Could we have a section especially for books?
 

Was just wondering if consideration could be given to having a section specifically for books - they are dotted around under all sorts of headings.

Rosrach

from Admin
 

Hi Rosrach,

General fiction/interest books should be posted in the Home-Miscellaneous forum. We've no problem with car manuals in the Vehicles forum or photography books in the Hobbies forum.

A dedicated book forum? I can see your reasoning but we've been reluctant to add one because we think that Members should try to pass on books to their local charity shop or school. If Members do decide to give them away on JumbleTown, we'd prefer if they gave them away in bulk rather than singly, as the latter creates more work for Admin in terms of monitoring. Also single book threads (and also single jewellery threads, and single clothing threads) often stay Reserved for longer because Givers are awaiting SAEs. Again, a Giver's primary aim should be to free up space as quickly as possible.

In short, JumbleTown, was set up to help folks pass on bulky items -- small items really should be passed on to local charities where possible.

Thanks for the feedback.

Regards
Chris P
Admin

awh chris cant believe you have said that now:(
im sure alot of people agree with me(well i hope) we enjoy giving away clothes and books etc on here too and i find it easier to put them on sinular because it gives more people the chance to ask for it,because have the time if you put and add up saying 15 bags of mixed clothes must be taken as one lot etc,you may only find a few things suitable for yurself them its back to putting the remainder back on jumbletown incase others may need them.

in times of the ressionion,i find clothes,shoes and books(for them cold nights in)help me out lot as these are things that sometimes i do need but cant often afford at the time.Before i found jumbletown i used to give everything to the charity shop,up until i saw what happened to alot of the clothes etc(now this isnt all charity shops im sure)but whatever they didnt think suitable(and not because of poor condition) they just put in the rubbish,now how is that recycling or helping others,

just thought thats what jumbletown was about? not just about large item,which in most cases if you dont have a van or can then you cant get anyway?
i may be way off the mark here but ifi am just tell me to shut it ,lol :)

I agree with Betsy, I always give away clothes in the singular so that more people can benefit and people who are too far away to collect can still apply.
If I put bags of clothes for collection only then only people that live near me would be interested (and only if they needed that size!) I would probably end up with that bag of clothes for quite some time!
Books are sent in the post just as often as clothes and clothes have their own section so I don't see the difference and books don't really belong in 'home misc'. Just my opinion though, Kiara x

I would like to second what the 2 previous posters have said. I love browsing the site for stuff that I might not find anywhere else, and I think it's great when books are advertised singularly, as you can see at a glance if it's something you would read or not, whereas in secondhand bookshops/stalls you could spen an hour looking and find nothing you would be bothered with, the same with clothes and jewellery. Also, I too believe it's nice to have the chance to acquire an item no matter where in the country you are, if it was just in your own locality we might as well do what the Americans do, and leave it outside the front door, and knowing my luck the council would probably do me for littering! Some of us don't have a charity shop within our vicinity, so advertising stuff on here is much handier, as the taker collects or all I have to do is go to post office, whereas if I had to take to a charity shop I have to drive 12 miles, pay for parking and more often than not, bring back half the stuff I set off with as the "charities" have become so fussy and particular about what they will take. Long live JT as it is!

Whilst I respect your original aim and objectives, you still need to take into account the nature of this country, especially here in the West. I do not have a charity shop in my home town. The nearest is 1/2 hour drive away so this is not an environmentally friendly or practical option for accessing second hand books.

Reading and books are one of the world's greatest resources and I feel should be accessable to all - if people choose to give books then should they not be facilitated? You only have to see the success of ReaditSwapit.co.uk to see the demand - now there is an idea - an Irish version - spawn of JT??

Rosrach

I completely agree with the other jumbletowners, as I only drive short distances if clothes etc were posted in bulk only I would never get the chance to acquire beautiful items that are posted singly and I also feel that the present way is far more friendly and personal.

Well l hope this doesn,t mean an end to jt as we know it. My above neighbour made 2 little girls very happy at xmas (and mammy got lots of browney points as well) after passing on 'little things' which l,d never have got otherwise thanks a million once again for your beautiful jewellery.

Book Forum
 

Hi, I agree that there should be a Book Forum. It would be so much handier for the taker and save a lot of time, in my opinion.
I have a few daughters who love books and I try to keep a look out for them, but it is quite difficult sifting through the other items.
PLEASE Chris, please change your mind on this.
If anyone else is of the same opinion could you please add to this plea/petition.
Thank you all.

A section especially for books. Pleaseeeeeeeeee
 

Well that sounds like a brilliant idea to me! More often then not I have brought bag fulls of books and some miscellaneous items also (but mostly books) to my local charity shop only to be told that they had way to many bag/box full of items/books to sift through and so declined to accept mine. This resulted with me bringing them home again and the lot being binned. So if Admin would take a long deep look into those warm loving precious hearts of there’s and consider a forum for "Just books" alone, it would be so greatly appreciated by many.
Thank you for reading.
Regards
Bree

I too would like to beg the powers that be to change their minds and create a books only section. I realise it might mean extra work for admins, and I can understand the idea of giving as close to home as possible, but honestly, it is an absolute joy to pass/recieve books(or anything else for that matter) by post onto people who really appreciate them. I have had the same experience as Bree, ie. charity shops have become more selective about donations, and with so many of the charity labels coming through the letterbox being exposed for being extremely un-charitable and un-irish organizations, I would much prefer to support An Post, have a little patience as regards SAE's, hopefully make new friends and recieve a little handwritten note or thank you card in the post. (I realise I can do all that already, but having a little space on the site just for books would make it much easier!) Having said all that, if the wonderful Chris and Dave decide not to go ahead with the book section, I will still be thankful for and love JT just as much as ever, all the best x

I agree with everyone above... I live in Galway and like Bree, I have often rang around charity shops asking will they accept books to be told that they do not have the space for any more. I think if a section was dedicated to books alone that this would prevent so many books going in the bin and it would encourage members to life-cycle.
I have been lucky to have gotten a lot of books from JT recently, mostly because of the kindness of Noreen who lives locally in Galway (many thanks) but I have also gotten books from quite a few members through the post: thanks to Gillo, Maufant and Mag2 (also thanks to anyone I may have forgotten) It is very expensive to buy books and once they're read, they're read and that's it. What do we do with them if charity shops won't accept them? JT needs to provide a service that isn't already there, after all there is a niche in the market and JT in my opinion is about life-cycling no matter how big or small the item is we're all doing our bit for keeping valuable things out of landfill

from Admin: Passing on books (another option)
 

Hi Everyone,

Bookmooch provides a forum for the Giving and Taking of books. Search by country -- there are over 200 Irish members and tens of thousands worldwide.

http://www.bookmooch.com/

By the way, the managers are still saying no to a dedicated book section on JumbleTown for the reasons I stated above.

Thanks for the feedback.

Regards
Chris P
Admin

Just noticed today the new section... And very happy about it!! A big thank you for the new BOOKS' SECTION!!!

:D
a bookworm

from Admin
 

Hi paprika,

We'll see how the new Book forum goes. If we find that it's under-utilised or causing too much work for Admin & Members we'll review the matter. In particular, we hope not to see too many threads/ads with posts from patient Givers stating "Still awaiting an SAE" etc, as this slows down the Giving and Taking process.

So, our advice to Takers is that they should collect if possible, and if the Giver agrees to post, then the SAE should arrive within one week (or a period specified by the Giver). If no SAE is forthcoming after this time, the Giver should move on to the next potential Taker.

Regards
Chris P
Admin