Fair Swap ??

[+MoonHerb]

Would you consider a BookCrossing book ( WebSite Here ) as a good trade item ?

 

I guess there are two ways of thinking about it . . .

 

1. It was a book you released

2. It was a book you found

 

Any thoughts

[+naffita]

Bookcrossing books are not a trade item in my opinion. Just like a travelbug, you are not meant to keep it so you are not giving something away. The cache is not gaining a trade item and you would be removing one.

[+The Hokesters]

Interesting concept. I read about this ages ago in PC Pro I think. If we made a rule that you had to drop one off if you pick one up - would that work? Put it in a bag with a BookCrossing Label on it similar to travel bugs.

 

What do the moderators think? I can't imagine that this hasn't been thought of before especially in the states.

 

The Hokesters

[+BlueDeuce]

There are caches that are bookcrossing themed, but really it's a separate feature of the cache.

[+choccymandm]

another thought .. and perhaps a worse case scenerio ... if you traded bookcrossing books you'd lose out as well - would you want to trade £10 of goodies for a £10 book knowing that you wouldn't be keeping the book? then if that happens people might be discouraged from taking or putting bookcrossing books in caches, something i wouldn't like to see ... plus with some of the caches we've seen you could clear them out with £10 ... but thats not the idea of caching and fair trade is it!!!

 

i like hoksters idea but i don't think there are enough registered in the uk yet, only about 1,600 so at the moment it might take some time for a book in a cache to move on if we had to swap a book for a book.

[+Volvo Man]

There is a bookcrossing themed cache called Powell Book Exchange in oregon, USA.

 

The rule is take a book, leave a book, but they don't have to be bookcrossing registered, just books. the cache also accepts trade items, and appears to trade both ways. The majority of the books in it are well read old paperbacks, so the value isn't too high ($.25 at the local discount stores) but the cache is well stocked and seems to hold out well.

[+snaik]

Had a BookCrossing put in my cache Mother of Millons the Book was left by 3 other cachers, a Cacher then took book and left a ball, if you look at Link as you'll see book has not went far as cacher who picked it is reading it! since 17 April.

[+stu_and_sarah]

I've left bookcrossing books in caches on occassions. Due to the size of books, I only usually leave one when the cache is a suitable size, and usually trade with another item from my swap bag.

 

So far out of three that I have released into the wild, two are still in the caches and one was in a cache that was trashed.

 

Sarah

[+MoonHerb]

Very good points all !

 

I think what I'll do is release my books into the wild via caches and then do a 'normal' trade as well (as some of you have suggested).

 

Leaving books in caches seems a lot safer than a lot of crossing zones that are out there !!

[+Rocky Balboa]

I would always consider any TB or item in a cache as exchangable. I would never take a TB without leaving something in return? and am suprised to hear that some would In the same way I will always take something when leaving one. It really annoys me when I read 'took travel bug, left nothing' as this way the cache could very easily become empty depending on different people interpretations of what to do. In my opinion i'd never take without leaving

[+naffita]

You're not taking a TB, you are simply moving it. If you want to leave something, then fine, go ahead but the TB itself is not for keeps and you should soon be leaving it in another cache. If you then remove something from that cache, you haven't swapped, you have taken out. Everybody does their own thing but that's the way I see it.

[+John Stead]

I see this the same as Naffita - Travel Bugs are not trading items but travellers in their own right. Sorry Dan I often go out for a TB with no intention of swopping.

[+Pengy&Tigger]

When we pick up a TB, we usually try to leave another TB if we have one. That way, if someone else has set out to find the TB we picked up, there will still be one there for them to find. I agree that you shouldn't have to trade to pick up a TB though, as you are not keeping it, but just moving it on for someone else.

 

Tigger

[+klaus23]

I agree with Pengy and Tigger -I was in a discussion with a friend lately who didn't agree with my practice of pilfering caches for travelbugs, he pointed out that you should trade TB's 1 for 1. But if you've swam out to an island, or hiked 6 hours to a cache, then I would say take em all! - as it could be months before a TB is moved on.

 

I've done all the caches in a 70 mile radius near me, so I often go on TB hunts nearby before heading off on a long drive.