About one year ago I began using an online service called BookMooch, created by John Buckman. The objective of BookMooch is to create a take-a-book leave-a-book service using the internet. Book Mooch uses a point system for the exchange of books. The point system works like this:
- Add a book to your inventory: get 1/10th point
- Send a book request to someone in your country: get 1 point
- Send a book request to someone outside your country: get 3 points
- Give feedback upon receipt of a book you requested: get 1/10th point
- Request a book from someone in your country: spend 1 point
- Request a book from someone in another country: spend 2 points
Over the course of a year I have received a total of 68 books via Bookmooch and successfully sent around 67 books to other people. That has saved me quite a bit of money I might have otherwise spent on new books. And the majority of books I have received were in excellent condition. The only cost to me was the price of postage to send books out to other people. And, it makes me feel good to know that the books I no longer wanted found new homes instead of being thrown out.
Now I’m taking it one step further;
Now I’ve taken my BookMooch obsession to new levels and started saving others peoples books from destruction. I’ve been buying books from various library sales for pennies (1 box for $5), and getting some free books from friends and craigslist. I know, most people would ask “Why bother?” Well, I don’t have a great reason other than the fact that I feel good about it, and I’m happy to send books I’m done with to people who really want them. It’s a cheap recycling method that doesn’t really cost much and let’s me get books I’m looking for.
So if you’ve got a bunch of old books you were just going to throw out, consider signing up for BookMooch. And if your looking to mooch some books check out my inventory.