So this is a “deal” I haven’t decided if I am entirely sold on.  The gist of the Paperback Swap is to list any books that you own and want to get rid of (but is not actually limited to paperbacks – you can list hardbacks, audio books, etc.)  Each time someone requests one of your books you mail it to them (you pay the shipping costs – but since it’s a book it can be sent media mail, which is generally cheaper that regular mail, depending on the weight of the book).  Once the person who requested the book marks it as received you then get a credit and are able to request that a book be sent to you free of charge.  When you sign up I think you get a free credit or two to try it out.  In any case, I have had three credits to spend (and have only mailed one book out thus far).  I am luke warm on the whole concept.

We LOVE the Piggie & Elephant and Llama Llama books.  I actually haven’t even shown the above books to my son yet.  They are in such good condition I am thinking about holding on to them and giving them to him for his birthday or Christmas.

Not such good condition.  In fact, many of the pages are loose, and the middle page has come out completely.  A bummer.  I double checked and books with loose pages are not allowed per PBS rules.  I felt kind of mean, but when I marked it received I also marked that there was a problem with it (and described the loose/detached pages) but did not go so far as to request my book credit be returned.

PBS has a wish list feature that I really like.  If a book that you want is not currently available you can put it on your wishlist and when it becomes available you receive an e-mail.  This is how I ended up getting the Piggie and Elephant book.  Unfortunately, most of the books I am interested in (pretty much all kids books) are not currently available on PBS.  And the books I have that I’m willing to part with, there are many, many copies already listed on PBS so who knows if and when one of mine will actually be requested.  (I’m not actually sure how they decide which copy of a book will be requested.  First in, first out, maybe?)

But my biggest problem with PBS?  Even if I only list books that are very light and can be sent in a regular mailer, the postage is still $1.88.  And I am so cheap that this is actually more than I am willing to pay for most books, making me question whether or not it is worth it for me to pay to send the books to someone else.

Anybody else use PBS?  Pros and cons?