Jun. 15, 2008 - Tips and Tricks for Using Paperbackswap
I recently had someone tell me that paperbackswap just wasn't worth the time, or the gas money involved in sending books. I have a shelf full of books convincing me to stick with it; and I would like to give you some general hints about how this works.
For about 50 cents more then postage and gas, you can print the postage on the book wrapper at home and mail the book from home. You can figure out your gas costs to the post office when you are ready to print the wrapper.
I spend about $2.50 per book, including gas. Ask yourself if you can get the specific used books you want more cheaply.
I found out I was 67 down on the waiting list for a certain book when I added it to my wish list. Four weeks later, it was in my home because no one else had saved credits, purchased credits, or even still wanted the book.
Sometimes, you have to wait a while for the books you want to become available. Don't give up!
Every time you see a book recommended that sounds interesting, go put it on your wish list. If more then one edition is available, put every single edition of the book on your wish list. Most people will just wish list the first copy listed on their search. Wish listing multiple editions gives you a greater chance of getting the book.
Use the tag function to find books in a set quickly. Let's say you are looking for all of the books used by a specific curriculum. Pick one of the books on the list, and enter the title into the search field. Choose All Books instead of just Posted Books for your search. When the book shows up, look at the tags. If one of those tags is the curriculum name and grade; you can click on the tag and quickly see all the other books in the system tagged with that same name and grade. If the book doesn't have a useful tag, you can add one (helping others out) and then search for another book on your list until you find one with the tag. Finding a tagged book and looking at all the other books with the same tag dramatically reduces search time as compared to entering each title separately in the search box. I am hoping they will soon add the functionality of searching by tag.
Check out this list of books I received through paperbackswap in just a few short months. Read about how paperbackswap works here.
You could swap text books, but I don't think I would since the postage will be a great deal more. I think you should take your used textbooks to a used bookstore and see what they will give you.
A similar site is http://www.bookmooch.com
With bookmooch you get .1 points per book entered, 1 point per book sent in your county, 3 points per book send outside the country and .1 points for acknowleging that you got a book. They use Amazon's database for info about books and allow users to write reviews. You can keep a wishlist and browse for books.http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/
The bottom line is; We try not to insist on parent-led learning or gravitate toward child-led learning. We try instead to focus on God-led learning and ask for His input and perspective on every aspect of our home school. That way, when others fuss about what Dan and I are doing and make me second guess our decisions -- I can go back to our decision process and find God's fingerprints, reminding me that this is His way.
