What does "BookMooching" mean?!

To me, "mooching" a "book" would mean that somebody came to my house, took one or 2 books with or without permission, and didn't return them. What is the LT definition? Is the BookMooching group a way of loaning books to someone via the post office (& expecting to have them sent back), a way of giving away books that you find you have an extra copy of, or - something else? I've poked around on the posts & don't see anything that explains it.

Bookmooching is swapping books using the website http://www.bookmooch.com/

Wow. Thanks, wester. Just spent some time on bookmooch.com & am astonished by it. Unfortunately, I don't think it would help me; I only very
occasionally realize I have an extra copy of something & want to find a good home for it. (For me, that wouldn't include sending the book to someone who wants to sell it; I'd rather donate it to a terrific local group, the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, for their sales room.)

I really had absolutely no idea about bookmooching & was beginning to think I was one of the LT'ers recently referred to in another LT Talk thread as being just plain not that bright...

Basically on BookMooch the sender pays postage on books they send out. They earn points from adding books to the inventory (0.1 points per book) and from having books requested by others from their inventory (1 point per book domestically, or currently 3 points per book internationally). They then use those points earned (which represents money spent on postage, so they are not getting a 'free' book, no way) to request books they want, whether within their own country or from overseas. You do not have to swap books with each other if you do not see anything you want. Some people do if they have similar interests, but most people do not, and it is not required. Those who send internationally (whether on the 'ask first' or 'worldwide' setting) send regardless of the other person's setting. (Many people cannot afford to send overseas, but there is always a way to obtain the books as explained below.)

You can request from overseas regardless of the status of the other person; if someone overseas is set to 'only to' their country or 'ask first' but cannot afford to send it, you can request the book(s) via what is called the BookMooch angel network where a person from the same country as the book can request it for you, and send it overseas as an international "mooch" (you request it from the angel moocher for 3 points, after they request it domestically for you at 1 point -- and there's a BookMooch Angels Fund for angels to request a point per angel mooch they make, to recover that point spent and make the international send worthwhile).

The BookMooch website is a fantastic way of obtaining books you cannot find from library sales or charity shops or secondhand bookshops in your area.

You can do whatever you want with books you receive because they are now yours. You can keep them forever if they're a keeper, or relist them on BookMooch if they are not, or send to the charity shop if the condition warrants them as being unfit to list (or keep). It's a great way for libraries (which are set up as charities) to obtain books they have no budget for, and other charities to obtain books needed for worthwhile causes, and so on.

It's also helpful if you read a book and decide you don't want it. Though donating to the library is an equally good way of disposing of unwanted books - it just doesn't help you get more. At least, it doesn't help you _own_ more.

Is it stated on BookMooch anywhere that the sender pays postage on books they send out? I just had a new moocher ask if I'd be willing to pay for postage, which isn't the case for BookMooch, and even when I looked on the BookMooch wiki it still wasn't obvious and not something a new member would probably think to look for (it would be rather hidden if it is?). Or maybe I'm not looking in the right place? What about when you add books on BookMooch, or when you first add them as a new member. Does it say anything simple like books you send out you pay postage, books you receive you do not pay postage but pay using points (earned when you paid postage on sending books out).

Maybe in the BookMooch Overview?

http://bookmooch.com/about/overview

No cost: there is no cost to join or use this web site: your only cost is mailing your books to others.

Thanks!

Paperback Swap is ten times better and works almost identically. More inventory as well.

www.paperbackswap.com

It is USA only.

And it's less than friendly to charities and non-profits who use donated points to get books.

BookMooch also assumes that its users are responsible adults, which may not always work, but does foster a greater sense of community. PBS is great if what you want are popular books and a strictly hands-off, impersonal arrangement.

I find them complementary. I end up getting harder to find books and newer books on BookMooch, while PBS has been great for popular books - especially best sellers a few years/months after the fact. ARCs (advance reading copies) aren't allowed on PBS, so I've had better luck getting brand new titles on BookMooch in ARC form.

Everyone ends up preferring one over the other, even those of us who use both sites. I can see why people prefer PBS, but despite its shortcomings I still like BookMooch more. The international aspect is the primary reason.

I use both as well, though I have been critical of some PBS policies. But at least PBS has some stability. It seems BM is slowly dying, ever since international mooches were raised to cost three points.

>12 atimco: I always find that hard to gauge. Certainly I'm mooching and mailing less now than when I joined BM in 2007 despite my eternally growing wishlist, but I've mostly chalked that up to my increasingly discriminative book desires and my lack of needing add to my point-bank.

It would be fun to make a tracking chart to show my actual use frequency throughout the years. Hmmm. I won't have a moment for that any time soon.