I was also wondering if there are ways to earn book credits without actually shipping someone a book or paying for them?  I read about referrals (who post books).  I've been referring this site to a bunch of people because I do think this is such an awesome concept & is so well designed!  Is there anything else I can do?  Thank you!  Shannon   

Not really.  There has to be enough books in the system to back up the credits.  So people have to post and send out books to earn credits.  You can buy credits from other members or the Kiosk.  I think they only give credits for referrals when the person posts a certain # of books. Probably enough to earn the 2 free sign up credits which is I believe 10 books.  But it might be after they send out a certain # of books.  They have to be a somewhat active member anyway. 

You can make your credits last longer by shopping for book deals in the book bazaar.

If your books aren't moving you can join Box of Books to try and trade them or offer a deal of 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 or something.

Well, you can also earn credits by sending CDs (on swapacd.com) and dvds (on swapadvd.com). 

If some of those people you refer are friends, you might be able to trade them all sorts of things or services for book credits (they gift you a credit, you mow their lawn..., etc.)

Hmm...I'll look through my CD collection now.  Thank you! 

Not meaning to be a b*tch about it, but what's the point of joining a book SWAPPING site if you don't want to send out books? 

what's the point of joining a book SWAPPING site if you don't want to send out books? 

I don't think she meant she didn't WANT to send them out but that she's not getting any/enough requests and wants more credits to order with.  At least that's the way I interpreted her post.

I could be wrong, but it reads to me that she wants to get credits but doesn't want to buy them or mail books.

If you read her other post from the same time Dawn, she is asking how to get more action on her shelf because she isn't getting orders. She isn't looking to get books without sending them, she just isn't getting enough action. She's even offering deals on her shelf to try to get more credits.

Patience will help too; you've only been here 10 days.

Okay, I didn't see the other post.  Nevermind! 

How to get referral credits - From the Help Docs

When your referred member posts 10 books to his or her shelf, you will receive a credit.

• You can keep track of your referrals by clicking My Referrals link at the top of My Account:
  • Click My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site
  • Click the My Referrals link in the yellow bar at the top of the My Account tab (default view)

• If a member you referred does not appear on your "My Referral" page
  • this means that he or she did not identify you properly (using your PBS Nickname or PBS User Email) as the referrer at the time of registration.  (Full name will not work at registration--too many members have the same name!)
  • The referred member can contact us at any time to ask for the referral to be recorded.
  • The referred member needs to provide your PBS nickname, PBS User Email, or full name and city/state in order to record your referral after the fact.

   You do not earn referral credit for accounts at your own household, or accounts that violate the Terms of Use.

I have to offer my experience here. When I joined PBS I went to the library to buy up their "clearance" books. I picked major authors (of romance novels mainly) so I thought they would be popular books. I was wrong. These books were offered for sale by the library because they were no longer being checked out. Everyone who had wanted to read them, had read them, and they were no longer popular. Now I'm stuck with 10-15 books no one wants! And I've had these on my Bookshelf for about a year.

The original poster may be in a similar situation.

I also had some limited-market books ("Sneaky Uses for Everyday Objects" and the sequel) I thought no one would want, but those were all snapped up within 2 months. Go figure.

I never recommend buying cheap books you'd never read just to have a bigger shelf. Same goes for those big name authors that are mega-sellers.  James Patterson, Stephen King, Harlan Coben, John Grisham, Nora Roberts-most of their books end up with 100's in the system because every book they release is a blockbuster.   It just clogs up the FIFO lines and your bookshelves.  I only do it if I'm pretty sure it's a WL books.  After awhile you can kind of judge which authors and types of books are going to be WL or go fast.  I usuallly won't even by a book I know I'll read if it's cheap and I know I can get it on PBS.  I'd rather get one from the system in a deal.

ETA: Usually if I see a long WL line for a book I want-I just buy it myself and post it into PBS when I'm done.  I earn a credit and don't have to wait so long.  I just WL the books with shorter lines or that are hard to find or I don't need immediately.

I don't really think there are other ways to receive credits other than buying them or referring people... but after glancing at the other posts... if you want more movement on your shelf, you may want to offer a deal. 

I needed credits and hadn't seen alot of movement on my shelf so I decided to bite the bullet, so to speak, and do a massive "sale" on my books- and basically let people make me offers (I believe I stated that I was willing to do up to a 3 for 1).  I received quite a few credits :)

When I was first starting out at PBS I did two things.  I decided on a storage place in my home that would house my books to be traded on PBS, then I set out to stock these shelves as cheaply as possible.  I asked my family members if they had any books they were planning to donate (and would they consider donating them to me pleeeezzeee?).  I looked through shelves at thrift stores, garage sales, etc.  I went to FOL sales on the last day and got book for $3 a bag.  One FOL sale GAVE away the books on the day after the sale. 

I look for trade sized paperbacks, recent non-fiction, and authors I just like!  Now that I've been a member for a few years even the Grisham's have started to move on my shelf.  They DO get requested eventually.    I actually culled my shelf a LOT several months ago when I had to move to smaller storage for my books (homeschool stuff started to take over) but I still get a steady stream of requests!

If the requests slow down, I start to comb MY personal bookshelves for wishlisted books that I may not get to any time soon, or books that I've decided don't really need to be keepers.  I post them and away they go!

Good luck and have fun!

Edie