The Budget Fashionista

At the end of the year I noticed I had a lot of books in my house. I mean, I could have started a library! I decided to get rid of all the books I didn't read or have read but kept around the house for some reason. I had about 5 banker boxes filled with books. I was going to take them to various used book places but they weren't accepting any new books. And some places only accepted once a month. Plus, I don't own a car so that put a damper on things! Then I read about some online places that allow you to swap books. All you do is pay for the postage, which is media mail, around $2 per book. Everytime you send a book, you get one credit. Then you can get a book. That's how I got "The Budget Fashionista"! I have gotten rid of over 200 books! Read them and repost them!

Plus, since I'm a teacher, it's great for my classroom library. This past year I had a Harry Potter after-school club and "bought" all of my students the first book in the series. For stay-at-home moms, you can get rid of some of your childrens' books and get "new" ones. Some of the sites accept highlighted books while others do not. Please read the conditions. I know this will cost money to do at first but post only 10 books at first. I made the mistake of posting all of my books and had to make daily trips to the post office for about a week!

http://www.paperbackswap.com (books must be in somewhat good condition, no highlighting!)

http://www.titletrader.com (any condition accepted, accepts magazines too!)

http://www.frugalreader.com (any condition accepted)

I actually have a whole library full of books and I don't know what to do with them. Most of the books I will not reread, so I feel like they are wasting space. My local book store buys books but I don't want to bring it to them because they only give .50 per book, regardless of how new/old it is as long as they think they can resell it, they will accept it. At that price, I mind as well donate them to the library or school or something.

Book swapping sound like a good idea, but I don't really like going to the post office and stuff, especially with all those prepaid return labels around. Do you know of any places that offer those services, kind of like a book club, but a place where people actually meet and sit down and talk about books and stuff?

Actually, you don't have to fill out any of those types of forms. Those websites print out the labels for you! They even estimate the amount for you. If the other person wants you to include delivery confirmation, they pay for it and it's included in the label, usually less than .25! It's actually fun when I go to the post office because they know me and they all try to get a "better" rate for me. Sometimes 1st class is cheaper.

You can try http://www.meetup.com and see if there are any bookswapping clubs in your area. Sometimes that's hard because you have to lug a shopping bag full of books to the meetings. I don't own a car so, personally, that part is kind of hard for me. And I find that some people are a bit choosy about the condition of the book. They want books that are in prestine condition. That tells me that they're only collecting the books so there won't be any chatting up the book. I don't care what condition the book is in. The more worn the book, the more loved the book!

Or you can try http://www.bookcrossing.com. That's where you sign-up, register your book, write the ID number inside the book, and then place it somewhere for someone to pick up and read. They're supposed to go on-line and sign-in with the ID number and you track where the book is. I like doing this when I go on vacation. I'll bring about 3-4 books, read them, leave them in the hotel, and then check-out where it has ended up. It's fun if you're going somewhere far like another country.

I'd try http://www.meetup.com and see what's around your area. Or look in your local newspaper to see if there's a bookswap. You can always start your own club!