Counting the Cost

"Set up a lending library at your church, or if your church already has a library, donate your used Christian books there. To set up the library, you will need someone trustworthy to read through each book before placing it on the shelf to assure that, 1) it is appropriate and God-honoring; and 2) to categorize it appropriately within the library. You will also need a system in place as to when the library will be open, how books are checked out and for how long, etc.

Something less formal would be to lend/borrow Christian books from your friends. We often lend out our books, and borrow from our Christian friends. When borrowing, be sure the owner’s name is either written inside the book, or keep a careful record of books borrowed, from whom, and when lent to you. Also, ask if the book owner if he or she needs the book returned by a specific time.

Our local library has a pretty good selection of Christian books (most are marked with a cross sticker on the spine for easy spotting on the shelves). The library also accepts donations of books to either be put in for circulation, or to be sold very inexpensively ($1-$2). Money from the sale of donated books goes to help fund the library. In this manner, those who can’t afford to buy a new book, can either borrow it from the library or buy it very cheaply. ~ Jen

"Here are a few awesome sites for swapping books! It works on a credit point system---for each book you send out, you receive a point to order one. Simple! So basically, you are paying the cost of media mail for each book. Not a bad deal.

www.PaperBackSwap.com
www.BookMooch.com
www.ReadingSpree.com (a very small, but specifically Christian site.)

I'm sure there are more out there. Such a good idea!" ~ Nina

"Here in Knoxville , we have the wonderful McKay’s store. You can trade/sell your books after reading them, and then you can purchase new/used books at excellent prices. She might have a store in her city that will allow her to trade books and use 'trade-in' bucks to purchase new/used books. My children love to buy books, trade them in at McKay’s and then buy new books with the trade in bucks. It saves a lot of money! " ~ Danya

"For the past couple years, our family has been purchasing used Christian books from a family owned business. They send out once a month or so by email lists of Christian books they have available; you can also ask for certain books which they will try to find for you. Here is the info from the bottom of one of their lists.

'Aaron is a high school sophomore and this is for his future college fund, as well as a fund for his two older siblings who are now in college. It is also something that his Dad (Scott) and the kids have found that they enjoy doing together over the years. And it has been great experience for the boys. We will then mail the book to you at "media rate" and e-mail you that it has been shipped. Upon receipt of the book, please mail Aaron a check (he’s now in charge of receivables) but please make the check out to BOOKEM2009 for the amount of the book PLUS the amount of postage for shipping (It will be noted to add the postage amount on your enclosed receipt to your check). Also, if you are a Wisconsin resident, we have to charge you the sales tax....sorry. Please, please be sure that you include the address that you want your books to be shipped to in your e-mail. If there is a certain book that you are looking for or a certain author, please
let us know. We will either check our stock or will attempt to find it for you (we have about 5000 books in our stock). We also may ask for a price range of what you are willing to pay (if we do not have it in our stock). That’s because we are really, really cheap and we only buy books at low prices. But if someone wants a book badly enough, they usually will pay more than we would even consider pricing a book at.

We have two other lists that we believe are a blessing to homeschoolers and teachers that we’ve dubbed 'Just Classics' and the 'Christian Fiction' book list. We see so many books when we are scouring for religious books that we now offer this service at a very economical price. Most of the books are $4.00 or less. If you are looking for a particular book in either of those areas, please let us know and we’ll check our stock. We love to sell to missionaries!! This truly is a ministry for us. If you are a missionary and have received this list, we’d love to send you the books. Because though international shipping is so expensive, we’d like to suggest that if you have someone stateside traveling to see you in the near future, let us send the books to them instead. It just seems ridiculous to us to have you pay so much for shipping, usually for a minimal order of books. Often we have more than one copy of a book. If you are looking for more than one
copy of a certain book, please ask, we might just have multiple copies.. Thanks for your consideration!! The Carsons Email address: bookem2009@hotmail.com "

Naomi

"I have found several good books by Christian authors on eBay.com and Half.com. I am also a member of a website named bookins.com. For the cost of shipping ($3.99) I have gotten many good Christian books on that site. Usually when I finish reading them I re-enter them onto the website to send to another reader. I also have some success finding books by Christian authors at our local thrift stores. Our local library has a shelf of books for sale at all times. I have found a few good selections there. I can't remember that last time that I paid full price for reading material." ~ Carolyn

"Regarding what Phyllis' question of what to do with used Christian books, I'd like to recommend donating them to the local county jail. People often turn to God at a low point such as incarceration and we all know how a book can change a life." ~ W

"Many local thrift stores have a nice selection of Christian books. You can also join Freecycle.org and give away the books you no longer use and maybe find some for yourself!" ~ Samantha

"Phyllis might want to checkout Freecycle.org to see if there is a chapter active where she lives. This is a national organization with local groups that deal with 'stuff' people no longer want but is in good shape and not ready for the trash. Everything is free. She can post a request for Christian books, and if someone has books she would be interested in, that person will email her privately, and the two of them can arrange for Phyllis to receive the books. Likewise, she can post the books she has to give away, and if someone wants them, again, they will email her privately and arrange to pick them up. Hopefully this will be an option for her." ~ Carolyn, Ohio

"As a member of Paperbackswap.com, I trade Christian books all the time. By registering for free, I listed 9 of my books and received 3 credits. Then I was able to order three Christian books (fiction or nonfiction) which were shipped to me with the shipper paying the postage. That person received credit for shipping me the books, and I receive credit when I mail a book off to someone else by the less expensive Media Mail. In the end, it costs me nothing since I'm getting books too. While all kinds of books are available on PaperbackSwap.com, there are many members who love Christian fiction and nonfiction. We often discuss our favorite Christian authors in the Discussion Forum. This is a great site for trading books!" ~ Jan

"I have begun using www.Paperbookswap.com It is not only for Christian authors but many others too. You send your book and you get points to redeem for other books. It is done on the honor system and they don't take any credit card information." ~ Brenda

"I really like Bookmooch.com. It's a book trading site, where you earn points by giving away books and request books as you have points. I've given away a lot of books this way and have received some that I couldn't find at my library (which has an awesome selection of Christian fiction). As far as donating books, check in your area for literacy programs. I know at Christmastime a local bookstore was taking book donations for a program like that. Hope that helps." ~ Leslie

"I can check out and donate many good Christian books at my church library. If you don't have one at your church, maybe you could start one!" ~ Annie

"Our children go to a Christian school. Each spring they have an all-day fair - food, crafts, quilt auction, miscellaneous auction, etc. There is also a large area set aside inside the school for used books. People donate books throughout the year, and then in the spring, there's a very nice selection of books available.

The book sale takes a lot of work. The books are arranged by categories. Most books have standard prices - for example, paper backs for one price, hard bound for another, and good magazines for yet another.

Also, there are several area colleges that have book sales. People donate to these sales also, so it would be an assortment of styles of reading.

Another way to read many books is to meet other readers. Church, neighborhood, moms groups. Sharing the wealth cuts down on everyone's expenses.

Our church library has a nice budget, and so gets a nice amount of new books each year. The library is open whenever the church secretary is there, and about 25 families from our country community use the library that don't even attend church there. The church considers it a ministry to get good books in the hands of people. By the way, we never have a problem with books being returned by the people outside of the congregation. Wish it were the same way with the people inside the congregation." ~ Carolyn

"You might want to check in a search engine for book swapping sites/local stores." ~ Paula

"www.bookmooch.com allows you to post books you have to give away and once you have done that, you can also request books from other users. When someone mooches one of your books, you pay the postage (usually about $1.60). When you mooch a book from someone else, they pay the postage. Check out their website for all the info." ~ Lura

"I used to spend a fortune on books until I learned how to reserve books online from the library. Now, I just make a list of the ones I want and most of the time the library will have it. If not, you can put in a request for them to buy a book. If it’s fairly new, they will almost always order it within 3-6 weeks. I get a call when my requests are in. Then I have a week to pick them up. Free reading—gotta love that!" ~ J

Editor's Note: Thanks to these subscribers for taking the time to respond.

...of Good Stewardships of Your Money and Resources

Talk It Out:
Used Christian Books

Responses:

...of Good Stewardships of Your Money and Resources

Talk It Out: Used Christian Books

Responses:

Talk It Out:
Used Christian Books