How To Re-Invent Your Book Shelves And Pee Off Your Postman. (readitswapit.co.uk)

Member Name: Rhiana

Product:	readitswapit.co.uk
Date:	11/09/09 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Swap your books for new, find new authors, nice community feel, save money.

Disadvantages: You need to be careful about listing heavy books.

I can't remember how I heard about ReadItSwapIt.co.uk, a recommendation from a random website while surfing aimlessly one evening. What I do know is that once I had found it I was hooked!

I've always loved reading. From a very young age I was far more likely to be found with my nose stuck in a book than watching TV, and I'm still the same. Finding RISI was like stumbling into a book lovers paradise, and I couldn't believe I hadn't found it sooner. A year on it still remains one of my favourite sites (after Dooyoo of course!)

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~ About ReadItSwapIt.Co.Uk ~
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ReadItSwapIt (or RISI to members) is a very simple concept. You buy a book and read it, but then what? Some are destined to grace your shelves forever, being read over and over again. A keeper in the world of book lovers. Others, once read, will sit gathering dust and taking up space. RISI allows you to swap such books with other members for ones you would like to read, while at the same time allowing someone else to get enjoyment from your read book.

The site has being going for a few years, far longer than I have been a member, and has gone from strength to strength. Today the site has 284,615 books listed available for swap, in every genre, fiction - non-fiction, adults-childrens. Best of all the site is completely free to use!

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~ How Does It Work? ~
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To use RISI you must be a registered member and have a UK postal address (BFPO addresses are also valid). The only other requirement is that you are over 18 years of age, if you are not then a parent or guardian can register on your behalf.

Registering is simple, by a link from the home page. You will then be redirected to a form to fill in with your full name, e-mail address, home address and your chosen display name and password. You are also asked to select a secret question and answer to enable you to retrieve your password in the event you forget it. Once you have filled in the required information and click register, you will be sent a verification link to your email, which you must click to complete registration. And then that's it, your ready to get going!

The first thing you need to do is to list all the books you would like to swap. This is really easy and straight forward and can be done in one of two ways. You can either search for your book by title or author in the search box at the top of the page. A list of all possible books will then be shown with the option to add to your book list. Alternatively you can click on 'My Books' also at the top of the page and then click add books from there. A form will come up to fill in with the details of your book. Firstly you will need to fill in the section to find your book (although if you have used the first method of adding, this information will be filled in already). You can use either the ISBN found on the back of the book, or the title and author to do this. I find it easier using the ISBN, as books are republished and have different covers this ensures you are listing the correct one.

You then need to describe the condition of your book using a drop down menu. There are a 4 options, Like new, excellent, good or acceptable. As peoples perception of Like new and excellent are subjective, I'd be wary of using these two descriptions. I would only describe a book as Like new, if it was unread and could easily be sold from the shelf, for example. I find that under describing the book to the next level is best, ensuring that your potential swapper won't be disappointed. I have found that most people just really want to read the book, and the condition is immaterial. Under describing certainly hasn't restricted my success on the site and has meant I have avoided any negative feedback or hassle. A second drop down menu allows you to state any damage your book may have, from a slightly creased spine, to aged pages, water damage or missing sleeves. Again I would only suggest selecting none if your book is unread and could be sold in a shop. The list is quite extensive covering all the usual damage a book may occur but if it isn't there you can add to it's description yourself.

Finally, before your book is live for swapping you need to select a category for your book, again from a drop down menu. Then you are asked to rate your book out of 10. I'm not sure why you need to do this, your rating isn't displayed against your book so don't worry about putting people off with a low rating. RISI state it's to allow them to recommend books you may like to you, but I have never noticed this feature or had anything recommended that I'm aware of!

Describing the process makes it seem quite long, in reality it takes a minute to do. Once you're done adding books you are ready to start swapping. You can either sit back and wait for swap requests to come to you, or request a swap from other members who have books you would like to read, simply by searching for the book by title or browsing the library from the link at the top of the page.

You can request a swap from any member. When you make a request your book list will be sent to the member, and they will be notified by email. They then have two options. They can decline the swap, usually because you have nothing they want to read, or accept by choosing one of your books. You will also receive swap requests from other members and can also decline or accept, depending on if they have something you are interested in. Once a swap is accepted it will sit in your active swaps list and here you will find the address to send your book, which you should do within 7 days. The person you have swapped with will also be able to access your information, so all you need to do now is wait for your new book. Once it arrives there is one final stage to the swap process, and that is to leave feedback. You can leave a rating of between 1 and 5 stars for the member you swapped with and should factor in delivery time, packaging, condition and communication... much like Ebay. As you complete more and more swaps, your feedback score will grow, and again much like Ebay, you will reach different levels.

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~ Other Features ~
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The Library is just that, a huge library of books available for swap. You can enter the Library from a link at the top of every page. Once in the library books are separated by genre in the side bar so you can click to see all books in historical fiction for example. There are also links to the newest books added, the most requested books and the most popular. I find the newly added and most requested links the most useful, particularly when I'm not sure what I fancy.

Your Wishlist is a place you can add books you would love to read. Once added you can search for swappers, or there are links to Amazon to buy the book. I find the wishlist function very useful to store books that take my interest, and I'd like to remember. However it's not possible to search other peoples wishlists, which I think would be an extremely useful feature as you would be able to find who wanted your book and see if they had anything you would like.

The Shop is just that, and links to Amazon.co.uk. I've never used this feature, though as far as I know if you click through from here to buy a book RISI receive a percentage.

Finally, The Community is a large and active forum area for members. While I don't post here regularly, I do find this a very useful section, particularly for reading recommendations and solutions to site problems. It is a very, very polite and friendly community, if a little twee, and these people are precious about their books!

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~ My Thoughts ~
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Well as I've already said, I love ReadItSwapIt! It's such a simple idea but really does work.

The site is easy to use and navigate, with clear instructions and links even a technophobe like me finds it a doddle. With the books split into genres I find it easy to browse or find a specific item through the search function. There are so many books that it's rare not to find what I'm looking for, and the only problem to overcome has been getting someone to accept my requests. Because you need to have a book the other person would like to read, I have found sometimes it can take a while and a good few requests to get a sought after book. Rather than be a major problem, if I'm honest this adds to the fun of the site. I'm never, ever desperate for something to read as I have well over 70 unread books on my shelf and it can be quite exciting to chase a book, then finally hit lucky. It can become quite addictive!

In the same way, it can be difficult at first to decline swaps requests you recieve. When I first joined I didn't decline any, even if the requester had nothing I really wanted. In some ways this was a great way to find excellent books and authors I would never have come across otherwise. It also meant I ended up with some real turkeys though, which ended up in the charity box. It's important to realise that you don't have to accept every request, it's OK to say no and no-one will be offended if you do.

I don't think RISI is a way to get rid of any old book, there are many books that just won't shift as people just won't accept rubbish for their really good modern ones. There are some books that are just not worth listing, simply because everyone already owns them and has them on their swaplist, I think 90% of swappers have had Bridget Jones and The DaVinci Code on at sometime. I usually have a cull every few month, and books which have had no interest get wiped and sent to the charity box.

What I do love about RISI is finding new books and authors, and the lovely community feel of the site. Even if you don't use the forums, I have mostly found the users of the site to be extremely friendly and courteous. The site relies on trust of it's members to send out their books once they have committed to a swap. There are occasional instances of 'swaplifting', where a member fails to complete their side of the bargain and send their book, but this is very rare and as far as I believe the site admin do have procedures to follow up complaints. I have completed over 60 swaps now, and have never encountered any problems at all. A couple of times I have accepted swaps but things have cropped up and I haven't been able to post right away. A quick email explaining the situation to the other swapper has always been greeted with understanding and pleasantness.

One thing I do think you should be careful about is listing heavy books. Most Paperbacks cost between 90p and £2 to post, depending on thickness and weight. However a hardback will cost considerably more and you need to weigh up if it's worth your while after all, especially when a new book might not cost much more, or sometimes less, on Amazon. I'd recommend weighing any particularly large books and checking the Royal Mail website for postage costs before adding it to your book list.

Another thing worth considering is that on ReadItSwapIt every book is of equal value, once you make a swap request the person is free to choose any book from your list, and may choose one of greater value or size. This doesn't bother me, a read is a read and they are all equal in my mind. However some people don't agree. If you do have books your not prepared to allow the person you have requested a swap with choose, you can make them inactive. The problem here is that they will also be inactive on the site until you reactivate.

Overall I highly recommend ReadItSwapIt to book lovers out there. It's fun, easy and friendly and a great way to find new books, or swap ones you have read for ones you would like. If you haven't yet had a look, go over now and if you've Read It....Swap It!

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