Do you love reading & movies and like saving cash?

I use Bookins.com to trade my old books and DVDs for new ones Membership is free, and they make it really easy.

• You print free postage from home, so shipping to other people is free.
• You pay only for the books that are sent to you and you can get pretty much anything.
• This is a great way to recycle and save cash

Swapping sites have been available online and offline for years. Bookins created a hassle-free trading experience by combining automation, convenience, and great customer service. No other trading site provides postage, tracks all shipments, or pays to send you replacements if you are unhappy with an item you get. "

. You might be able to make more money on Amazon or eBay, but if you also buy a lot of books or DVDs, maybe you'd spend it relaxing instead of chasing down shipments.  If so, put Bookins to work for you.

You only need to understand 3 concepts to use the Bookins system:

• Points
• Want List
• Trade List

Bookins assigns a point value to each book or DVD, usually ranging between about 5 for an older or common book, and about 15-20 for a recent hardcover book.  When you trade a book, its point value is added to your account.  When you receive a book, the value is deducted. Simple.

You can set up your want list in 2 ways.  You can search current inventory on Bookins and can ask for a book that you want.  Or you can search on amazon for the book, and seamlessly add it to your want list.  I mostly use the latter since I generally am looking for either less popular, older books, or current items like 'The Big Short' or 'Mr Peanut' that are snapped up as soon as they appear.  I've had very good luck in getting new books this way, when Amazon is still charging $15-25 for them. The flat rate shipping fee of $4.49 is charged to your card on file each time you receive a book or DVD.

 Bookins will automatically redeem your points for items on your want list. You do not need to get in touch with other members or take any action whatsoever. If the first they contact is not ready to ship to you, they'll ask the next, then the next, and so on.

You can trade almost any type of book your family reads or DVDs they watch. All formats, such as hardcover, paperback, and audio books can be traded. All DVDs can be traded, other than pornography.

It's easy to list books by just filling in the ISBN in an online form.  When someone requests your item, Bookins sends you an email with a link that prints a prepaid shipping label.  You just package the book, paste on the label and take it to the Post Office, drop it in any mailbox, or even just leave it for your mailman to pick up.  The book is tracked and when it arrives your account is credited

i put books there that would sell for $.01 on amazon [all too many these days]. Those books gain 5-10 points on Bookins. I get new books fairly readily from Bookins, and then can sell them on Amazon for $10 or more.

Some research on Amazon can find big differences that you can exploit - items that sell for $30-50 on Amazon can be obtained from Bookins. It takes some work, and would be a great gadget or app for someone to automate.

Here are the books i've received after just over a year on Bookins, with a current want list of about 90. It's included bestsellers by Jonathan Franzen, Tom McCarthy, John Le Carre, Kevin Philips and Stieg Larson. An added plus is that if you don't want to keep a book, you can also relist it and trade it for something else on Bookins

• The World at Night
• 1974
• Kingdom of Shadows
• Polar Star
• Remainder
• The Angels Game
• The Girl Who Played with Fire
• The Other
• The Prince of Mist
• C
• Empire The Novel of Imperial Rome
• Mr Peanut Borzoi Books
• The Burning Land A Novel Saxon Tales
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest
• Our Kind of Traitor A Novel
• The Big Short Inside the Doomsday Machine
• The Childrens Book
• A Most Wanted Man
• American Theocracy The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion Oil and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury
• Freedom: A Novel
• Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
• Still Alice Unabridged
• Cold Mountain Unabridged
• House of Leaves
• Turner on the Seine Illustrated

So I paid about $108 total for these 24 books. Shipping alone on Amazon is $3.99, so the shipping alone on these items would have been $96. I've had zero problems or complaints either sending or receiving books.

So I'm very satisfied with my experience. I also buy & sell on both eBay and Amazon, and Bookins both gives me an additional outlet for 'sales' and an inexpensive way to get the latest books. It's not for everyone - depending on the type of books you list, you'll probably need to trade 2 books for every one you get back in trade, since it may take awhile to find a home for all but the most popular books. But as bookins grows, the breadth and depth of inventory will grow apace.