BookMooch discussion

I have some questions about bookmooch if anyone can help. I am looking to join since goodreads is closing its swap program but I am very leary about new sites.

Is the only cost I would pay id the cost to ship books I list. I heard you pay directly thru the post office and not the site. Is this true?

Can I deny a request? IS there a way to know where a person is located before approving a request (if I have a deny option)? Money is tight for me and some weeks I may not be able to ship books and I would hate to have to take 50 or so books off everytime that happens. Also I am not sure I could afford overseas shipping so that is why I asked about location.
How long do I have to respond to a request, ship a book, etc?
What happens if the book is in bad shape for as it was described or is the wrong book (I dont mind wrong ISBN or a bit off on condition but paperback vs hardback or a different book altogether is different)? Do I get my points I spent on that book back and can I then pick a different book?
Any additional info that might be helpful? Thanks :)

Hi Jamie, I use BookMooch and it has been a good service. Now for answers to your questions.

1) The only cost you pay is packaging and shipping your book. There are no costs involved with the site. You can make donations, but that is not a required cost.

2) If someone requests a book you can deny the request. You need to confirm/deny whether you are shipping a book. Normally if the reason given is adequate you will not get a bad rating for this and the points used by the person to acquire the book get reimbursed. I have had book requests rejected and once I had to reject a book as I lent it to a friend and was just about to remove it from the site when someone wanted to mooch it. I did not receive negative feedback as I explained the circumstances.

3) When you setup your account you can choose to ship to anywhere in your own country, or choose to ship anywhere in the world, or like most people, choose to ship to your own country but people can ask if you will ship to their country. People expend more points if acquiring a book from outside their own country, but likewise you get more points for sending it. Normally it is 1 point spent to get a book or 1 point received if you send a book. International is 3 points for the above.

3) You need to create an inventory of at least 10 books to gain enough points to mooch a book in the first place. You get 0.1 points for each book you list in your inventory. However as outlined above once you start mooching/trading then you acquire more.

4) Normally you have a few days to respond to a request to ship a book. There is an option to go on vacation which temporarily removes your inventory from searches. Books are normally shipped using the cheapest means possible. I advise getting some sort of postage receipt if you send it 2nd class slow mail. Then if it gets lost you still have proof you sent it. International shipments can sometimes take 6 weeks to arrive at their destination using the cheapest service. Bear that in mind for sending or receiving. Otherwise it is normally about a week or so.

5) Unfortunately there are no returns, so the only option is to provide negative feedback to the sender. However most people are honest and although mistakes do occur, often people will rectify the problem through their own expense to fix negative feedback. If something is lost in the post the sender loses the point for sending it but the receiver gets a point back so they can make another order.

Here's some additional info from the site:
Some additional facts:

2:1 ratio: you have to send out at least 1 book for every 2 you receive. If you don't keep this ratio up, you won't be able to mooch any books, even if you have the points, until you improve your ratio. Sending internationally counts as 3 books.
Feedback score: if your feedback score is bad, people may refuse your mooch requests. Efficient response and well-packaged books in good condition earn good feedback points.
Lost in the mail: if a book is "lost in the mail" the sender gets their point anyway, and the receiver doesn't lose a point. You're allowed a limited number of "books lost in the mail" in order for us to limit possible fraud.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the help. Its great to get an inside view. :)