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Archive for the ‘New Features & Improvements’ Category

Coming Soon: Newsletter – May 2006

Monday, May 1st, 2006

PBS Delivery Confirmation with Instant Credits–By now, many of you may have already clicked the green checkmark at the top right of the PBS banner on the site and read about PBS Delivery Confirmation. Robert has been working very hard with the USPS, and is putting the finishing touches on the programming now. It should be available shortly. We are very excited about this new feature, and from the feedback we are getting, we know that many of you are too!

The PBS Store!–We have heard all of the requests for PBS goodies! Your beverage of choice will taste so much better out of an official PBS mug, won’t it? You’ll be supporting the site with every purchase, AND proclaiming to the world how much you love swapping books at PBS. What’s not to like? Come one, come all! Buy for your family, your friends, for perfect strangers! We hope to be able to announce the Grand Opening on the store very soon.

The Club is Growing. And not just in membership. PBS will have be expanding VERY soon in a way that we think you are going to love! That’s all we’ll say for now. Keep an eye on the site for details!

All the best!

Richard and Robert
The PaperBackSwap Team

NEW & IMPROVED: Robert has been busy! Newsletter – April 2006

Sunday, April 2nd, 2006

My goodness, where to begin with all that has changed at PBS? There’s the Boxer Rating System, the Message Center and Buddy List re-organization, the new Account page, the Wish List, the Bookshelf sort-by-genre, the Back to Top Link at the bottom of each Forum topic page…the list goes on and on.

The Boxer Rating System–A recently added new feature is the ability to record feedback about the members with whom you exchange a Box-O-Books™. When you have received your box and are ready to report your rating, simply go to Box-O-Books and find the swap you wish to rate. First select how you would rate the overall performance of the member: Positive, Neutral, or Negative. Then leave a few comments to explain your rating. It is appropriate to comment here on how long the member took to mail the box, whether s/he used delivery confirmation, and how well the books were packaged. If you disagree with the comments the other member has made about you, you also have the ability to insert a few words of explanation or defense. Remember that you will not be allowed to edit your comments at a later date, so say what you mean, but mean what you say!

The New Account page: The active transactions have moved down on your Account page, but they are still there! Robert has placed links in the white area in the top middle of the page to take you quickly to the different categories of Active Transactions in your account. This will be very helpful to those members who have a lot of books coming and going and who need to “jump” right to a category to mark a specific book mailed or received. Notice also that your bookshelf has moved off the Account page. To see the books you have listed for swapping, click My Bookshelf on the right-hand menu. You can see all your completed transactions on the Completed Transactions page, also available from the right-hand menu. Your Lost Books and your Canceled Transactions are linked from the top of the Completed Transactions page as well.

The Wish List: The Wish List is now limited to 200 items. Please see the Wish List Update at http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/wish_list_change.php for an explanation of this change in policy. There is also a new feature which will help you keep your Wish List tidy as you go along: when you are offered a Wish List item, if there are other versions of this book also on your Wish List, you have the option to keep the other versions on your Wish List or have them automatically deleted from your Wish List by the system when you accept the offer. If you would prefer NOT to have the other versions deleted when you accept, simply uncheck the box next to the list of alternate versions on the offer. It’s that easy! Remember, if you opt out of the auto-deletion, once you receive the Wish List item, you will need to remove these alternate versions manually from your Wish List.

Box-O-Books Gift Certificates: these make a great gift to a Buddy! To buy a membership in Box-O-Books for another member, simply log into your account and click Buy More Credits on the right side of your Account page. Scroll down to see the various Gift Certificates options. Box-O-Books Gift Certificates are at the bottom of the page. You can use PayPal or Verisign to do this, or send us a money order or check payable to PaperBackSwap, at: PaperBackSwap, 3651 Peachtree Pkwy Suite E390, Suwanee GA, 30024.

The New Buddy List: you can tag your buddies now and sort them by tags–for instance, Boxers, or Cozy Mystery Lovers. You can apply more than one tag to a Buddy, and view your Buddy categories–all Boxers, or all members in a Games Forum swap–with one click. The Buddy List is available as always from the right-hand menu of your Account page.

New Members Mean More Books: Newsletter – April 2006

Saturday, April 1st, 2006

–and More Bookloving Friends.
Have you visited the newly redesigned Tell a Friend page lately? We have made it easier for you to refer new members to PBS. Remember, increasing our membership means more books for us all to choose from. And also, when someone you have referred to the site gives your PBS Nickname (or PBS User-Email) during registration and posts their first 9 books, YOU get a credit! Check out the various methods of referring others: email links, clickable icons for your website, bookmarks and flyers. You can personalize any of these items by entering your PBS nickname or email address into the box provided. Personalizing in this way ensures that the referral will be automatically recorded on your account if anyone uses your link or clickable icon or bookmark to become an active member! The Tell a Friend Page is accessible from the left-hand menu on every page of the site.

Box-O-Books Now Fine-Tuned and Ready for All Boxers! Newsletter – January 2006

Saturday, January 7th, 2006

Hello to all you “Boxers” that have joined in on the hottest book swapping craze. The updated version of Box-O-Books has arrived and members are ecstatic. Join now and you can start swapping boxes of books for absolutely NO credits! That’s right. All Boxers have the privileges of trading books among themselves without having to use their credits. There is no limit as to how many books are allowed in a box, so the sky is the limit! Check out this amazing service brought to you by the PaperBackSwap Team where you can save money on postage and read books for free!

PR and Membership Highlights: Newsletter – January 2006

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006

Recently PBS was highlighted on National Public Radio (NPR). The coverage was on a nationwide basis. Listener response was overwhelming. With the surge of NPR listeners, we had members sign up from all 50 states in one evening. This is great news. See what spreading the word can do for you and all our wonderful club members? More members…more books to choose!

A member, Jan W., was recently able to obtain newspaper coverage in her area simply by contacting the local editor of her paper. It was a very simple process, and the paper was very interested in informing readers about PaperBackSwap. Check out our Press & Media section as well as our Advanced Referral section for ideas on how to promote the club. If you are successful in helping to acquire a story in a newspaper, radio or TV, let us know and you’ll be rewarded credits.

Don’t forget to have your referrals use either your profile nickname or your PBS email address when registering. This will ensure that you receive a referral credit for their membership.

You’ve Been PM’d! Newsletter – December 2005

Tuesday, December 6th, 2005

Doesn’t it just bring a smile to your face when you see that you have a new PM? The PBS Personal Message feature has opened the lines of communications for so many members. Many of you have used this feature to send a note of thanks or suggestions for new book reads or ideas for wrapping books. Occasionally, there is a wrong book sent or a question about a request. By PMing another member, you help answer questions before they become problems, thus cutting back on all the feedback that we must address daily. Thanks to all of our great members for using this feature!

New changes coming to PM:
Soon you’ll be able to keep a permanent record of PMs sent to you. In the future, you will be able to download PMs to your computer. Your account will hold the last 60 days of communications. Should you wish to keep a record of past messages, you’ll be able to simply download them for your records.

Also coming will be Conversation Progression. This means that when you receive a PM from another member that you’ve previously PM’d, it will have the prior communication attached. Now you can remember what you’re both talking about!

Forum Moderators Now In Place: Newsletter – December 2005

Saturday, December 3rd, 2005

You now have a new friend in the Discussion Forums. Due to the large volume of Discussion Forum topics as well as the increasing amount of feedback, we have empowered anonymous Forum Moderators to answer many of the questions and to clarify issues that may arise in forum topics. These moderators are seasoned members, dedicated to the success of the club. They have been selected based on their knowledge and ability of the club and are in direct contact with the Founders. We are very grateful that they are willing to volunteer their time and efforts to help us bring you better services for all of our members.

Because the task of a moderator can sometimes involve conflict, we have asked these members to pledge their anonymity. This will help to keep emotion and personality factors to a minimum. Please do not speculate who they are nor attack them for serving the club. Should conflict arise, they will be asked to make recommendations to the Founders for any actions that need to be taken.

As members, let’s continue to assist each other in providing the best book swapping experience on the internet.

Book Wrapping Reminders

* Use the wrapper whenever possible.
* You may want to use Saran Wrap to protect your books (to keep them from getting wet) before wrapping. Plastic bags, wax paper or plastic grocery bags also work well. But please do not use Press and Seal.
* Be sure to include the Request ID. If it isn’t on the package, you will not receive credit.
* Be sure Media Mail is prominently displayed on your package.
* If your package is one pound or more, it MUST go to the post office due to USPS regulations.
* Use packing tape to wrap the wrapper. Do not put tape on the book. If you must use tape to hold it to the cover, please use scotch tape.
* Do not place tape over stamps.