Just wondering if it's ok to ask for magazines in the bazaar in exchange for credits. I really like fashion and craft magazines, and would love back issues of some favorites.

You might want to check the Help Center but I'm pretty sure the only thing you are allowed to swap on here are books.

I believe that magazines cannot be mailed using Media Mail  (because they have advertising) ... so the postage would be more expensive.

It couldn't hurt to ask in the RAOK forum though!

You cannot ask/offer anything but books for credits in the Bazaar so you would not be able to ask for/offer magazines for credits.

From the Book Bazaar rules in the how to use this forum sticky thread at the top of the BB:

(3) No selling books for anything but credits, and no offering anything but books for credits. Freebies/incentives can be "non-swappable" items, but remember that non-Media-Mail eligible items CANNOT be sent using Media Mail postal rate. For example, DVDs and VHS tapes and magazines and pamphlets/booklets without ISBNs are all NOT permitted to be posted at PBS; they can all be offered as freebies/incentives, though. But if the freebie/incentive items contain advertising (ie, magazines or booklets bought at a supermarket checkout stand), or are not Media items (anything but books, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes) they can't be sent Media Mail, so the whole package will have to go by another shipping rate. DVDs/VHS tapes/CDs can be sent using Media Mail postal rate.

 Does anyone know of a similar site that allows the exchange of magazines?  I have a lot of really great craft and quilting magazines that I would love to get to new homes, but I don't know anywhere to do it other than selling them on e-bay.

Magazines are pretty much books that get regular updates, so that's really idiotic.

But whatever. I'll find some way to get around this little mishap.

I believe you could offer to request a book from their shelf and have the magazines as freebies. They should be made aware that they cannot use media mail.

And they have this rule because PBS wants people to use media mail which does not allow magazines to be sent. 

I would think many crafters websites would have a forum where you could offer magazines (maybe like for like, knitting for a quilters or something)

It's not "Idiotic", this is paperback swap, not magazine swap. As someone else explained, magazines can not be sent via media mail because of their advertising. Since the value of a credit is pretty much structured around the cost to send a book via media mail, it doesn't really make sense to exchange magazines for credits, since they may very well cost more to ship.

The OP replied: But whatever. I'll find some way to get around this little mishap.

PBS works just fine the way it is set up to work. If the goal is to find the way to work around rules and the tried and true procedures in place here, perhaps the best way to get around the rules would be to do it elsewhere.