The membership registration process has been designed to be as simple as possible and only takes a few minutes. Try us out now with 60 days FREE trial! You can register here. The 60 day free trial is open to everyone, and happens automatically, you are not obliged to sign up as a paying member when the 60 days are up. We do not request nor hold your credit card details within the trial period. We are confident that you will quickly see the value in belonging to Kiwi Book Swap and enjoy the benefits of having such a large library at your fingertips! 

Your name and address is required so that when swaps are accepted, the other user knows where to send your book. If you're concerned about your privacy, you can use your initial instead of your first name or use a pseudonym.

You should enter an email address that you frequently check as this is used to notify you when members want to swap with you and when your swaps have been accepted. If there is a problem with a swap you have made, other users will be able to find out your email address so that they can communicate with you directly to solve the problem.

Your private information is securely stored by us and will only be used for the purposes of swapping. For more information see our Privacy Policy.

Kiwi Book Swap is currently only available in New Zealand as this ensures postage costs are kept to a minimum. However, we are looking at how we can encourage people to swap books in Australia and overseas. If you think this is a good idea, please email feedback@kiwibookswap.co.nz

You can add books at any time through the My Account section.

When adding books make sure you spell the author and title correctly. You cannot update these without deleting the book and starting again.

You must specify the condition that your book is in, and any damage to it. Please see our Condition Guidelines for information on how to classify the condition of your book.

Take time to write the description of your book. This is important as it is your chance to "sell" your book to other people. Ideas of what you can put in here include:

• Your own thoughts and comments on the book.
• Any other short reviews - perhaps those written on the back or inside cover of the book.
• If the book is factual and is likely to go out of date you should include the edition, or date of publication.
• Any comments people should know about the quality and condition of the book.

Next you need to categorise the book as this will decide where it goes in the library. You must choose one category, the second is optional.

Finally you must rate the book. This is purely personal and will not be shared. This rating is used to suggest other books to you - we will try and find people with similar tastes to you and suggest books that they liked.

You can register as little or as many books as you like. But remember, the more books you register, the more likely it is that all your swaps will be accepted, as you will be offering other members a wider choice of books. We recommend that you register at least ten books.

The best strategy is to browse the categories in the Library on the left-hand side of the Home Page. Books in Kiwi Book Swap are organised into several categories. Some categories are very specific, like 'Poetry and Drama'. Others are less specific, like 'NZ Authors'. Meanwhile, 'All Fiction' and 'All Non-Fiction' are very broad and together contain every book in the library. 

Another really good idea is something many members do: Add books to 'My Wishlist'. Weekly book reviews in many popular newspapers are a good source of becoming aware of new books that may interest you.

Books are categorised by the Member who registered them. Whilst every effort is made to get this right first time, sometimes errors are made.

You can search for books using the search tool on the top left of the Home Page. Enter part of the authors name, or a keyword in the book title and our search will start automatically. A detailed search can also be done using the Advanced Search feature. This will enable you to receive a more exact result.

We are currently working on adding a Discussion Forum to our website. When available, you can discuss books you've read and pick up some reading suggestions there.

The swap process works in the same way that you'd normally swap something. You find something you like, you ask to swap. Another Kiwi Book Swap member chooses something of yours and you exchange the goods. The only difference with Kiwi Book Swap is that the swaps are done over the Internet.

Step 1 - You select the book that you would like from one of the categories in our library on the left-hand side of the Home Page. Many books are available from more than one person, so choose the person you like the look of, and request a swap.

Step 2 - The Kiwi Book Swap member who owns that book receives an email saying that you would like to swap.

Step 3 - The other user logs onto the site and views your list of books. If this member finds a book that he or she likes, they will accept the swap. They are also able to reject the swap request at this point. If the swap is confirmed, the other user will be able to see your postal address.

Step 4 - You will receive an email saying the swap has been accepted, along with the address to which you need to post your book.

Step 5 - When the books are received, each person logs on to say they have received the book and they rate the swap.

Yes, the number of books you can request from other Members depends on the amount of positive feedback you have received from other users. This is a security measure put in place to prevent abuse by members who do not have much feedback a little like libraries which prevent you from borrowing lots of books the first time you go there.

Number of 5-star ratings from different users	Number of outstanding swap requests allowed
0-2	5
3-9	10
10-19	20
20-49	50
50+	Unlimited

Swap requests are classified as outstanding until the member you are swapping with receives their book or the swap is cancelled.

The Kiwi Book Swap swapping process is based on a similar model to other sites relying on person-to-person sending such as Trade-Me and eBay. Because both people have confirmed they wish to swap, they have agreed to swap books with each other.

The feedback rating system is used so that people looking to swap books can get an indication of how reliable the person they are swapping with is.

If you do not receive a book please go to your 'Swaps in Progress' page under 'My Account' and click on 'Problem Swap'. For further information see our Problem Swap' Policy.

A member's feedback rating is calculated using a "moving average". This is calculated as follows:

• Take the average of the last 20 ratings except the last three
• Then average this score with the last three

This means that a member's three most recent ratings contribute more to his or her feedback score more than his or her other ratings. This allows problem swappers to be identified more quickly, and also allows members who have had one or two low ratings to "recover" more quickly when they get some higher ratings.

Kiwi Book Swap advises that you retain your receipt when posting with NZ Post when sending your book. This entitles you to compensation if your book does go missing in the post.

Please contact the Member immediately and explain why you cannot send the book. You can get the Member's email address by going to your 'Swaps in Progress' page. The members email will be shown next to their user name under the book title you are swapping.

For further information see our 'Unable to send Book Policy'.

There is always an option to reject the swap. So if you don't want to swap your books with another user, you simply 'Decline Swap'. This ensures every user gets a book they really want.

If you're going to be away and can't swap, you can make your books inactive. Simply log in and go to 'Account Options' under 'My Account' and select 'Inactive'. This will remove your books from the library and people won't be able to request them. To start swapping again, just log back in and select 'Active'. This will  re-activate your books.

• Check your email regularly to see if somebody wants to swap with you.
• Check the 'Latest Books' category regularly to see which books have recently been registered on our website.
• Add books to 'My Wishlist'. This will ensure that a book you want to read doesn't slip past you.
• Come back and add books as you buy or swap more and finish reading them. To do this log in and click on 'Add Books'.
• The swap process works by offering your list of books to the person that you wish to swap with. If they don't want any of your books they don't have to swap with you. To avoid this, it is recommended that you register at least ten books. If you find you are getting rejected a lot, register some more. This should increase your swaps because if you offer a wider choice of books to other members, they are more likely to want to swap with you.
• If you have children or teenagers at home, they may like to renew their reading material also! Get them to give you books to load that they would like to swap (under your membership) then get them to have a browse to see if anything catches their eye! Remember their use of the site is completely free of seperate membership fees, as all under 18 year olds can only use the site using a parents or gaurdians account, with their supervision (Please see 6.6 of the Terms and Conditions for more detail)
• The more people who know about Kiwi Book Swap, the more people will add books. So recommending Kiwi Book Swap to your friends, family and colleagues will give them access to FREE books, and actually give you a wider choice of books to read yourself! Invite a friend to Kiwi Book Swap 
  Don't forget to metion the 60 day free trial!