Can you still do media mail? I was under the impression that media mail was only for the US. But someone in Canada sent me a PM from BC saying that media mail was an option. Is that true?

nope it's not an international option.

It's not that much more expensive to send a package to Canada than it is to mail something first class parcel rates here in the states...

Yeah, I knew that. And I am definitely fine with sending to Canada. The thing is that someone PMd me and asked for 2 of my books and offered one. Well, I thought they offered one because it was the only one they saw on my wishlist that they had. So I replied with another title that I saw on their shelf because I was under the impression that it was a 2 for 2 trade proposal. Then they said that it wasn't, it was 2 for 1 because it's cheaper for me to send to Canada from the US due to media mail, while they would have to spend more just to ship the one book. And they said this way it would be fair for them.

But I was pretty sure that media mail is only for the US. I just wanted to check.

That trade proposal sounds a little hinky to me...

Yeah, I thought so too. I mean some people have that as a preference on their BC page, and that's fine. But I've never had someone approach it like that before.

It depends where she is and where you are. But in general it should be around the same cost. It costs me about $7.00 to mail a PB to the US, surface mail

What is expensive is if she mails to Canada. Yep, domestic is the most expensive

Why should how much she has to spend on postage vs. how much you have to spend on postage matter? It's rarely equal in a trade, even completely within a country because the weight of the books is different.

Personally, I'd tell her no unless she's willing to make the number of BOOKS equal, not fret over a bit of postage.

(And she's definitely one where I'd wait to get my books before sending them out... she initiated it and it does sound hinky...)

:ditto2:

I would say forget it.

:ditto2:

Pepper's right.

You're trading books not stamps :D

I got a similar trade proposal a few days ago. Same thing...they offered a wish list book for several books on my shelf, reasoning that it was cheaper for me to send to Canada than the other way around, so it was balancing out. I declined because I had already gotten the wish list book the day before, I just hadn't update my list yet. Plus, I am bad about updating the status on my BC shelf, so the ones they were interested in probably weren't available anyway.

If I were you Cee, I would just tell her thanks but no thanks on this trade.
Do you mind telling who it is? I like to avoid people like that.

yeah me too! After taking a few deep breaths so that I didn't automatically respond with my knee jerk response which would've been to tell her to stick it where the sun don't shine... :giggle: then I'd have responded more nicely and said thanks but no thanks for the reasons people stated here. What an ignoramus she is! :dunce:

These damn Canadians, always trying to cheat ya... :D

Sounds like a cheapskate to me, quite frankly! :angry2:

Honestly, I am amazed by the nerve of some people....I couldn't imagine trying to dictate a trade like that.

For me, when I trade, the cost of my books is basically how much I spend on postage to send my trade out. So how much that other person send is irrelevant.

I just sent a hardcover to Canada and that cost over $6. So if you need to send several it may well come to $10. Chances are you can get your ONE wishlist book for less?

I agree that it sounds fishy, especially if several people get this type of trade offer. Sounds like the person is hoping to get a bunch of books by sending very few books, if at all. Definitely PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

I had no intentions on going through with the trade once she sent the message with the reasoning. I know there are people that have it listed on their shelves as a note before you consider trading with them and I think that's their business. But to actually initiate it like that? Nooooo way. I'm also going to decline to give the name of the person just to avoid a situation.

Thanks for the advice & information. :)

So I sent the decline message and the person responded wondering why I don't want to trade since I had previously stated that I like to trade for books on my wishlist. I answered that message but I'm hoping he/she doesn't send anymore.

Is this normal? IF someone didn't want to trade with me, I'd just say thanks for considering the offer and move on.

I didn't get a response, but I stated that my Bookcrossing shelf wasn't up-to-date and I wasn't currently trading. Maybe that's why.

Perhaps they're getting turned down by quite a few people and wondering why?

Hi Cee ~

Is this person new to B/C? Maybe he/she is new to trading and doesn't realize trades go by # of books, not by postage.

You could PM him/her and explain more fully your reasons for declining the trade, if you feel comfortable doing that. If you prefer to leave things as they are, that's totally understandable too.

I'm just thinking maybe this person really does not know their offer is not the way trades are handled and might appreciate the info.

As far as postage to Canada: I just sent my first intl. priority envelope, two hard covers to Germany for $11. I've never used this shipping env. before, but it's perfect to send multiple books internationally -- as many as can fit into one envelope -- and get more bang for my postage dollar. Most of you prob. already know about this tho.