When you Post a book, you are asked to confirm that the book is "in good condition, and not excessively worn".  It is impossible to list all of the ways in which a book might be considered excessively worn, but the criteria below are as comprehensive as we have been able to make them.

If you feel your book falls into a "grey area", you can either post the book and send a Personal Message to the requestor, or not post the book.  We have delineated what we can, and we expect members to follow these rules, and use their common sense in cases that are unclear.  If you would not mind "paying" a credit for a book you are considering posting, then it is probably okay to post.  However, book condition can be a subjective matter.  Keep in mind that a pattern of sending out poor-condition or inappropriate books will jeopardize a sender's membership.

These Guidelines are not suggestions. They are firm criteria to which all books Posted here MUST comply.

All of the information below apply both to swapping for credits and Box-O-Books swapping.

General remarks:

• ARCs (Advance Reader Copies, also known as Uncorrected Proofs)  are NOT permitted to be posted here.
  • The author was not paid for these copies (they were NOT intended for general distribution), and we do not want to cheat authors. (We know you don't either!)
• This is a used-book swapping site; books are not expected to be in like-new condition.
  • Older books may have some page yellowing or spine-creasing or dogeared pages; these are all OKAY.
  • Bookplates/writing in the inside cover/flyleaf are OK.
  • Author's signatures are OK.
  • Decirculated library books may have various markings and/or stamps inside or outside or on the page edges of the book; this is OKAY.  These may not obscure text.
  • BookCrossing books may have stickers or stamps or markings on the outside or inside covers or page edges of the book; this is OKAY. These may not obscure text.
  • Hardbacks do NOT have to include their dustjackets.
  • Audiobooks MUST be the original cassettes/CDs, but do NOT have to include the outer "box" that held the set.
  • Audiobooks must include all of the CDs/cassettes
  • Audiobooks must be playable, without more than one (minor) skip per disc.
  • Audiobooks that are in MP3 Format must be listed with "(MP3 audio)" in the listing title. You can read more about this in How to post a book
  • Books that require batteries to work do NOT have to have working batteries.
  • "Playaway" books must include working headphones.
  • Since this is a used-book swap, members should not expect to receive non-Media items with the books.
  • There is an exception to general condition guidelines for textbooks; see below.
  • There is an exception to general condition guidelines for cookbooks; see below.
  • There is an exception to general condition guidelines for travel guides; see below.

• We do NOT have a place for members to describe the condition of a particular copy of a book.
  • ALL books on PBS are expected to be in "good, not excessively worn" condition
    • note the specific cases for textbooks and cookbooks  and travel guides.
  • Books are requested in FIFO (first-in, first-out) order
• If you would like your books to be in "better-than-PBS" condition :
  • You are responsible for setting Requestor Conditions on your account.

Guidelines:                                                                                                                                       

Overall Condition:

• No damage at all from water or other liquid
• Not soiled
• No stains (exception for cookbooks--see below)
• No mold
• no highlighting, underlining or writing on text pages (exception for Textbooks/Workbooks and travel guidebooks --see below)

Dust Jacket:

• The DUST JACKET (this is not the same as the cover of a book) does not have to be included with a book at all, unless the requestor had this in their Requestor Conditions. 
• So DUST JACKET condition cannot be considered as part of the condition of a book, unless there were Requestor Conditions on the request specifying that the dust jacket be included.
• If the Dust Jacket was to be included as specified in the Requestor Conditions on the request, the Dust Jacket must meet the same conditions as defined for the cover, below.

Cover:

• Must both be present (front and back)
  • note that a paperback missing its front cover is  usually an illegal, unsold copy
  • "cover" does not = dust jacket.  Hardcovers do not need to include their dust jackets to be swapped here.
• Cover not water damaged (there may be no water damage to any part of the book)
• Cover not significantly torn, or chewed/gnawed at all
  • some used book stores cut out a small part of the cover; if the amount missing is less than 1 square inch, this is OKAY
  • a small rip (less than 1.5 inches) in the cover is OKAY
  • yes, that does say "chewed/gnawed" above.  That means no pet-chewed (or human-chewed) books.
• A bookplate inside the cover or on the flyleaf is OKAY

Binding:

• Must be intact, with no holes on the inside or outside of the book
• If the book tends to open at a particular page (known as "broken spine"), this is OKAY
• Small amount of fraying or denting at top or bottom is OKAY

Pages:

• No torn or chewed/gnawed pages, as below:
  • Tears up to an inch are OK if they don't interfere with text.
  • Yes, that does say "chewed/gnawed".  That means no pet-chewed (or human-chewed) books.
• No loose or missing text pages
  • for travel guide books - maps if designed to be detachable may be detached, but must be included.
  • for picture books/children's books - all pages, including those with pictures and no text must be included.
• Cover not water damaged (there may be no water damage to any part of the book)
• No writing or highlighting or underlining on text pages
  • a signature or note or written price on the flyleaf or inside front or back cover is OKAY
  • a bookstore stamp or bookplate with previous owner's name in the front of the book is OKAY
  • an author's signature on the title page is OKAY
  • writing or highlighting or underlining on the text pages is NOT OKAY
    • Exception: if it is a textbook or workbook, these are expected to have highlighting/underlining/writing
      • if you post a textbook/workbook, the condition must be described to the requestor in a Personal Message
      • AND the described condition MUST BE AGREED TO in a reply PM before the book is sent
        • If you do not get a reply, you must NOT send the book
      • You can use the PM button on the request on your My Account page to send a message
      • This is the one of the ONLY three cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent (the others are for travel guidebooks and cookbooks--see below).
      • Please read What is the definition of a textbook? for a discussion of that.
    • Exception: if it is a travel guide (not a picture book but a guide, such as Fodor's or Lonely Planet), some writing on text pages could be expected.  All maps must be present and included with the book - if detachable it is OK if they are detached, but they must not be missing.
      • if you post a travel guide that has writing in it, the condition must be described to the requestor in a Personal Message
      • AND the described condition MUST BE AGREED TO in a reply PM before the book is sent
      • You can use the PM button on the request on your My Account page to send a message
      • This is the one of the ONLY three cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent (the others are for textbooks/workbooks and cookbooks--see above and below).

• • No staining

    • Exception: Cookbooks may have some mild staining, since these are used in the kitchen and while cooking, and some minor degree of staining could be expected in a used cookbook.  Also a small amount of writing in cookbooks could be expected
    • • HOWEVER, if you post a cookbook and it is stained and/or written-in, the condition must be described to the requestor in a Personal Message
    • • AND the described condition MUST BE AGREED TO in a reply PM before the book is sent
      • You can use the PM button on the request on your My Account page to send a message
      • This is the one of the ONLY three cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent (the others are for travel guidebooks and textbooks/workbooks--see above).
  • this exception applies to the covers of cookbooks also.
• Page edges: remainder marks are OK.  A name written on the page edges is okay (if it does not bleed in and obscure text on the text pages)

Audiobooks

• Audiobooks must be originals--not copies! 
  • Copies are illegal.  Swapping illegal materials here will get you expelled from the club.
  • burned audio downloads are not permitted on the site--these could be legal (being the only copies you made), but since there is no way to verify this, they are not permitted.

• Audiobooks do NOT have to include the box that enclosed the individual cassettes/CDs
  • The audiobooks should be packaged well if the box is missing, to prevent damage by USPS en route
  • Audio CDs must be shipped in a way that will protect them from scratching (CD cases/DVD cases work well), if the original box is missing
• Audiobooks must be complete (all discs or cassettes) and playable to be swapped here, without more than one (minor) skip per disc.
• "Playaway" audio books must include the headphones (batteries do NOT have to be included).
• MP3 audios. Some MP3 Audio books at PaperBackSwap are often listed with "Audio CD" booktype (this is information from the publisher) -- thus it may not be clear from those listings that the book is MP3 format. So: if you want to post an MP3 Audio, please FIRST edit the lsting title to include "(MP3 Audio)" after the title:
  • You can submit this edit by going to the Book Details page for the book (an ISBN search will take you there), and choose the Edit Book Data option from the More Options menu. Submit the edit and wait for approval (this can take a few days).
  • Once the title change has been approved, you can use the listing to post your MP3 Audio book.
  • We do also ask Members who can't play MP3 audios to use Requestor Conditions to stipulate that they do not want MP3 format books--  but most members don't use Requestor Conditions, so it's important for the posting member to use a listing that clearly states the MP3 Audio Format in the title, so that the member who is considering requesting the item will not miss the information.

Ex-library Books

• The posting member must check that the library book has been withdrawn/decirculated from the library collection . This is easy to do:
  • Check the pages/cover for "WITHDRAWN" stamps or the equivalent.
  • If no stamps or notations are visible, contact the library (you can find the telephone number using a Google search for the library), provide the number on the book (they'll tell you where to find it on the book) and they can confirm its status.

Print on Demand Copies of original books - are NOT permitted here. They are of dubious legality and also, no PaperBackSwap member will expect to receive such an item when requesting a book here. These items are typically 8.5 x 11 inch, with text scanned from an original book and printed onto printer paper, with "covers" that are photocopied images. They are prohibited at PaperBackSwap.

Interactive Books

• These include popup and lift-the-flap books and children's books that have interactive functions (LEDs, sounds, etc).
  • The functions must be working (popups/flaps not torn or missing, sounds/lights functional etc).
  • If these items have replaceable batteries, these do NOT have to be included. Each item must be tested and verified that it is working before it is posted though.

Supplementary/Accompanying Materials:

• Books that originally came with supplementary Media materials may be posted -  the supplementary Media materials MUST be included.

  • supplementary Media materials include CD(s)/CD-ROMs/DVD(s)/VHS tape(s)
  • if the book originally included supplementary Media materials, the supplementary materials must accompany the book for the book to be postable.
  • The supplementary materials cannot be posted alone - both the book and the supplementary media must be included in the posting.  
  • These combination listings are valued at 1 credit.

• Books that require non-Media supplementary materials MAY NOT be posted

  • an example would be a book that requires a decoder to be read.
  • these items cannot be sent MediaMail
  • These items cannot be posted here - because a used book cannot be expected to have original accompanying NON-media items, and if the book is not usable without the non-media items, the book must not be posted.

• Books that originally had accompanying non-Media materials that are not required to read the book (ie, jewelry, or a stuffed animal) MAY be posted.
  • The extra material does not have to be included (if it does happen to be included, the book must not be sent using Media mail rate).
  • Since this is a used-book swap, members should not expect to receive non-Media items with their books.
• Books that require batteries to work do NOT have to include the batteries, but the books MUST be in working condition.

• The member who sends a book that requires batteries must test the book before posting it, and again before sending it.  The batteries do not have to be included when it is shipped (although they can be), but the item must have been tested and working before the item is sent.

Related Links:

What can be posted for swapping here?
A requestor says there is a problem with a book I sent!
There is a problem with a book I received!
What materials can be sent by Media Mail postal rate?
What is the definition of a textbook?