Swap Books to Save Money & Trees

Posted by Guest on December 6, 2009

Chelsea Ehrke is a newly-engaged writer with an inability to sit still and an unexplainable persistence in the kitchen. She lives in San Diego and chronicles her domestic adventures on her blog, Someday I’ll Learn. She has a strong interest in DIY interior decorating, loves crafts, and maintains a curious fascination with thrift stores.

After I graduated college, I decided to start reading for enjoyment again. I’d somehow gotten out of the habit after being assigned thousands of pages of textbook babble throughout four years, so I arrived at the book store enthused at the thought of catching up on all the bestsellers I had missed. I could finally make time for Alice Sebold, see what all the “Twilight” fuss was about, and perhaps delve into “A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

Then I saw those little price notations on the back cover of every book: “US: $14.00 CAN: $21.00.” Yikes. I’m glad I don’t live in Canada! Still, for a recent grad, $14 per book is damn near prohibitive. The smaller paperbacks were still pricey at $8. Who knew being a bookworm was so expensive?

So I looked online and discovered Swaptree.com. Swaptree lets users swap used books, CDs, movies and games by trading them through the mail. There are a lot of similar sites out there (like PaperBackSwap, BookMooch and 2Swap), but Swaptree was the only one I saw that didn’t use a complicated points or credits-based system. You simply list any items you’re willing to trade and make a list of items you want. The Swaptree system then alerts you of potential trade partners who have what you want and want what you have (three-way trades – trades between three people – are also possible). You accept or reject trades based on how much you want an item, and ship your items out to trade partners through media mail, which usually costs around $2.50.

I’ve personally gotten dozens of books on the site and saved a ton of money. I’m also conserving shelf space in my home AND helping the environment by recycling books! By browsing other users’ libraries and book reviews, I’ve also discovered a number of great books I never would have known about, like Love, Rosie and It’s Not Me, It’s You. Swaptree also features Staff Picks and Most Wanted selections, which make it easy to find excellent lesser-known items or popular choices you may have missed.

Visit Someday I’ll Learn for more money-saving tips and advice!