If you like to read as much as I do, you probably find yourself with shelves full of books. You may also find yourself spending a lot of time at the bookstore searching for books that might be out of print. Your shelves fill-up fast, your mind expands but your wallet keeps getting lighter and lighter. It's a vicious cycle but here is a great way to curb that cycle by recycling your books. Here's how...
A few years ago I read about paperbackswap.com in my local paper. With the mounds of read books in my house, and the enormous appetite to devour any and all written material, I thought I should investigate. Their service allows you to list books you’d rather not crowd your bookshelves with and gives others a chance to “request” your books. You then mail your unwanted book to them, turning your old book into someone’s new treasure. Media mail typically runs around $2+ or so. In return you receive a credit to choose another book for the thousands of books listed on the site. You also receive a free credit once you've listed 20 books on your account. You can also purchase credits if you want to order books faster. I research a lot and I pride myself on my wonderful reference library. But sometimes there's a subject I need material on and I don't have it. So I go searching though the bookstore hoping to find the book I need typically finding that it's out of print. Then I head over to Amazon. Amazon has great prices on many books but once to take in account shipping costs, the books would have been cheaper if you had purchased it brand new. That's where PaperbackSwap.com comes in handy. More than likely that very book I'm looking for, or a version of it, has been available on the site. It’s easy to search the site using titles, authors, or ISBN. You can add your wishlist items and they e-mail you when available. Some of the more specialized books (business books especially) don't come available often, but they do occasionally, so you might have to wait. Each person requesting your book has a “score” that you can use to determine their “honesty/reliability” to ensure you will actually get the credit for the book you mailed to them. If you’re looking for a way to reduce the clutter on your bookshelves and keep the money in your wallet, paperbackswap.com is a great option, however your local bookstore may send out a missing persons report on you. They also offer CD’s and DVD/Blurays if you’re interested. Click on the banner and see what gems you can find. Please make sure to click on my ads so I can keep this site running. Thanks.
For Kindle/IPad users, try:
Also, if you're looking for a quick and fun way to earn extra money check out CashCrate. I've been using it for three months and making some spending cash.
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