I know it is against the rules to send out copies of the audiobooks, they must be originals. But what if I save to my pc to listen to later and send out the original? I have a handful of them that I haven't listened to yet and are WL. I don't want to run out of credits for others that are offered to me. I thought if I save to my pc then I can listen to it later. Is that against the rules or ok as long as I don't make a cd copy?

I don't see anything wrong with doing that. I think it's only illegal when you're making copies of copyrighted material with the intent to profit from them. Sort of like bootleg copies of dvds. If it was just someone saving the movie from the dvd on their computer (not sure if that's even possible, but assuming it is), then I don't think it would be illegal. But if they then took that copy and tried to profit from it or make it available on YouTube or another site without permissions, they could get into trouble.

Saving a copy to your PC and sending out the original disks/tapes is fine with PBS posting standards, but I'm not sure of the copyright infringement laws/ legality of this procedure.  PBS is concerned with what you actually post here, not with what you keep at home...

It is illegal to retain a copy for your own use while "selling" the original. There is no way for PBS to know unless you post about it, but it is illegal.

Yes, it is illegal to do what you describe, and it is not considered okay to do so on PBS. Legally, the moment you swap the audiobook (therefore transferring ownership), all copies in your possession (including on your hard drive) need to be destroyed, since you no longer have ownership of the audiobook and have no legal right to it. I know I saw something in the help center about this once, but I don't remember where. PBS obviously can't know you still have a copy in your possession, but you will be breaking the law, the same way as those who make CD copies and swap them break the law. The only difference is that it's impossible for PBS to know about it for sure unless you post about it, but it's the same principle.

Tiffany said:  <<I know I saw something in the help center about this once, but I don't remember where.>>  Tiffany, I'd be really interested in reading about this in the Help Center if you can find it.

There's this...

http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/help_item.php?id=205

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.

But that section of the Help Center doesn't address the original question of the OP nor Tiffany's observation.   I can't find where it's not okay by PBS to download the audio to a pc and then swap the original audio.  As Melanie said, It may be illegal but I don't see where it's against any posting guidelines of PBS.  I can't find where that specific issue is addressed in the HC.

Yes, I know. I KNOW I read it in the Help Center, or at least somewhere on PBS directly from the Team back when I was a much newer member and was reading virtually every help and info page PBS has, but for the life of me I can't find it now. It's driving me nuts. It was something specifically about swapping audiobooks that said members were expected to delete copies on their hard drive before swapping. I KNOW I read it, and I know it was on PBS because it's the only swapping site I'm part of.

Now I'm off to search yet again, though I'm starting to get tempted to send a note off to the Team and ask them directly whether or not I'm completely imagining things.

Don't you hate it when you know for a fact you remember reading something, but when you go back to try to find it again you can't? It's maddening.

The audio books you are asking about are they the downloaded ones, or ones on CD or Cassettes? Not that it really matters, because it is not legal to keep a copy of something that you are transfering ownership of. I don't think PBS says it anywhere specifically dealing with audios that are on CD or Cassettes, but I but if you asked them, they would not want you to be doing anything illegal and then discussing it on the forums here. They may not state it in the rules, but they probably assume that if someone tells you it's illegal to do that, they don't need to quote the laws to you. Just my thoughts on it. Altho they do specifically quote it in reference to the downloaded audios, don't know why they don't point out that it's illegal to do so with the CD & Cassette format ones as well.

I asked TPTB this question and here is their reply:

If I own an audio cd version of a book, can I download that book to my computer to listen at a later time and then 
swap the original audio?  I'm not making a burned copy of it or trying to swap a burned copy.  I own the original cd 
and I'm swapping the original cd. 
 
I believe the HC is addressing making copies and trying to swap copies.  I'm not asking about copies, only the 
original cd's. 

It's against the law to do this.  If you swap/give away/sell the original, you should destroy any copies you made. 
Only originals are permitted for swapping here.   We can't control what members do in their homes, of course; we can 
only inform you of what the law says.  
 
 

I couldn't find anything in the help docs about deleting any copies when you send out an audiobook.  I know I read that somewhere too....but I can't find it.

However, if ownership is transferred and a copy is kept, it could be a violation of the Terms of Service:

  Items in violation of law
You further agree that you will not post or ship any items in violation of the laws or regulations of any state, city, county, parish, township, municipality, federal agency, or other governmental entity.