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Help Center - If you can see a book on your Bookshelf but can't find it by searching PaperBackSwap...

Search Terms:

If you can see a book on your account Bookshelf, but can't find it by searching the PaperBackSwap database:

  • Are you looking too soon after posting? The system needs a chance to synch up across all the servers for a search to find a newly Posted item. Give it an hour or two and try again.

  • Check your search terms
    • Misspellings/typos are the most common reason why a search fails to find a posted book
    • If you are using a common word or words in the Keyword search (at the top of the page), doing this search will bring up your book, but it may also bring up many other books, and your book may not be on the first page of search results, so it may be harder for you to find.
    • It is possible that you are doing a genre search but the book is not listed with that genre
    • Check the listing on your account Bookshelf:
      • check the title/author spelling
      • check the genre/subgenres the book is listed with in the database
  • Please note that: The book listing for a book you have posted that is active and available on your account Bookshelf will appear WITHOUT the "Order This Book" button when you look at the listing. Others looking at this listing who do not have the book active on their bookshelves WILL see the Order button.
    • The book listing will also NOT have the "Post This Book" button when you look at it.  That is because you cannot post two copies of the same book onto your account Bookshelf.
    • You will see instead the notation mail it to a friend, which allows you to send the book to a friend in a swap outside the PBS system--with no credits involved.

Related Links:

If you can see a book on your Bookshelf, but can't find it by searching the PBS database...
If a book you sent hasn't been marked received yet....
How to post a book
How to find books to request