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Archive for the ‘New Features & Improvements’ Category

New Feature – Member Appreciation Books!

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

It’s that wonderful time of the year, when families are gathering and memories are being made.  We love this season! We wanted to give our members a present – something totally new, a fun feature to celebrate the holiday – one that includes the surprise factor of gifting, with a “chosen just for you” flair.

And so…we introduce Member Appreciation Books (MABs)!  This is the perfect combination of the PBS Market (where we offer NEW books at steep discount) and our book swapping club (where you swap used books for Book Credits) – now you can get NEW books for 1 Book Credit + the cost of shipping!

MABs are unpredictable – you may be offered a MAB at any time; the system will do this randomly (as long as you have chosen favorite genres in your Account Settings or from your homepage). So you may not be offered a MAB for weeks, or you may be offered MABs every day for a while.  MAB offers will appear in the Message of the Day box at the top of your Homepage (click Home when logged in to see if you have a MAB).  If you do, you can order that book for 1 Book Credit + shipping! You can sometimes order more than one MAB at a time (click the “More Free Books” link on the MAB offer on your homepage to see the list of MABs currently available to you), or you may be allowed only one that day. To keep things fair, you can’t order multiple copies of any specific MAB.  MABs can be fleetingthey can expire quickly (usually because of supplier limitations) so if you see a MAB you want, put it into your Cart.  Don’t wait too long to check out though, because if the MAB expires for that book, the 1 credit + shipping price will no longer apply. MABs are specific – they are chosen for you based on your favorite genres (so you do need to select these to participate in the MAB program).  You can choose your favorite genres in two places: (1) on your Homepage and (2) in your Account Settings .

How much does a MAB cost?  For each MAB, you pay 1 Book Credit + shipping. The shipping cost is the same as always for Market books – $3.45 for the first book in a shipment, and $0.99 for each additional book in the shipment.  In our Market, shipments can come from two different sources: Overstock or Super Seller.  So, if you order two MABs and both are Super Sellers, you will get them for 2 Book Credits + $3.45 shipping for the first book and $0.99 shipping for the second.  If you order two MABs and one is from Overstock and the other is a Super Seller, you will be charged 2 Book Credits + $3.45 x 2 (shipping for each “first” book in the two different shipments). Yes, you can order regular Market books (non MABs) at the same time and have them shipped with the MABs!

The MAB program launches December 11, 2012.  You can read more about MABs in the Help Center.

Don’t forget to go to your Homepage to check it out, and see what MABs may be waiting there for you!

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah to all,

Richard and
The PaperBackSwap Team

 

 

 

 

PBS News; Books for Schools, Gifts, Cruise, In Memoriam

Saturday, December 11th, 2010


Books for Schools Update: Our campaign this year was ambitious…30,000 books for 30 schools, and thanks to you we got there!  We will soon be turning those credits into real books for the students – they are anxiously awaiting their boxes filled with new stories and adventures.  The schools are thrilled to be receiving these right before the winter holiday so that they can send home the gift of reading !  Read the warm thank you notes from the schools so grateful for your help.

Gift Buying Guide. The Guide will help you find the perfect presents in the Market for everyone on your list – at bargain prices.   And remember, Market Madness is still going on – every Friday until December 31st, we are doing a random drawing for 5 free book credits.  Each book you purchase from the PBS Market enters you in the drawing – so the more books you buy, the better your chances of winning!  Donna, one of our lucky winners from last week, said “Oh WOW!  I read about the contest but never ever expected to win…I LOVE this thing!  It is like having a bookstore I can go to in the middle of the night, in my PJ’s, and you tell me before I even go that a book I want is there.” Remember that ordering multiple books in a shipment saves on shipping!

All abooooard! Members are still able to sign up for the Cruise to the Bahamas for PBS Members, February 4 – 9, 2012.  The cruise leaves from Jacksonville, Florida.  PBS members and family/friends are welcome!  Register for the cruise on the webpage the travel agency has set up.  For information from a Cruise Committee Tour Guide, send an email to pbscruise@hotmail.com or post in the Discussion Forum topicNote: Please don’t send in Feedback, as PaperBackSwap is not coordinating this event.

One Size Fits All! PBS Gift Certificates can be personalized with your own messages (on cover and inside the card) and image, and you can print them out and fold them into a card to gift in person or by snail mail, or email them as e-cards to the lucky recipients.  Available in 5 or 10 Book Credit denominations, from the Gift Certificates link under “Kiosk” at the top of the site.  We know how much people appreciate these – they tell us all the time!


In Memoriam: As many of you know, we recently lost two pillars of the PBS community – Sherry N (Royaltech) and Tracey M (sexypineapple).  Both of them contributed a great deal to the club, volunteering their time and giving generously of themselves to other members. They exemplified the spirit of the PaperBackSwap community, and they will be terribly missed! Our thanks to everyone who donated to get new books for their respective elementary schools, where each of them first developed a lifelong love of reading, and please keep their families in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

News: PBS Cruise, Market Madness, iPhone app

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Ahoy, PBS Mateys! Set Sail on a Cruise to the Bahamas for PBS Members, February 4 – 9, 2012.  Your Tour Guides have been busy arranging a Cruise to the Bahamas for members and their guests sailing from Jacksonville, Florida in February 2012.  Come and meet friends from PBS and enjoy 5 days on a wonderful cruise, with special get-togethers and lots of fun surprises and activities.  Register for the cruise on the webpage the travel agency has set up.  For information from a Cruise Committee Tour Guide, send an email to pbscruise@hotmail.com or post in the Discussion Forum topicNote: Please don’t send in Feedback, as PaperBackSwap is not coordinating this event.

Market Madness means you can win free book credits! Don’t start your holiday shopping before checking out the PBS Market selections of New Overstock books and brand-new Super Sellers – inventory is updated continuously.  And during Market Madness, your Market purchases may win you free book credits! Beginning November 6th, each Market book purchased will count for one entry in a random drawing.  Every Friday (beginning Nov 12th) until the end of the year, two lucky Market purchasers will each get 5 free credits.  That means if you buy 5 books (shipped separately or together), you’ll have 5 “tickets” in that week’s random drawing.  Remember that it’s much more economical to buy multiple books in a shipment, so group your purchases to save!

iPhone app now available! iPhone users,we’re happy to announce that member Gabriel Cox has created the Mobile Book Swap app, available in the App Store for a measly $1.99 .  We demo’d it in beta and were blown away. The crowning feature is the ability to scan – scan an ISBN to see how many wishers there are, or to add the book to your own Wish List, or to post it to your Bookshelf.  Find the app in the App store by searching for “Paperbackswap” or “Book Swap.” Gabriel tells us he has an Android version in the works also.  If you are developing a mobile app for PBS or SwapaCD or SwapaDVD, please let us know.

PBS News: Reduced PBS Market for October, iPhone app

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Bigger and better. One of our distributors for the PBS Market is having to move to a new location, so for the rest of October, the Market selection will be reduced.  The good news: this will make it possible to offer even more new overstock books to you when the move is complete.  Look for an expanded Market on November 1st!  Until then, stop by to browse our Super Sellers (brand-new books at bargain prices) – new ones are added to the Market all the time.

iSoon…iHope.

  • iPhone users, if you’re jealous of the Android PaperBackSwap Wishing app that member jaynval created last month, no fear! We hear tell of an iPhone app in the works.  We’re as eager as you all for it to become available, because the word on the street is that it’s really sweet!
  • And remember that PBS Mobile is still a great way to access the site from your mobile phone. You can use PBS Mobile by going to paperbackswap.com on your phone and clicking the Enter Mobile Site link at the top of the page.
  • You can get the Android app by searching for “Summet” or “paperbackswap” in the Android Market.
  • If you are developing a mobile app for PBS or SwapaCD or SwapaDVD, please let us know.

PBS News: Share on Facebook, Android App, PBS Mobile

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Share the love – er, the book. Now when you post a book to your Bookshelf here you will have the opportunity to share the post on Facebook – not only will it allow any of your Facebook friends who are already PBS members to request that book directly from your Bookshelf, but if any of your Facebook friends who are not members click the link on your post and register, you’ll get credit for the referral.  It’s a great way to move books off your Bookshelf and spread the word about the club.  Look for the “share on facebook” option on the page you see right after you have finished posting the book at PBS.

Got Android? If you do, you need to check out the PaperBackSwap Wishing app that member jaynval created for the Android.  The app allows you to enter an ISBN (or scan a book’s barcode, if your phone has a camera) to look up the number of people in the club who are currently wishing for the book. So when you are out and about visiting used bookstores or yard sales you can tell in a “snap” if a book is something you should grab to swap here.  You can get the app by searching for “Summet” or “paperbackswap” in the Android Market.  Thanks, jaynval! Stay tuned for more mobile apps in the works.   If you are developing a mobile app for PBS or SwapaCD or SwapaDVD, please let us know.

PBS Mobile gets a facelift. For the rest of us who are waiting for mobile apps for our non-Android phones, PBS Mobile is still a great way to search the site for wished-for books and keep tabs on our own Wish and Reminder Lists and Bookshelf.  It’s a simpler interface now – check it out by going to paperbackswap.com on your phone and clicking the Enter Mobile Site link at the top of the page.  Then you can bookmark the mobile site on your mobile phone’s browser for easy return access.

PBS News – Widget for your Blog, Save on Textbooks, Newsletter

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Show your true colors. Check out the new PaperBackSwap widget, that you can customize and display on your blog.  You can adjust not only the color but also the size and shape; you can choose which list to display and whether or not to show title/author along with the cover image…it’s very snazzy!

School Daze. Yes, it’s almost that time again!  It’s not too late to try to save some $$ on textbooks.   If you know what books your children will need for the next year, get them here. And don’t forget to post your books from last year, to pass along to others.  Be sure to check the Book Condition Criteria to be sure your books meet the minimum requirements – if there’s writing/underlining/highlighting in the books you’ll need consent from the requestor before mailing.  (Remember, writing/underlining/highlighting are not permitted in non-textbooks.)  For those who have started school already, it’s not too early to get a jump on the spring semester!

Easy on the Eyes. The member homepage is getting a makeover … drop by this week to see the sleek new look and layout, and the new features we think you’ll enjoy.

Timed-release Newsletter: Sending this NewsWire puts a strain on our servers, which can slow down the site.  For that reason the Newsletter will go out slowly over several days.  So if you hear that someone else hasn’t gotten her Newsletter and you have, just reassure her that hers is on the way.  We hope this takes the load off the servers so that the site will continue to run smoothly even while a Newsletter is going out.

PBS News: IE8 Accelerator, Market Notifications

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Do you have a need for speed? If you use Internet Explorer 8, you should try the new accelerator plugin for IE 8 that allows you to get around the internet more quickly than ever before! After you install the plugin, all you have to do is highlight some text (a title or ISBN, for example) on any webpage to bring up the accelerator icon.  Click it to reveal a menu of choices, including how to find the book on PaperBackSwap.  You can download the IE 8 Accelerator here, and see a video of how it works here.

Red Alert. Now, if you receive a new Personal Message (PM) while you are using your account, an alert will appear at the top of the page, no matter where you are on the site.  The alert will indicate how many new PMs you have; clicking the alert will take you to your Message Center so you can read your messages.  This new feature also cuts down on the emails we send you – if you read the PMs while you are online you will not be sent notification emails about those PMs.  (If you log out without reading the new PMs, then notification emails will be sent out to you, one for each message.)   You can read more about this feature here. Market Alert emails. These emails will let you know if a book on your Wish List becomes available in the PBS Market.  You will also get an alert if an alternate version of a book you are wishing for becomes available in the Market.  You can opt out of these emails by clicking the appropriate links in the emails themselves, or from your Account Settings page.  Read more about the Market Alert Emails here.