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Archive for the ‘New Features & Improvements’ Category

Import your Amazon.com Wish List (or any List of Books) to PaperBackSwap’s WL, TBR, Reminder List, etc.

Monday, September 21st, 2009

The tool you want to use is the “Book List Import Bookmark” found under member tools.

– Member Tools may also be found in the first column of our footer once logged in.

Give Away: 1 credit to a random member that comments: 1. attempted importing  & had success or failure & 2. which list they tried to import from. Good Luck!

What is the Book List Import Bookmark?

  • It’s a bookmark that you click to import ISBNs from any Webpage you are on (PBS or non-PBS). [Common examples are your Amazon WL, B&N WL, Librarything, Goodreads, etc.]
  • If you are on a webpage that contains Books w/ISBNs, click the Book List Import Bookmark in your browser and you can choose from the list of available ISBNs on that page, and choose which PBS list in your account to which to import them
    • You can import to your Bookshelf, Wish List, Reminder List, Books I’ve Read List, and TBR Pile.
    • You can import one ISBN or many at a time.

Why use it?

  • It makes adding books to a PBS list much easier & saving lots of  time!
  • For example, if you are on a site and you see that there is a book you would like to put on your Wish List, you can simply click the Book List Import bookmark and you can choose that book, then choose to place it on your Wish List.
    • You do not have to copy-paste the book information and go back to the PBS site to paste it into the Search there
    • You can import whole lists– add multiple items to your PBS lists from other sites (ie, your Amazon Wish List) with just a few clicks!

How to Use it:

  • Click the Member Tools link at the bottom of any page on the site.
  • Click the Book List Import Bookmark, and then
    • For Firefox – Right click on this link > PaperBackSwap List Import
      • Choose “Bookmark This Link…”
      • Mac/one-button mouse: control-click
    • For Internet Explorer – Right click on this link > PaperBackSwap List Import
      • Choose “Add to Favorites…”
      • If you receive a warning stating “You are adding a favorite that may not be safe. Do you want to continue?” click “Yes”. This favorite is safe to use.
      • You can also click and drag the links onto your favorites/bookmarks toolbar to add them there.
  • After you have done this, if you are on another site and see a book you want to add to a list in your PBS account:
    • Click the Book List Import bookmark in your browser
    • A list of available ISBNs and book titles from that page information will show
    • Click to place a checkmark beside any item you would like to import
    • The next screen will ask you into which list you would like to import the items–choose the list
    • You are done!  The items will have been imported to the PBS List you chose.

Video Tutorial.

News: Try Delivery Confirmation, PBS Cookbook, New Business Cards & More…

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Share and Share alike. trade your books icons <—Those icons are now at the top of every page, under the blue banner.  They allow you to tweet a link, send a link in an email, display a book listing on facebook or myspace…or a ton of other options.  Wanna tell everyone on facebook what you’re currently reading?  Click the icon when you’re on the Book Details page for that book, choose Facebook, type in a comment if you want, and boom!  it goes onto your facebook page.  Tell people what books you’ve mailed out, what books you’re wishing for…whatever you want to share.

Try it…you’ll like it. Don’t forget that if you have never used PBS-DC before, you have 3 free trials of the feature!  The 19-cent USPS e-DC fee still applies (you pay that with extra postage applied to the package) but the 27-cent PBS fee is waived for three separate shipments if you want to try this out.  PBS Delivery Confirmation comes with Quick Credit (and with Guaranteed Credit for accounts with good sending records).  To try this out, choose “Print with Delivery Confirmation alone” (the middle option on the Wrapper Settings page) and your wrapper will print out with a DC barcode. The offer is good until October 24th. You can read more about PBS-DC here, in the Help Center. Printable Postage is not included in this offer –it’s just for PBS-DC.

PBS Store NewsPBS Cookbook final proof has been approved and printing is in process  – Members have been flipping over the BookFlips (get ’em while we still have ’em!) –  and now that cooler weather is on the way, it may be time for a cozy PBS sweatshirt.

Recycle Books Hoodie

Richard wearing his awesome PBS Sweatshirt.

APO/FPO/DPO members: For those of you at military/diplomatic addresses, you know that you have had to use the mandatory Requestor Conditions (RCs) on your accounts.  But what about the requests to APO/FPO/DPO addresses that are submitted by stateside members?  We have changed things so that if a request is submitted to be sent to an APO/FPO or DPO address, the Requestor Conditions will be applied automatically.  If you have other text in your Requestor Conditions, that will be included – it will appear above the mandatory PBS text on the request.  You can read the text for the mandatory PBS APO/FPO/DPO RCs at the bottom of the Help doc here.

Be a card-carrying member… of all three sites!  The Omni Business Card is hot off the presses: it can be customized with your name (you can choose NOT to show your name!), nickname, join date – as you like.  It’s a great way to refer new people to all three clubs and get referral credit!  You can download and print these for free from the Spread the Word page.  Check out the PBS business cards, bookmarks and flyers also available for download from that page, under Community at the top of any page on the site.

News! -What’s New?

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

We have winners of the Twitter Background Design Contest!   Check out the PBS Blog for the winners, and links to the winning designs.

Speaking of the Blog…did you see the recent author interview with Mindy Friddle?  We plan more author interviews for the future, so keep checking back on the blog.  There’s a lot going on there!  You can reach the PBS Blog from the link under Community at the top of any page on the site.

Smarter, faster, more productive…it’s the Bionic Search! The Search has been improved, so that you can more easily find the books you are looking for.  Not only will the search results display to show more relevant results at the top, but also if you make a typo while entering your search terms you will be offered an option to see the results for the spelling the system thinks you might have intended.  Try searching the site for “Charlene Harris”  or  “Harry Poter”  to see what we mean.

PBS Store News: Car Magnets are finally here!  Members have been asking for these forever.  It took us a long time to find a vendor who could provide quality at a decent price.  The rectangular magnets are 8 inches x 5 inches and won’t mar your car like a bumper sticker would.  We also have a new stock of soft bookcovers in the Kiosk, in four sizes and many patterns.  These items sell fast, so get your order in!   These keep your reading material private, as well as protect your books and make them easy to hold.

(Book) Mark this down…

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Dear Members,

We are always trying to improve our site for you!  Right now we are working on updating the bookmarks and flyers found in the “Spread the Word” area under the Community tab at the bottom of the page.

We really want to make them more current, fresh and fun for you to use.  Bookmarks and flyers are a great way for you to share what you love about PaperBackSwap.com with friends and family and earn free referral credits, too!

This is where you come in—we’d like to have your ideas and suggestions about the bookmarks and flyers before we improve them—what would you like to see?  We have some categories in mind, like quotes, cute sayings, traditional look, etc….but want to hear your ideas, too.

This is not a contest, just a gathering of your ideas and suggestions.  We would love to hear from you!  Please respond here in the Blog area (no emails please) by July 20, 2009 and we will check back to see all of your creativity!

News: Better Browsing, Postage Increase, Survey, Twitter BG Contest, Requestor Conditions & Caps!

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Holy Better Browsing, Batman! Check out the new browsing options on the Member Homepage.  Click Home in the top menu to get to this page, on which you can choose up to 3 favorite genres for your sliding display of available books; below that, you can now also browse available books in other genres – just one click displays the genre you choose from the list.  What used to be the Recently Posted Available Books display is now viewable by genre – so you can look at cookbooks — mysteries — Libros en Espanol — whatever you like.   One click “refills” the display with available books in the genre you have chosen.  There’s no quicker way to browse for your next great read!

Postage Increase THIS MONDAY. Effective Monday, May 11, postal rates will increase slightly.  The price of a First Class letter stamp will increase from 42 cents to 44 cents (so stock up on those Forever stamps this week!).   A 1-lb Media Mail package will be $2.38 (up from $2.23). Download the USPS’ new price list, or read the information at USPS‘s website.  Please note that PBS Printable Postage will shut down for Sunday May 10th, so you will not be able to print the “old rates” on that day.  It will be enabled again on May 11, and the new rates will print out.  Remember to mail your books  you have agreed to mail on or before Saturday the 9th of May, so that you are not sending packages with insufficient postage!

We’ll give you something to talk about…. We’re looking for member input on the club, and we will be sending out survey emails to random members in the next couple of weeks.  When you get one of these emails (it will come from librarian@paperbackswap.com and it will have the PBS logo in the message body), click the link inside to take the survey.   The surveys will be short, and your responses will help us make decisions about what direction to take new features in the club.   So if you get a survey email, please take a few minutes to take the survey.  Your opinions could have a big impact!

So you think you can design? Prove it in our upcoming Twitter Background Design Contest!  We want our members to be a part of representing the club on our Twitter profile @paperbackswap.   The contest begins May 7th and ends June 7th. You can submit your entry on the site http://www.TwitterBackgroundsGallery.com after May 7th.   Winners get cold hard cash, credits, and Swap Money as well as unending glory!  And those of you who dont design…you can still get in on the act by voting on the submissions. There will be “people’s choice” AND “PBS Team choice” winners!   For more about how to submit, the prizes, and all the nifty details, check out the PBS Blog. A huge thanks to TwitterBackgroundsGallery.com for helping us set this up & use their website to run the contest.

Oh, we didn’t mention the Blog? It’s just a little somethin’ we threw together…. You can find it under Community at the top of any page on the site.  It has info from previous newsletters, plus stuff you can’t find anywhere else on the site, and you can comment on the items there.  Check it out.

Requestor Conditions Refinement. Now when you request a book you will have the option NOT to apply your Requestor Conditions to that request, during the process of submitting the request.  No need to go into your Account Settings to turn them off, then back to the request, then back to your Account Settings to turn them on again.  This new streamlined option should make things easier for those who use the Requestor Conditions feature.

And to top it all off… PBS Caps are in the Kiosk!  100% cotton in black or mustard, and a sueded cotton blend in stone.  Don’t tell us you don’t love them.  It’s not possible not to love them!   Ten bucks to protect your face from sunburn and proclaim your membership in the best online bookclub on the planet?  It’s ridiculous not to buy these.

News

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Yes, no kidding, you won’t have to hover over that darned ! anymore.  Plus, we’re psychic. Look for these changes in the next day or so: your Wish List will show your position in line right on the listing, AND will project if possible when you might get the book offered to you.  Because we want the predictions to have some accuracy, a lot of your WIshes might not have enough data to have a projection – but when you see an estimate on a listing, you will know it has some substance.

…And we’ll give you a sense of history. For each Wish List book on your list that has been posted in the past (but has not been posted within the last week), you will see the “last posted on” date, to give you an idea of how often the book has entered the system in the past.

Objects on Wish List are closer than they appear…Remember that any estimates you see on the Wish List will always be worse than reality.  Since as the membership grows more books come into the system, your Wish List odds are always improving!

Postage Increase Coming in May. Effective May 11, postal rates will increase slightly.  The price of a First Class letter stamp will increase from 42 cents to 44 cents (so stock up on those Forever stamps!).   A 1-lb Media Mail package will be $2.38 (up from $2.23). Download the USPS’ new price list, or read the information at USPS‘s website.

One, two, one, two – Get Your Account in Shape for Spring! Come on, everyone, take a minute to look over your Bookshelf and be sure that all items shown there as “available” are actually available to be sent when they are requested.   Now check your WIsh List to be sure that all items there are ones you still want.   Delete any items that don’t belong (books you no longer have to swap, books you are no longer wishing for) on the lists, and you’re done!  Now, that wasn’t hard, was it?