As of today, July 6th, 2016, there will be a minimum price for Book Credits sold between members of $3 per credit.

You are free to buy and sell Book Credits as always, but you may NOT sell or buy them for less than $3.00 per Book Credit.

• That also means you may not offer or ask for goods (for example, Gift Cards) that work out to less than $3 per Book Credit.
• That also means that "incentives" or "bonuses" of any kind must not be offered or asked for.

Sellers, please note that the title of your post must have the price in it, for transparency.

This change is meant to keep the club healthy and working for everyone.

Members who become aware of any infractions should contact us ASAP.  FYI - the rule will be strictly enforced!

This policy goes into effect in all three sites today.

Thanks,

The PaperBackSwap Team

Does this apply to PBS only, or all the sister sites?

Applause applause! Although there may be some grumbling and complaints (though hopefully no one trying to go behind the system with lower prices), this is really a good move for the site. It's not something PBS had to do, but it shows they DO read/listen/tune into what we're talking about "on our own time." This is a really nice move. :-) (And no, I don't even sell credits!)

Thank you!!

KathyK, thanks for asking!

This policy goes into effect in all three sites today.

Since all member's credits will now be $3 can we please get an ongoing thread where members selling can just post to that 1 thread how many they have to sell & clear up the book bazaar of all the members selling the same thing at the same price?

Great idea, Leann.  I second that motion.

I third it.

I also think an email needs to be sent to all members.

Count me in , I agree with you Leann.   I've said this a few times.   and an e-mail to all members is a great Idea as well.

I think that the consolidation of the posts should be held off on until we can see the effect of the change because credit prices can still be more than $3 depending on whether book posting goes up significantly and increases the demand for credits accordingly.

I'd be moderately for it if members would just have 1 post that they kept updated, but even then it would heavilly favor members that get their post on the 1st page, because they wouldn't be able to bump their offer up so it would ever be seen.

Now that we are being charged for membership, postage has gone up, and the book credits are far more expensive, I don't think this is working.  Am I the only one that has not sold any credits where as I would have normally been completely sold out by this time?  

Since all member's credits will now be $3 can we please get an ongoing thread where members selling can just post to that 1 thread how many they have to sell & clear up the book bazaar of all the members selling the same thing at the same price?

I doubt this will happen. People don't want their credit sale offer lumped in with everyone elses without a way to distinguish it. They are going to want their own post to catch buyers' attention in order to get THEIR credits sold vs someone else's. A single thread would just end up like a FIFO line.

Currently I can see over a week worth of posts on the main page, so its not like the credit sellers are bumping the book advertisers off the main page too quickly.

Now that we are being charged for membership, postage has gone up, and the book credits are far more expensive, I don't think this is working.  Am I the only one that has not sold any credits where as I would have normally been completely sold out by this time?  

I suspect the credit sales will drop quite a bit. People were buying them before because it was cheaper to just buy credits than to swap. Now people may swap to get their credits, or their budget will allow for the purchase of less credits at the new price.

What is with the change?

First, let me say that I don't dispute PBS' right to make changes to the rules of their site. But it again forces me to acknowledge that I'm living beyond my means by swapping books here.  I spend way too much out of pocket on postage to mail books so I can earn credits to order more books. I can't afford it, really, and if my spouse knew how much of our cash I spend on mailing books to support my book habit, well....it wouldn't be pretty.  So one way in which I helped support my habit (as well as pay for my membership fees, I might add) was to sell a few credits for a low price via PayPal, buy PBS money (from which they take their own fees) and use PBS prepaid postage (and again they take out their own fees.)    Now, as the fixed income of retirement looms, the inevitable will occur sooner rather than later.....I'll begin weaning from PBS, start developing used book contacts locally, get off my butt and use the library, and say adios in April when my membership comes up for renewal again.  I can barely afford postage,  I can't pay the going price for a credit, I won't sell credits for the going rate because it feels so wrong...... so I shouldn't be here. The forums are not enough, it seems, because in the end it's all about the books.

As a retiree I agree with Keri K.  I try to sell credits at a reasonable price so I can help fellow readers.  I look at the posts of members trying to sell credits for $3.00 & don't see many wanting to pay the price. Making it mandatory to sell our credits for a higher price is wrong. 

Yeah, good luck seller with this policy.  I wouldn't TOUCH credits at that price.

I have never sold credits, but I have to say that I don't like this policy. Who gets hurt by lower priced credits? More people are able to trade books when the credits aren't so expensive. It should be up to the individual members whether they ask $3 or less. It shouldn't be up to the government ... I mean PBS.

And I love PBS, and trade books frequently. I don't plan to leave and wouldn't want to leave. But I think this is a tad bit too controlling.

Maybe PBS should limit the number of credits that can be given away in a month's time instead of raising the price at which members may sell credits. I admit to being amazed at members who can, on a regular basis, offer 50 credits for sale every month! I'm not trying to say anything bad about the members who can sell this many credits but I am not able to achieve that level of activity.  As a member who struggles to pay postage to mail out books, I welcomed the option to occasionally sell off a few credits at a discount price to help pay postage in a tough financial period. So it seems that from now on, especially if I do decide to find a way to renew in April, I will just have to put my bookshelf on hold, as many other members do, when I don't have enough postage money to send out books. 

My 2 cents...

I don't sell credits and I have 0 books on my bookshelf.  I'm at PBS for the Games, to interact with people and have a good time!  However, more and more lately I will order a book from Amazon or Thrift or GoHastings, etc., that a game swapper wins from me because it's actually cheaper especially with deals of free shipping and prime, you only have to deal with those sellers who decide that stains and water damage is a like new book.  (PBS and some of the other book selling sites take to long to mail out books so they aren't used in the games.)

I post low wishlist books to friends and FIFO that people no long want in the games but I make sure that I send more than 1 book to a person to lower the cost of postage and most of the time I do get this accomplished.  I can't get to the post office during the week, they close at 5pm here, so I have to use the PBS postage because Saturday's standing in line at the USPS is not my thing...lol

- I just checked: For us to purchase book credits from PBS its $3.95 for 1-2 book credits and $3.75 for 3+ book credits so I'm thinking that PBS wants the buyers and sellers of credits to come up to almost their cost levels... ;-)

- On the other hand, for a PBS book swapper you have the cost of postage of almost $3.00+ plus .55 (PBS), the cost of a new book starts at $7.99+, or a used book average cost of $4.50, or a PBS book credit of $3.95 for a book, so to me the swapper is loosing money by posting and mailing one book at a time but it works both ways in the end.

Hope that makes sense...

I learned today that you can actually only buy 30 credits per month from PBS. And there is a $.50 transaction fee per sale.  So you pay $4.45 each credit, and then if you buy pre-printed postage there is a $.55 transaction fee, each transaction, and then if you are ala carte there is a swap fee.....I don't know.   Everything is increasing in cost, everyday we give up something that has importance because it costs too much. This reminds me that a book club, any book club, is a luxury and something that I will some day have to live without. I've gotten used to the American sense of entitlement that everything should be the way I want it to be.

I think this will hurt people with large shelves such as myself.  I sell credits because I don't want to replace all the books I send with other books so I take a loss on the credits I sell.  I will reduce my shelf hopefully to minimal by renewal time and give away many books so I don't end up with a lot of credits now.

I don't have a shelf as large as Theresa's, but I get fairly regular requests from it, plus requests from participating in the Multiple Wish List thread. I can usually spend down credits by finding books for deployed folks, by checking the Multiple Wish List thread and through separate WL offers made to me.

Sometimes I have more credits than I'm comfortable with and will sell them.

Not right now. It might change, but peeps just now aren't willing to pay $3 per credit. I spent a great amount of time today finding exclusive titles for deployed folks amd trolling the Multiple Wish List thread.

And then I received surprise offers for three WL books (Yay! That truly was a great surprise - and so unexpected!). So for now, I'm good again.

I really don't want to find myself scrambling on a regular basis to spend down credits. I have books to post to my shelf and WL books to post in the Multiple Wish List thread or through FIFO (posted a few today, but have more).

I'm afraid that I'll find myself putting my shelf on hold and avoiding offering Wish Lists books when I have more credits then I'm comfortable with. I really don't want to donate books, but I'm also not going to let them take over my house. Space is limited. Not posting books and Wish List titles isn't good for PBS or for members.

I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure this ain't it.

I don't buy/sell credits, so this doesn't much affect me atm, but I definitely do not agree with the decision. I understand why the new rule is being enforced... PBS wants their members to purchase through them so they can make money. However, I feel that the credit exchanges should just be between the members (outside of PBS influence). 

Some accounts definitely do accumulate a lot of credits and do not have many requests met. People just do not feel comfortable having a large amount of credit stock with the possiblity of the site going under. Selling off the credits member-to-member is actually beneficial to everyone, except PBS lol. I think a better solution would be for PBS to start a buy-back program, discounted to benefit them. I suppose that they are not willing to lose any money at all though, so this is a moot point.

This new rule seems to have "bad omen" written all over it. As with the memberships changes that came about early last year, many people are going to start putting their shelves on hold and slowly moving in a new direction, away from PBS. I hope not, but it's bound to happen with such an increase in the purchases. I've seen credits go for as low as $2.20ea (I think I've even seen $2 flat last year). To go from that to an extra $.80 member-to-member... that's pretty significant. Add in the little fees that they are already collecting on each purchase (credits, mailing, ect.).. it is quickly becoming costly to swap. Buying used online, expecially with free shipping deals - at some point it will be cheaper for members to go throuhg Amazon Prime and drown in their growing sea of books than exchange on PBS.

Hopefully they will rethink this decision and nix the new rule.

This new rule seems to have "bad omen" written all over it. As with the memberships changes that came about early last year, many people are going to start putting their shelves on hold and slowly moving in a new direction, away from PBS

One of the reasons for the change was to combat people getting rid of their shelves because it was cheaper to buy credits at $2 than to mail out books for $2.61 plus printing costs plus transaction fees, which was hurting the club because the site needs books to trade.