Hi ya'll :)

This is truly not meant to be confrontational, arguementative or anything like that.

I am just really trying to understand and have gone rounds about recently but just can't see the other side of the picture...

When Boxing I don't pick books out according to their weight, I pick what I want to read!

If I start a Box and want something I am very flexible on terms.

However, when I get asked to box i go to their bookshelf and pick what I would like (equal credits worth because each one is worth a credit or two on our shelves). I don't look for the lightest or the heaviest but what I would like.

Now, if the person starting the box happens to pick out all light books I don't request them to go back and pick out heavier ones because the ones I want are heavy they picked what they wanted an I am trying to do the same (By the way I rarely I prefer paperbacks and only occassionally pick hardcovers)

I don't think it's fair to get 8 books and they expecting 10 books because mine were heavier

The actual shipping difference in one case was 80 cents - 2 credits to me is 5.00 and I didn't start the box.

I want to grasp the concern at weight but have not been able to at 39cents per pound to ship versus the 2.50 per credit

I realize BOB is without credits but the credit loss on your shelf is real when you BOB but you are getting them replaced with other credits...

Perhaps, I will never understand it and should just leave it alone but I hate when I can't seem to comprehend something that seems to be very common to others...

Thanks for the help if anyone wants to attempt helping me see the light. I am not stubborn but until I see the logic in something I am dumbfounded about it ( I am NOT stated the weight arguement is unlogically - I just can't grasp it :)\

Take Care,

Lisa

I agree with you. If you make someone a BOB off you ( "you" meaning any Boxer) should be prepared for them to request an equal number of any books on your shelf.  So if a Boxer request paperbacks from someone and has a shelf loaded with hardcovers they should expect to possibly have to send hardcovers.  Now it is possible to negoitate an uneven box trade.  But it has to be accepted on both sides. The only time I did uneven trades was when someone requested little series romances or childrens books from me and I picked full length books from them.  But it was me that offered to send extra books because I wanted them out of my house and you can usually ship 2 of those little books for the same price as a thick paperback.  The other time was when someone wanted an audiobook from me and I was only interested in paperbacks that they had.  So I asked for 2 mmps for the audio which I thought was fair and they agreed.

Yet when my wife BOBs on her account when she orders HC books she allows someone to pick out 2 PB books for the hardcover ones she picked out.

I thought it was one for one unless agreed on.   If you are not happy with it, just say no and cancel it.  Each person has their own ways of doing things that they feel is fair. Some go on weight and others on number of books chosen. 

I just thought I am missing something on the weight arguement?? I want to try to understand it...

I also count audios worth 2 credits in a box and thus expect to give 2 books for it but i do not give 2 for 1 on hardcovers because regardless of weight they are only worth 1 credit on my shelf and again 1 pound costs 39 cents - 1 credit cost 2.50

Yes, I realize I can just decline but I don't know this is going to happen until after I select my books then get that message ahh... yours are heavier than mine...LOL

In my most recent there was a notice on their shelf stating to bboxers to be fair in weight and credits as soon as I saw that I declined with my explanantion because I just had a very bad box experience also stemming from weight.

Take Care,

Lisa

One of the reasons I subscribe to be a Boxer is to find books to read and to share books with others. I often do uneven boxes. I will also toss an extra book in a envelope, even on credit swaps.

I have books on my shelf that have a lot of copies posted. There are also a lot of books that I would like to read that are already posted.

I guess I dont understand the even weight thng either. But all that figuring is way more complicated than I would like.

Trading books with other members is something I enjoy doing. The only time that figuring out the cost comes into play for me is if I dont have money in the budget to mail books. When that happens, I put my Account and my Box-O-Books on hold until I can afford to play again.

Thanks Cheryl...

And that is how I feel :)

I love to read but want to read what I want to read not a book because it was light...

And I do make adjustments it is just two recent incidents where weight was a factor for the other boxer got me wondering...

I do understand in a DEAL not a box the concept of sending 3 thin books for 1 credit but there is receipt of a credit involved not getting books you didn't really want but weighed light...LOL

My last situation was like Mary suggested... 5 thin childrens books were requested by a boxer who has 290 books. Out of those 290 books 221 were hardcovered, Out of 70 paperbacks to chose from I think about 10 would be considered light... I truly can't believe I know all this just trying to share my books but these are the things that have been coming up recently...

Unless I see the light I think next time when I am asked to pick out books and get the message about my books weighing more could I pick lighter ones or could they get extra's I will reply "CAN YOU PICK HEAVIER ONES?" ... I don't think I could really do that but that lets them experience how I feel by their request because I have no clue how much the books weigh cuz I don't chose by that....LMAO

thanks!

Lisa

Well, I am not a boxer, but maybe I can explain this a little bit.

It is very similiar to the thought that a kids paperback is not worth as much as an adult paperback. Logically, they are both worth a credit in PBS credits. BUT, one costs less to mail. It doesn't matter that you can measure it in cents ... most people would consider a trade of 10 kids paperbacks for 10 adult ones to be an extremely uneven trade.

Hardbacks not only cost more in actual postage, they cost more in materials to mail (larger, sturdier box, more tape, etc) and are just more of a pain in thebutt to deal with. Yes, the actual postage difference might only be measured in cents ... but its the perception that hardbacks are more valuable in the first place, that you are dealing with, as well.

So, why do people trade hardcovers at all?

Most people trade them because they feel the trades even out over time. Within a year, lets say you mail out 10 hardcovers and 30 paperbacks ... and what you order over the same year is roughly 10 hardocvers and 30 paperbacks. So, the costs you have accrued in mailing out hardcovers is paid back to you by other people mailing hardcovers to you. So, when you take a bunch of single book transactions (hardcover vs. paperback), over time they even out.

With a box, you are dealing with a bunch of books, not just a single book order .... so people expect it to be "evened out" immediately in a single box .... and they don't take the long view that over time, sometimes you will be the one giving a little extra in the box, sometimes you will be receiving the little extra in the box.

By the way, I don't subscribe to either idea .... I understand "the weights should be even" just as much as I understand "the credits should be even" ... but even more important to me is getting rid of books I don't want anymore, and trading them for books that I want to read. So I am just as happy to trade 5 books for 4 as I would be to trade 3 hardcovers for 3 paperbacks.

So to boil it all down, you and the "weights should be equal" people are actuallly very alike in thinking about boxing. Here are some viewpoints to consider:
1. my box trade must be equal and equal to me means "1 book for 1 book".
2. my box trade must be equal and equal to me means "the weights should be equal since we are not dealing in credits".
3. This box trade does not need to be perfectly equal to me because over time, all my trades will even out.

See? You are actually thinking just like them!

I've never had this experience so I can see why you would be confused.  Trading books by BOB means both agree to the trade.

I've always assumed it would be 1 for 1.  Weight shouldn't matter. There are lots of Boxers so don't get bogged down.  If you don't 

agree with them, just decline and I'm sure there will be no hard feelings.  Lots of people ask for "deals" but you don't have to accept.

To me, the most important things in BOB is getting"postable" books.

LOL @ Judy!

It's funny you said that... I received a box today that had 4 CLEAVED books...

I had my RC's on that specifically mentioned NO CLEAVED Books because I just got one about 3 weeks ago, along with water damage and cover coming off from another boxer. Then right after that I got another book that had the cover off of the spine but I didn't bother because I was still going back and forth with the first boxer I figured someone would get the idea I was difficult or something... Personally condition doesn't matter as long as I can read it but I do want to be able to post it when I am done to replace the book I took off the bookshelf and sent...

I have been a Boxer for a few years but with the trend of the last two months I think I will not renew it when that time comes...

take care,

Lisa

I have nothing material to add, but it's interesting how we sort things differently, in a way that makes sense to us.  By weight, by number, by thickness.  My daughter just rearranged our knick-knack shelves in a way that came out quite pleasing to the eye.  After I said I liked it, she said she'd sorted the objects by shininess. 

...Wha...?

Steve Wright says that his socks always match because he goes by thickness...

Totally agree Lisa and Cheryl!   What's the big deal about a worth difference of 80 cents???   I haven't joined BOB and probably won't, and now that's just another issue I'd have to deal with-- obsessed "weighers"--- rather than the equal credit no matter the book that we do on normal swaps.

Jeanne,

Thanks for your comments but I didn't intend to discourage any would be boxers :(

I have boxed for years and it has only been the past 2 months or so I have been encountering this by people who asked me to box.

Boxing has been a wonderful way to swap books and rotate your inventoryI just think perhaps I need a break from it. I wanted to try and understand the weight concept so I don't have to disappoint someone by refusing their box but I don't think I ever will want to pick books according to weight...

Take Care,

Lisa

Sara, great explanation. 

3. This box trade does not need to be perfectly equal to me because over time, all my trades will even out.

This is how I deal with them. I'm not currently a boxer.  But when I was I just took it on a case by case basis.  Sometimes I sent extra books to someone because they requested little books from me and I was just happy to move some books out. I have also received extras from people for the same reason.  I also had no guilt over turning down BOB offers because I couldn't find anything I wanted.