Swap DVD’s, CD’s and Books Online

Posted on November 28, 2012

Are you looking for a DVD, CD or book to fulfill a gift on someone’s gift registry?  You may already have what you need in your closet or entertainment center and not even know it!

Thanks to Swap a DVD, you can turn the old horror films you aren’t watching anymore into self-help parenting DVD’s like “The Happiest Baby on the Block.”  The same goes for CD’s on Swap a CD and books on PaperBack Swap (despite the title, they facilitate the swapping of paperbacks, hardcover, audio books, and textbooks).

I tried out PaperBack Swap and here’s how it’s gone so far:

  • I posted 6 books and got one automatic credit to start (you’re supposed to post 10 books and then you get two automatic credits.  When I post four more books, I’ll get my other credit).
  • Two of my books have been requested and each time I got a bit of a rush (someone wants my book!).  I mailed them off via media mail at the post office for about $2.50-$3 a piece and then got a credit when the recipients verified the book’s arrival on the PaperBack Swap site.
  • My request for a book in the Mr. Happy collection for my toddler fell through when the person who posted it said they had forgotten it had pages ripped out.
  • My request for a book in the out-of-print Sweet Pickles series from my husband’s childhood got off to a bad start when the person who posted it didn’t respond to PaperBack Swap within the five day response period.  Luckily, the system is set up to automatically move on to the next member who’s posted the same book.  If a member fails to respond to two requests for their books, they get kicked off the site.  In the end, I got the book from a PaperBack Swap member in Michigan and it was in great condition for a 30 year-old book.
  • I have another book in the out-of-print Sweet Pickles series headed my way from a member in Illinois.

 

Overall, I’ve been happy with my experience on PaperBack Swap.  The process has taken a little longer than I expected, since not all members follow through like they should, but the site has a really good system set up to take care of these bumps without the requesting member having to intervene or re-request books.  The best part is that I’ve gotten rid of books that were collecting dust at my house and replaced them with books I’ve wanted for a while.  The site also has fun features like maps that show you all of the cities where you’ve sent or received books and “passport” information for each book that tells you what cities it has traveled to via PaperBack Swap.

Thank you My Green Glasses for the tip on these sites in their article, “Confessions of a Swap-A-Holic.

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