Paperbackswap.com

I love books but books cost money and money is in short supply these days. So what is a book lover to do? How about using Paperbackswap.com? This is a free service where people can swap books they no longer want for credits, which they in turn can use to order any of the nearly 5 million books currently on the site. Taken from the help section of the site:

How the Club Works

• You have books in good condition that you do not want to keep.
• After you have Posted the first 10 books to your bookshelf, you get 2 "startup" credits from PBS to get you started swapping.  After that, you earn credits by sending out books to others. Only the first account for a household receives startup credits.
• You may order any available book for 1 credit each (paperback/hardcover). audio books cost 2 credits each.
• If you want a book that is not currently available, you can place it on your Wish List and we will notify you by email when it is available for you to order.  You can even have it sent to you automatically when it becomes available, with no email necessary.
• When a book is requested from you, we notify you by email, provide the address for you to send it out, and even provide a wrapper!
• wrap and mail your book.
• When the requestor receives it, you earn 1 credit (2 if it is an audio book). Yes, you pay the postage to send out your books, but when you request a book, the sender ships it to you free of charge!
• The books you receive from PBS are yours. We hope that you will repost them to share with other members when you have read them, but you can certainly keep them, or give them away. Similarly, the books you send out to others belong to their new owners.

 I've been swapping books on the site for a couple of years now and it's been a really great way to get rid of old books I don't want and to get books that I've been looking for. One of the great things about it is the wish list. If there's a book you're looking for that's not available on the site, you can add it to your wish list. Then when someone posts the book to the site you will then be able to order it if you have a credit. If you don't have a credit available, you can purchase one directly from the site. If more than one person wants a book then you go into a queue. The first person to add a book to their wish list is #1, the second is #2, etc. When a book is posted, the person at the front of the line gets first dibs. Then everyone moves up a place in line. As more and more copies of a particular book get posted you will gradually move up the line until you're #1.

If you love books, you should try it out. It really is a cheap way to get books.