Frequently asked questions
We think that this FAQ should answer all of your major questions. In the event that it doesn't ask a question in the forum.
New Issues
BookHopper
Swaps
Offer
Request
Account
Q :How does BookHopper work internationally?
A: Once you have logged in you will only be able to view and request books offered in your own country. To keep postage costs down we don't encourage requesting books outside your own country. You can only offer books that you can find on Amazon UK, US, France and Germany.
Q :My country isn't available as a selection on the sign in page?
A: Go to the help page and send an email to request that your country be added. Bear in mind that book searches are driven by Amazon, and they offer searches from UK, US, France and Germany only, so you may not be able to offer all of your foreign language books.
Q : What if I don't receive a book?
A: Sometimes a user may have left the site without taking off their books or there is some other reason why they haven't sent it. They might not have received the first automatic email. In these cases we always recommend communication. Try emailing them again to see if you get a response. If it's obvious after email and a bit of patience that they are not going to send the book, please leave them bad feedback. We do monitor it.
Q : Will not receiving a book hurt my profile scores?
A: If you set the book as "Not Received" in the "My Swaps" page the book will be removed from your profile scores. BookHopper knows what the underlying scores are, but other Hoppers won't see it.
Q : Will not receiving a book prevent me from requesting another?
A: As the number of books that you receive are based on time since your last request it won't matter. By the time you have established that the last book isn't coming the time limits will have expired and you can simply request another one. (It's three weeks maximum if you are offering only 10 books).
Q : I set a book to not received and can't request another. Why not?
A: To prevent scammers from setting their books to "Not received" and immediately requesting more, the request time limits still apply.
Q : What is BookHopper.com?
A: BookHopper is a free book sharing service matching up readers all across the UK. Instead of buying books, reading them once and leaving in the bookshelf, they can be shared with other BookHoppers. The sender pays the postage. This means that for the price of one book, you can read dozens more, just paying postage each time.
Q : Why did you set up BookHopper?
A: Reading three books a week (as we do) is an expensive business - it's no wonder Amazon are so huge. We were fed up of spending so much money on books and having them clog up the spare room. Some books we want to keep to read again, but most will just sit there unread for ever. Hence the brainwave. Why not turn those read books into new (second hand) books. We can cut the cost of reading by 80% in one go.
Q : How much does a book hop cost?
A: BookHopper doesn't charge for the BookHopping service. It is completely free!
Q : How can I help BookHopper?
A: BookHopper is a free service and in order to keep being a free service we need to pay for servers and administration. You can help us simply by shopping through us. If you want to buy a book just go to the BookHopper
Buy Books section and order as usual. When you proceed to the checkout we pass your order to Amazon and you pay as usual. Amazon then give us a small amount of money, which mounts up to help us pay for our servers.
Q : How is BookHopper related to Amazon?
A: BookHopper is an affiliate of Amazon. We use their book catalogues for searches. If you buy any Amazon products through BookHopper they give us a small amount of money in return which helps to pay for our servers.
Q : How do I buy Amazon products from BookHopper?
A: If you click on any Amazon image or link within the BookHopper site you will be taken to Amazon to shop as usual. Amazon know that we sent you there and will give us commission on all purchases you make during that session. This includes all items, not just books so any time you are going to shop for anything at Amazon we'd be most grateful if you pass through BookHopper on your way.
Q : Can I read book reviews on BookHopper?
A: Yes. When you click on a book that is available for swapping it will take you to a page that displays BookHopper reviews as well as Amazon reviews.
Q : Can I review a book for others to read?
A: Yes. When you offer a book you will be given the chance to review it. The review will appear in the reviews area.
Q : How do I contact another BookHopper?
A: If you know their BookHopper nickname you can go to the
Member Search page from where you can find and email them.
Q : How does the requestor get hold of the book?
A: The sender simply mails the book to the requestor.
Q : Is it a swap? Do I have to swap directly with someone else?
A: No! Everyone's offers make up a huge virtual bookshelf. You can choose any book available so long as you are following our sharing rules.
Q : How do I know someone wants my book?
A: Both sender and receiver will be automatically emailed by BookHopper when a book hop is requested. The requestor should then email the offeror with their address. You can always find who your swap counterparty is via the
My Swaps page and send them a mail.
Q : Who pays the postage?
A: The sender pays the postage to save transaction costs. No more payments to credit card companies.
Q : Why does the sender pay the postage and not the receiver?
A: No money ever changes hands meaning credit card companies and the like aren't taking a cut. If you send and receive about the same amount of books the costs net out to zero.
Q : What postal service should I use?
A: That is entirely up to you, but the cheapest that gets the book to its destination in a reasonable time seems like a good idea.
Q : How much will postage cost?
A: See your national postal service web page for postage costs by weight and weigh your books on the kitchen scales. Hopefully your postage costs of sending and receiving will net out to zero over time.
Q : What packaging should I use to send the book?
A: A heavy brown paper should be sufficient to protect the book. Just be sensible not to choose the thinnest paper packaging available.
Q : Can I swap with someone in another country?
A: BookHopper only encourages book swapping within national boundaries to keep postage costs to a minimum, as well as pollution from international air transport.
Q : Can I hop without paying postage?
A: You are free to email the other BookHopper in any hop that you do. If you can arrange a way to avoid paying postage, feel free to do so.
Q : What happens if a book is unreadable?
A: If you think that the sender has been dishonest in their appraisal of the book then leave negative feedback. This will restrict the senders ability to use the site in the future.
Q : How do I offer a book?
A: Simply go to the Offers area of the website, search for your book, select it, select the condition and it is available to BookHoppers everywhere.
Q : What is the minimum condition that a book should be in?
A: We ask that all books have a cover and are readable.
Q : What condition should I say my book is in?
A: Choose a condition that seems reasonable. Note the receiver will leave feedback, including the condition of the book. It doesn't matter if the book is slightly battered so long as you have stated this and it is still readable.
Q : What if I go on holiday or don't want to send any more books for a while?
A: Go to your bookshelf and press the "On holiday" button. Hoppers requesting your books will be informed that you are away and so expect delivery to take longer.
Q : What do I have to do to get my first book?
A: Simply offer a minimum of 10 books from your bookshelf. You are then free to request your first book.
Q : What if you don't have the book I want?
A: As BookHopper grows we will get more and more books but there will always be books in high demand. If you just can't wait to read it please use our
Buy Books page to buy it from Amazon.
Q : Can I just keep requesting books?
A: If you are offering more than 10 books then you can request a book every 3 weeks so long as you re-offer the ones you have received. The more you offer the more you can request. You can see the full rules
here.
Q : What are the rules that govern whether I can take a book?
A: To see the rules,
click here.
Q : I keep trying but I can't log in. What is the problem?
A: If you get your password wrong 8 times in a row you may be locked out of your account. You can notify the BookHopper admins that you are locked out from the login page.
Q : What is my username?
A: Your username is the nickname that you chose for yourself when you registered, but you should also be able to log in with your email address. If you can't remember it email us at
support@bookhopper.co.uk and we'll send you a reminder.