PaperBackSwap (PBS) is a
book swapping
Book swapping or book exchange is the practice of a swap of books between one person and another. Practiced among book groups, friends and colleagues at work, it provides an inexpensive way for people to exchange books, find out about new books an ...
website which was founded in 2004. The purpose of PaperBackSwap is to use the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
to facilitate the parity trading of books among members in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
using a credit based system for swapping. The club also operates sister websites SwapaDVD and SwapaCD to facilitate parity trading of
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
s and
CDs, respectively.
History
PaperBackSwap was founded in 2004 by Richard Pickering, a former
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...
student, and his friend, Robert Swarthout.
Sister websites SwapaCD and SwapaDVD were founded in 2008.
Operation
A credit system is used to enable members to trade books for credits and credits for books. Credits may either be purchased, or they may be earned by mailing books which have been requested. Consequently, a member need not seek another member who desires a parity trade; credits are the
medium of exchange
In economics, a medium of exchange is any item that is widely acceptable in exchange for goods and services. In modern economies, the most commonly used medium of exchange is currency.
The origin of "mediums of exchange" in human societies is ass ...
. Both
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, le ...
and
hardback
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or ...
books may be traded, as well as
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
s. Within the PBS system the value of any bound book is one credit, and the value of an audio book is two credits.
Pickering patented several embodiments of the program with the
US Patent Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
involving the swapping process of books, CDs and DVDs.
Pickering continues to successfully run the company to date.
References
External links
* {{official website, 1=http://www.paperbackswap.com/
www.swapacd.comwww.swapadvd.com
Book swapping
American book websites
Internet forums
Internet properties established in 2004