed by anyone - not surprising, given the level of rudeness and condescension. I will never post there ever again!

I've had credits sitting in my account for many months now and I can't find anything to spend them on. I've done searches on everything that interests me but most books that are actually available are so outdated that the information is completely irrelevant now. I've never had a single book in my wish list actually pop up. (There was one book which I excitedly requested but the seller cancelled it for an unknown reason).

Putting a book on your wish list that has 3 or more people already on the wait list is a complete waste of wish list space. (I'm #1 on more that 70% of the books on my wish list yet I STILL haven't seen a single book on my wishlist get posted so I'm being generous).

It all really depends on the books you're looking for. I'd recommend looking though the list of ACTUALLY POSTED books and seeing if there's a bunch of things you're interested popping up otherwise it's just a waste of time.

I gave away five books and I paid for their shipping. I was promised I could receive five books for free in return.

After one year, the swap credits EXPIRE. So I paid out of pocket to give away my books and received nothing in return. Apparently Paperbackswap thinks this is okay.

I've been swapping books at Paperbackswap for a few years - it works really well for me! I get books from my wish list pretty regularly, and when I'm done reading a book I can swap it. Before I found PBS, I didn't have a good option for what to do with all the books I had read. The site allows me to turn them into more books, very easily! The best part is the feeling when someone else in the club wants the book I have - it feels so much better than selling them to half-price books. A couple of months ago, the site went to a membership model - but the cost is pretty small (20$ or 12$ a year), and if you don't pay the yearly fee, you can pay-per-book if you want. 49 cents a book request is OK with me, considering that some of the books I get are brand-new hardcovers. Yes I loved when it was free, but how could that last forever? I am not wasteful with money, but I believe in paying a reasonable cost for a service I find useful. It may not work for everyone, but Paperbackswap is definitely worth it for me. Any serious reader should check it out.

PS An earlier review said that there was no notice of the site change to membership model, but I got an email telling me about it and there was a notice at the top of the site that (if you click it) gives more details. I guess if you missed the email and missed the notice and didn't read any of the Discussion Forums it would have come as a surprise, but the change didn't happen without warning.

This is the greatest idea! I love paperback swap! It's a simple concept. You join - you get 2 free book credits - you request a book - you get it sent to you FREE - you list books on the site by posting the ISBN # - someone requests your books - you send them out and pay postage... the cycle continues!:-) Overall, you are only paying $3-$4 a book, so if you are a bookworm, this is perfect.

This website makes it easy to swap or purchase used books at a great price. Club members upload a list of used books they own and are willing to swap with other readers. Once a book is requested, the owner ships it and receives a single credit. They can then use the credit to buy any of the over 4.5 million books on the site. A club member can also purchase credits for $3.95 each. I love paperbackswap and have found many great used books on the website.

Paperbackswap works some of the time. The problem is if someone complains about you, your account is automatically shut down and you lose your credits. You do not get a chance to share your side of the story. In my case, I ordered books that never came. The sender claims I received and read them. I was told to contact the post office to find out what happened. Before I could do any of this, my account was closed. I lost 164 book credits. I had offered to credit the sender anyway because I had enough credits. This was not good enough for them. I also lost credits on their CD and DVD sites. After years of trading, one complaint ended my account.

Paperbackswap.com is an excellent site to swap your gently used books! Users post their books by ISBN, then other users request the book using a first in first out method. A book request is sent to the owner of the book, who then mailed the book off to the requester. In return the sender receives one credit which allows them to order a book from another member.

Overall paperbackswap.com is an excellent place to find affordable reading material! I highly recommend it!

I love this site and use it as a daily (hourly?!) salve. Thousands of books at your fingertips to be had for the price of postage, amazing! I traded away hundreds of my unused and unneeded books and in return have amassed a large library of great books that I never would have bought full price. Kids books, science fiction, poetry, they have all of the genres. Other reviewers here have noted that you have to wait sometimes, but big deal, if you need a book quickly just go to amazon, and leave paperbackswap for the books you'd really like to have but don't have to read this moment.