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Wednesday, January 11, 2006
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Swap books, save cash
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By Lauren LaCapra
Special to amNewYork
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Bibliophiles looking to trade their used or unwanted books for titles they're itching to get a hold of have a new digital swap meet.
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Bookins.com is a site where avid readers or cash- poor students can get their hands on popular titles without paying the cover price. In fact, all they have to pay is the shipping. There is no registration fee or book price.
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"It's meant for people who don't want to waste their time getting involved with eBay auctions," said founder Mitchell Silverman, who launched the site last May. He said there are about 1,000 users signed up with more than 7,000 books offered to trade.
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Bookins is meant for people who don't have time for eBay.
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Users create a "wish list" of books they want and a "trade list" of books they have to offer. Bookins then matches up users who want a specific book with users who are offering that title.
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Silverman said he came up with the idea as a New Yorker with limited apartment space that was quickly being eaten up by books he wanted to get rid of. "I didn't want to sell my books for a few pennies," he said. "I wanted to find a way for other readers to get enjoyment out of my books, and I could get something for equal value."
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Because the books available are those unwanted or already read by their owners, new or obscure titles can be hard to find. But when searching for popular authors and titles - from Shakespeare to Koontz - Bookins is a good resource for a cheap read.
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