PaperBackSwap
Encyclopedia
PaperBackSwap is a club co-founded in 2004 by Richard Pickering and Robert Swarthout of Suwanee and Rome, Georgia, (USA). Swarthout later left the company to pursue other ventures. The purpose of PaperBackSwap is to use the Internet
to facilitate the parity trading of books (or "book swapping
") among member bibliophiles in the United States
. The club also operates sister websites Swap-a-DVD and Swap-a-CD to facilitate parity trading of DVD
s and CD
s, respectively.
, including APO and FPO (military mail
) addresses. Commercial enterprises are prohibited from membership. Membership is restricted to adults 18 years of age or older. Membership restrictions are covered in the site privacy statement.
. Both paperback
and hardback books may be traded, as well as audio books. Within the PBS system the value of any bound book is always one credit, and the value of an audio book is always two credits.
The Box-O-Books program allows paying members to exchange boxes of books (rather than one at a time) to save on postage and provide variety. PBS offers optional printing of USPS Delivery Confirmation and/or postage for a small fee. PBS also sells book accessories and other items bearing the club logo
.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to facilitate the parity trading of books (or "book swapping
Book swapping
Book swapping or book exchange is the practice of a swap of books between one person and another. Practiced among book groups, friends and colleagues at work, it provides an inexpensive way for people to exchange books, find out about new books and obtain a new book to read without having to pay...
") among member bibliophiles in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The club also operates sister websites Swap-a-DVD and Swap-a-CD to facilitate parity trading of DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s and CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s, respectively.
Membership requirements/restrictions
Membership is free and is offered to individuals residing at addresses served by the United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, including APO and FPO (military mail
Military mail
A primary feature of military mail systems is that normally they are subsidized to ensure that military mail posted between duty stations abroad and the home country does not cost the sender any more than normal domestic mail traffic...
) addresses. Commercial enterprises are prohibited from membership. Membership is restricted to adults 18 years of age or older. Membership restrictions are covered in the site privacy statement.
Operation
A credit system is used to enable members to trade books for credits and credits for books. Credits may either be purchased, or they may be earned by mailing books which have been requested. Consequently, a member need not seek another member who desires a parity trade; credits are the medium of exchangeMedium of exchange
A medium of exchange is an intermediary used in trade to avoid the inconveniences of a pure barter system.By contrast, as William Stanley Jevons argued, in a barter system there must be a coincidence of wants before two people can trade – one must want exactly what the other has to offer, when and...
. Both paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
and hardback books may be traded, as well as audio books. Within the PBS system the value of any bound book is always one credit, and the value of an audio book is always two credits.
Income generation
When it was started, PBS expected to have to charge for membership once costs became too high. Instead, they found they could survive by offering a few paid services to the membership.The Box-O-Books program allows paying members to exchange boxes of books (rather than one at a time) to save on postage and provide variety. PBS offers optional printing of USPS Delivery Confirmation and/or postage for a small fee. PBS also sells book accessories and other items bearing the club logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
.
Press coverage
- PaperBackSwap's Complete Press & Media
- The Today Show (April 21, 2009). “Get paid to recycle! 15 green tips for the lazy” - by Marisa Belger
- O The Oprah Magazine (March 1, 2009). “Books on a Budget” - by Katie Arnold-Ratliff
- People Magazine (February 23, 2009). “More Books for Your Buck” - by Thailan Pham
- PC Magazine (Sept. 18, 2006). “Web Site of the Week: PaperBackSwap.com” - by Sean Carroll
- USA Today, CBS News, The Christian Science Monitor (February 15, 2006). “Avid Readers Swap Their Books Online” - by Marilyn Gardner
- Atlanta Journal Constitution (April 17, 2005). “He Traded Reading Habits” - by Doug Nurse
- Newsday (July 27, 2005). “Read any good books lately?” - by Andy Rathbun
- The New York Times (October 16, 2006). “I’ll Trade You My ‘Titanic’ for Your ‘Spider-Man’” - by Bob Tedeschi
- San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
(June 23, 2009). "Book lovers trade tomes through Web sites" - by Tara Dooley