I have only had one BOB experience since joining.  But I have had many good and great trades.  i would recommend trying it.  If you decide you don't like it, you can put your account on hold.  (Just think of it as a donation to this wonderful site)

I think it is easily worth it even if you only do a few trades.

I LOVE BOB.  =) I have done over 20 Bob trades and have had nothing but good experiences with it.  Sure, there is always going to be the bad trader which makes people grumble but that is in the minority.   I have easily recouped the $8.00 yearly charge and my bookshelf has grown quite alot.  It is a great way to explore new genres you may have not wanted to spend a credit on as well as a good way to move some of the more popular authors like Grisham that might otherwise languish on your shelf.

Bob trades can take longer then usual credit swap and doesn't have all the mechanisms in place to guard against people taking a really long time to respond to your request or mail the books.  However, I think it is a fun thing to try and I have gotten to know several PBS members that I may have not gotten to know otherwise.  It is also another good way to generate interest on your shelf.

On top of that, I like the fact that the membership fee of $8 dollars goes to support the site.

I had a year subscription to BOB.  For the most part it was positive, I was able to trade alot of books away and get alot back without using all my credits.  I let mine lapse simply because all the offers I received at the end wanted the romance books I had, but they did not have any sci-fi books.  After about 100 offers in a row that had no sci-fi, I got tired of looking at boxes with nothing for me lol. On top of that, my GF has an account and she has BOB on it, so figured we didn't need us both to have it.

It is definately a way to get some books you might want but do not want to spend credits.

It really depends on what your book needs are. I was one of the beta-testers for it and was gifted a free 6-month membership by R&R for doing that, but when my renewal came up I decided not to continue. For me, it doesn't make much sense. I have like 650 books on my TBR pile and rarely even order books for credit from the books listed here, unless it's the next book in a series or something strikes my fancy. Mostly my wishlist does my book shopping for me here. I've gotten a lot more picky about books I select these days and I found that most of the books I got in BOB trades were books I was only marginally interested in and ended up re-listing many of them without having read them a few months later. My rationale is that if I really wanted a given book in the first place, I'm willing to spend a credit for it.

But that's just me! For new folks starting out without many credits or who are far down the wishlists, BOB can be great. If you do join, just don't be afraid to turn down requests you aren't interested in. I used to repeatedly get requests for 10 book trades (or more!) from people who only had 20 or 30 books on their shelves and I was interested in NONE of them...you have to just say no in cases like that.

Cheryl

I'm with Cheryl. I too am shopping for more or less specific titles on PBS, although as my requirements change, that list of titles changes.

So boxing is not an option. I got so many requests from individuals who wanted to box with me that I put something in my profile, saying that I couldn't participate in the program right now.

I joined BOB recently.  I have had some good trades, but have decided to put it on indefinite hold.    My TBR pile is just out of control, so I don't really need any more books.  I also did not like having to turn people down when there was nothing on their shelf that I wanted.  That being said, I will renew when the times comes, because I want to contribute financially to this great website.

I am pretty new to the site and a new boxer .   I am currently in 4 pending box trades.   I have a long wish and reminder list but also have a long tbr list.  I was told it is good to have a varied genre bookshelf so that there are better chances that someone would find something they are interested in.  I don't have a big shelf yet to choose from and I suppose as it gets bigger I will be able to do more trades.  I think it is good to support the site with $8 and it's been fun so far.  cheap entertainment  :-)

I joined a few months ago and haven't had any bad experiences.  I'll defintely re-enroll when my year is up.

As Cheryl said, Don't be afraid to turn down a request if you find nothing of interest.  Alot of people will request and they usually don't take it personal being denied.

Another option that I did when I did not find anything of interest on some of the 5 books or more boxes was to offer a deal for credits.  This way they could get the books they want, and I could get some credits to help build me up.

Also try not to request from the same person that denied repeatedly, you unless you have several new books to your inventory.  It can be a turn off to deny the same person 6 times in a 2 month period.

I had it and it stayed on hold for about the last 6 months.  I kept getting the same request for my books from the same person or people that I had turned down.  It got frustrating so I put it on hold and did not renew when my time was up and probably won't be renewing.  Whether this makes since to some people or not I felt like people was requesting my most popular books and I could never find anything of interest on their shelf.  I just rather have those books shipped for a credit instead of choosing a book from them that I was not really interested in instead of saying no all the time, is why I went ahead and put my BOB on hold until my time ran out.  Now granted I did do alot of trades that I was pleased with.

I am a Bober and enjoy getting books I wouldn't normally read.  Lots I don't read, but it does boost my books for the bookshelf.  I put the shelf on hold occasionally, but I consider the $8 a year as a good donation for a terrific site.  Go for it girl!!

I was a BoBer and found it very useful.  I haven't renewed it because it expired when I had 7 books on my shelf, and it was going to be at least a month before I had more than that.  

I haven't seen a book I'm ordering be on a boxer's shelf yet, nor have I had time to wander the boxer shelves to see if anyone has a multiple in the genres I'm interested in.  If either of these changes, I'll probably re-up.

I have been a BOB member (with my BOB paused on and off) since it started.  I have not had a bad swap yet.  (knock on wood)  It really is a great way to expose yourself to new books that you wouldn't normally order for credit, build your TBR pile, and move "stale" books from your shelf.  I would certainly recommend it. 

One thing to keep in mind is that people usually only post about the bad BOB's they've had, and there's rarely mention of all the good ones.  (Kind of like hearing about plane crashes scares people, but thousands take off and land safely on a daily basis and we don't hear about them!)  Don't let the negative threads keep you from joining if you're interested. :)

I like to use it if I am trying to collect a series, but I turned mine off after doing that. I just found that I mostly want stuff on my wishlist. I was turning down every request for awhile so I just put mine on hold for now. I did have positive experiences, though, and one thing with boxing is that you can read the feedback about the person's trades BEFORE you trade, so that's something. :)