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Post by josette on Jul 2, 2020 11:32:28 GMT
I’m seriously considering deactivating my account on Bookswap...I’ve had a pretty bad experience with the last 3 books I’ve ordered: in the first instance the sender didn’t bother to send the book out and ignored my message so I cancelled it after 10 days, and the last two books I’ve ordered have both been cancelled from their end because they’ve arranged swaps behind the scenes with other people. I understand that there’s a really thriving book community on Instagram where people swap books - which is great - but isn’t this supposed to be something different? People are listing books and arranging swaps behind the scenes which is really frustrating when you order something that isn’t actually available...and there I am sending my books out diligently! It’s such a shame because there’s some amazing books on there but I think the rules are pretty woolly and that’s what’s ruining it for me, so I’m jacking it in. Ok, rant over!  |
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Post by geminii on Jul 2, 2020 12:01:01 GMT
I’m seriously considering deactivating my account on Bookswap...I’ve had a pretty bad experience with the last 3 books I’ve ordered: in the first instance the sender didn’t bother to send the book out and ignored my message so I cancelled it after 10 days, and the last two books I’ve ordered have both been cancelled from their end because they’ve arranged swaps behind the scenes with other people. I understand that there’s a really thriving book community on Instagram where people swap books - which is great - but isn’t this supposed to be something different? People are listing books and arranging swaps behind the scenes which is really frustrating when you order something that isn’t actually available...and there I am sending my books out diligently! It’s such a shame because there’s some amazing books on there but I think the rules are pretty woolly and that’s what’s ruining it for me, so I’m jacking it in. Ok, rant over! Awww .. That's a shame Josette (not that I'd joined up), but swapping books is supposed to be fun, and we all know the joyous feeling we get when book post lands on the doormat .. Best to remove this stress for the time being .. P.S .. Rants are good for you xx  |
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Post by josette on Jul 2, 2020 13:09:05 GMT
I’m seriously considering deactivating my account on Bookswap...I’ve had a pretty bad experience with the last 3 books I’ve ordered: in the first instance the sender didn’t bother to send the book out and ignored my message so I cancelled it after 10 days, and the last two books I’ve ordered have both been cancelled from their end because they’ve arranged swaps behind the scenes with other people. I understand that there’s a really thriving book community on Instagram where people swap books - which is great - but isn’t this supposed to be something different? People are listing books and arranging swaps behind the scenes which is really frustrating when you order something that isn’t actually available...and there I am sending my books out diligently! It’s such a shame because there’s some amazing books on there but I think the rules are pretty woolly and that’s what’s ruining it for me, so I’m jacking it in. Ok, rant over! Awww .. That's a shame Josette (not that I'd joined up), but swapping books is supposed to be fun, and we all know the joyous feeling we get when book post lands on the doormat .. Best to remove this stress for the time being .. P.S .. Rants are good for you xx Thanks Suzanne  I think you’re right....I think I’ve lost the fun a little bit, and the fun’s the whole point, isn’t it? And it’s not like there aren’t other places to acquire books! |
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Post by janetandjohn on Jul 2, 2020 19:29:21 GMT
Awww .. That's a shame Josette (not that I'd joined up), but swapping books is supposed to be fun, and we all know the joyous feeling we get when book post lands on the doormat .. Best to remove this stress for the time being .. P.S .. Rants are good for you xx Thanks Suzanne I think you’re right....I think I’ve lost the fun a little bit, and the fun’s the whole point, isn’t it? And it’s not like there aren’t other places to acquire books! Well well Josette...... I didn't join because I had to find a shop for posting and cannot do that presently. But if the books don't come I am in total agreement that you should jack it in. Of course it's fun swapping, and I am only sorry that there are so few of us on this little forum, and that most of us don't list books. I do - but hardly any takers! But I will continue to list on here anything that I have available.
And Suzanne is right - rants are good for you (for other reasons than books I have had several big ones over the last week!).
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Post by pennyt on Jul 3, 2020 7:25:25 GMT
Thanks Suzanne I think you’re right....I think I’ve lost the fun a little bit, and the fun’s the whole point, isn’t it? And it’s not like there aren’t other places to acquire books! Well well Josette...... I didn't join because I had to find a shop for posting and cannot do that presently. But if the books don't come I am in total agreement that you should jack it in. Of course it's fun swapping, and I am only sorry that there are so few of us on this little forum, and that most of us don't list books. I do - but hardly any takers! But I will continue to list on here anything that I have available.
And Suzanne is right - rants are good for you (for other reasons than books I have had several big ones over the last week!).
Very sorry to hear of your experiences Josette. I wonder if the problem with this site is that you're not actually *swapping*, just paying postage. Yes, the sender gets a point for sending their book, but that's not the same as getting a book in return that they actually want. It seems to me that somehow there's more incentive to deliver the goods when you're also getting a book from the deal. That was the beauty of RiSi for so many of us. And I suspect that, if there are some amazing books on there, some people will be listing them on eBay etc as well as on the swap site in the hope of getting more than a point + postage for them. |
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Post by josette on Jul 3, 2020 7:50:58 GMT
Well well Josette...... I didn't join because I had to find a shop for posting and cannot do that presently. But if the books don't come I am in total agreement that you should jack it in. Of course it's fun swapping, and I am only sorry that there are so few of us on this little forum, and that most of us don't list books. I do - but hardly any takers! But I will continue to list on here anything that I have available.
And Suzanne is right - rants are good for you (for other reasons than books I have had several big ones over the last week!).
Very sorry to hear of your experiences Josette. I wonder if the problem with this site is that you're not actually *swapping*, just paying postage. Yes, the sender gets a point for sending their book, but that's not the same as getting a book in return that they actually want. It seems to me that somehow there's more incentive to deliver the goods when you're also getting a book from the deal. That was the beauty of RiSi for so many of us. And I suspect that, if there are some amazing books on there, some people will be listing them on eBay etc as well as on the swap site in the hope of getting more than a point + postage for them. I think you’re right, Penny - I’ve had a couple of people message me and ask for a book and offer one of theirs in return. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky in the books I’ve tried to order, or maybe it’s like that for the majority of people who use the site. I wonder if I’m just being too uptight (probably!), but I suppose I’m used to the way RiSi was run, which was a simple concept but brilliantly executed...perhaps I need to adjust my expectations with this. I’ve sent a book out and am waiting for it to be received and then I think I might put my account on vacation mode for a bit...see how I feel after that! |
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Post by adelynechan on Jul 3, 2020 9:20:12 GMT
Yeah, I find it slightly bizarre too that behaviour seems particularly bad on that site. People do seem particularly rude: No acknowledgement of receipt (I'm not asking for a gushing heart-and-soul type message, but a simple "book has arrived, thanks for sending" would be nice) and nobody seems to bother with leaving ratings. I don't know if it's because of the Hermes tracking built in that people develop the "you'd know anyway that I got the book" mentality and so don't bother to follow up once they've received the book.
I mean, Bookmooch is essentially the same concept i.e. sending a book for a point rather than a direct swap but so far I've had more smooth mooches than I have had orders on Bookswap. In fact, I had preferred this over Bookmooch conceptually, as I can control how many I order from the same person thus sharing postage, whilst on Bookmooch it relies on the other person to whom there is no real incentive for doing so. That also means that it doesn't cost me anything to acquire said point, unlike Bookmooch where you pay upfront (through postage) for the point and only later do you redeem it by mooching a book.
There are good books on there, but it's painfully slow to acquire points (and absolutely no point to buy them, the cost comes up to similar to buying a used copy somewhere else, sometimes even a new one if it's discounted on Amazon!). I currently have a point saved up and am waiting for another so I can try a multi-order to see if that works how I expect, but no luck thus far. I'll probably keep my account going for awhile more, not like it makes a difference as hardly anything ever happens on there anyway.
Agree that a rant is always good - and we're the right people for that. Also if you fancy swapping (or at least, trying to), my list on here is always the most up-to-date version and I always love a swap!
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Post by josette on Jan 21, 2021 15:41:54 GMT
I have a Bookswap question and can’t find any info on their site about this so......
Someone has just ordered 2 books from me - which is fine as you can order multiple books from the same user in the same transaction and just pay postage once - but put together, the books weigh 1.1kg before packaging (one is quite a hefty hardback). When you download the postage label, there’s a very clear instruction that says packages must not weigh over 1kg or they may be held up and/or have further costs incurred. I only have one postage label - my question is: I can only use that label once, can’t I? I can’t split the order and print the same label twice, can I? I’ve messaged the user and asked her if she’s happy for me to send them both together and told her how much the parcel weighs - I don’t want to be blamed if the books don’t arrive. I think Bookswap could probably do with making it a bit clearer in their terms and conditions that parcels need to be under 1kg, because I’ve not found any mention of that anywhere on their site, but hey ho!🤷🏻♀️
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Post by windysisters on Jan 21, 2021 15:51:43 GMT
josette when I emailed the site about the lack of helpful information they told me: Customer support has been managed mainly through FB and Instagram chats, but we are thinking about improving the interaction possibilities on site, as well.So maybe you can look on Facebook to see if there's anyone else noticed the 1kg issue
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Post by geminii on Jan 21, 2021 16:17:34 GMT
I have a Bookswap question and can’t find any info on their site about this so...... Someone has just ordered 2 books from me - which is fine as you can order multiple books from the same user in the same transaction and just pay postage once - but put together, the books weigh 1.1kg before packaging (one is quite a hefty hardback) Sorry, I can't really help you here, Josette .. This is one problem with restricting to sending via Hermes, as they're pricing structure is defined at under 1kg, 1-2kgs etc .. Royal Mail is up to 2kg for the same cost (2nd Class) .. I'd suggest you tell the buyer that to keep within guidelines, the books need to be sent separately, so do they want to proceed, or only buy one .. Wouldn't recommend you use the same label twice ..  |
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Post by josette on Jan 21, 2021 16:19:25 GMT
josette when I emailed the site about the lack of helpful information they told me: Customer support has been managed mainly through FB and Instagram chats, but we are thinking about improving the interaction possibilities on site, as well.So maybe you can look on Facebook to see if there's anyone else noticed the 1kg issue Thanks Wendy - I’m not on Facebook but I’ll try and send them a message on Instagram and see what they say. You’d think their website would be the main port of call for all the information you’d need, but I guess I’m old and it’s all done through social media now! |
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Post by josette on Jan 21, 2021 16:23:55 GMT
I have a Bookswap question and can’t find any info on their site about this so...... Someone has just ordered 2 books from me - which is fine as you can order multiple books from the same user in the same transaction and just pay postage once - but put together, the books weigh 1.1kg before packaging (one is quite a hefty hardback) Sorry, I can't really help you here, Josette .. This is one problem with restricting to sending via Hermes, as they're pricing structure is defined at under 1kg, 1-2kgs etc .. Royal Mail is up to 2kg for the same cost (2nd Class) .. I'd suggest you tell the buyer that to keep within guidelines, the books need to be sent separately, so do they want to proceed, or only buy one .. Wouldn't recommend you use the same label twice .. No, I wasn’t happy about using the same one so I won’t do that....just wondered if anyone else had any experience of this but I guess not. I did say in the description that the book was a hardback so that’s on her, really. She’s not replied to my message yet. If she really wants me to send them both together then I will, but I want her to know that if there are any issues it’s not my fault! |
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Post by geminii on Jan 21, 2021 16:42:28 GMT
Sorry, I can't really help you here, Josette .. This is one problem with restricting to sending via Hermes, as they're pricing structure is defined at under 1kg, 1-2kgs etc .. Royal Mail is up to 2kg for the same cost (2nd Class) .. I'd suggest you tell the buyer that to keep within guidelines, the books need to be sent separately, so do they want to proceed, or only buy one .. Wouldn't recommend you use the same label twice .. No, I wasn’t happy about using the same one so I won’t do that....just wondered if anyone else had any experience of this but I guess not. I did say in the description that the book was a hardback so that’s on her, really. She’s not replied to my message yet. If she really wants me to send them both together then I will, but I want her to know that if there are any issues it’s not my fault! Hermes 'reserve the right' to charge £25 for incorrectly weighed parcels, so beware !! |
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Post by josette on Mar 20, 2021 19:57:53 GMT
Just a little update here...Bookswap is looking into adding Royal Mail as a delivery partner...hope it happens soon.🤞🏻
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Post by adelynechan on Mar 27, 2021 20:00:38 GMT
Just a little update here...Bookswap is looking into adding Royal Mail as a delivery partner...hope it happens soon.🤞🏻 This would make life infinitely easier, as POs are so much easier to come by than Hermes ParcelShops (at least around me). |
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I think you’re right....I think I’ve lost the fun a little bit, and the fun’s the whole point, isn’t it? And it’s not like there aren’t other places to acquire books! 
