I just started using the site and had a question that I looked through the site to see if it was addressed.

A few of the books that I have available are hardcover (I rarely buy paperbacks) and I was surprised to see that the value of the books were the same no matter if it was a paperback book or hardcover.

Shouldn't it be somewhat like it is at SwapADVD?  I thought of a couple of ways that this can work....

1. If the book is hardcover then it is worth 2 credits.

2. The credits are assigned based on some formula that takes into account the original price.
 

Something more than just one credit for a hardcover book may get more users to post these books.

Carlos,  This question - or questions similar to it - come up occasionally.  And they always generate a lot of discussion.   But to save a little time, here is a link to a recent similar question and the many, many responses: 

Why not make books with 500+ wishers cost 2 credits each?

This has been covered a lot.  List price has nothing to do with the worth of the same book used.  The books we are trading are used, and used books (except in very limited circumstances) have very little actual value whether they be PB or HC. 

What about a PB that cost 50 cents upon it's original release, but now would now fetch $200 on ebay?  It would be super, super complicated to decide that some boks are worth more credits than others. 

No, you get one credit per book, whether it be paperback or hardbound. You get two credits for an audio book.

As the others have said, this comes up very often. There are plenty of other sites out there that allow you to set your price, sell your books, etc. This site operates on a 1 book = 1 credit system.

Plenty of people post hardcover books anyway, if you don't feel comfortable doing so, that is your choice.

The thing is - it is a book for a book. BUT you could post all paperbacks and order all hardbacks - thus making the perceived value to you greater.  I post a mixture, books I no longer want to keep are just that, regardless of their binding.

I have mostly paperbacks posted, but I post hardcovers, too. Unless they are particularly heavy, they are either the same price or only a small amount more to mail.  I request mostly paperbacks, too, but I do request hardcovers as well.

I don't think that hardcovers only being worth 1 credit is preventing people from posting them here. I think it tends to be more a case of ... people who buy hardcovers in the first place are probably more likely to keep them.

Once the paperback edition of a book is issued, most hardcovers can be purchased for the price of the paperback, or less. Naturally, there are exceptions, but that is the case with most in-print books. As a used book, hardcovers do not really keep their value any more than paperbacks do, unless the book goes out of print but remains in some demand.

The problem is that, with books the "original price" can move. New HCs go for less than paperbacks once the paperback becomes available, there is nothing in the DVD world that equates to two different bindings of the same book being released at different times bringing the price of the first down. Used, they all go in the same prince range. 

The best way to get your value is to order HCs with the credits you earn from swapping them. Then you are getting back exactly what you gave up.

I wouldn't pay 2 credits for hardcovers.  I post lots of hardcovers because I have no problem finding them in abundance at thrift stores for .50-1.00. And not just old ones either.

If you think your books are worth more than a credit you can try selling them on ebay or Half.com.  Books are like cars-once they walk out of the store and become "used" they lose a whole lot of value-unless they become rare. 

I've sent out mass market paperbacks that were out of print and I probably could have sold on ebay for $20.  I've sent out audiobooks that I got for .50 at the FOL sale for 2 credits that only cost me $2 to mail.  It all works out.  I've sent out cookbooks that cost $3 to mail but only earned me a credit.  But then again I've take a credit and received 4 books for it from a deal. 

Once the paperback edition of a book is issued, most hardcovers can be purchased for the price of the paperback, or less. Naturally, there are exceptions, but that is the case with most in-print books.

This is definitely true. I was in the Union Square Barnes and Noble yesterday, and saw the shiny trade paperbacks on sale for full price (~$15) while the new harcovers of the same title were in the remainder/bargain section for $5.99 to 6.99

Not only that, places like Amazon often deeply discount hardcovers when they are first released. For example, even though Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson's "The Gathering Storm" has a list price of $24.99, I got it for $11.74 just this past week, which is around the same price as many trade paperbacks. And you can get great hardcovers at Bookcloseouts.com for REAL cheap--this past week when they had their 50% off fiction sale (actually I think it's still on til tomorrow) I got a slew of brand new hardcovers deiscounted from even their regular cheap prices--most were $2.49-$2.99. That's less than half the price of a paperback!

Since PBS has no idea what you paid for a book to begin with, or where you got the book, the one book for one credit keeps things simple and I think it works really well.

I have sent (and received!) hundreds of hardcovers--it does even out in the end.

Cheryl

Thank you all for all your responses.  Consider this question answered!