What’s the deal with book boxes?
Posted by Harrry-Otter@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 69 comments
So, we’ve got one of those book box things near us. Great. It’s an excellent way to recycle books i’ll probably never read again, but I’ve noticed they empty out remarkably quickly. One day full, the next empty.
Yesterday my wife and I discarded a pretty wide selection, everything from holiday fiction, to Penguin classics, to technical stuff about the endocrine system. Today, all gone.
Are people sticking them on eBay? Are our neighbours just voracious but unfussy readers?
unalive-robot@reddit
Their success is based on community...
AdhesivenessNo6288@reddit
Like all of society, and its not something that's taught unfortunately.
SmellyPubes69@reddit
A guy at my work who's salary is minimum low 6 figures uses some sort of food bank, I'm not sure how he got the referral but hebrags about it. lives in an 800k house with 3 kids but because no one actually tells him off for what he's doing he thinks it's ok.
My point is people are cunts, for every nice decent human alive there's 20 cunts.
itsfourinthemornin@reddit
This is a situation where snitches wouldn't get stitches. Some food banks are seriously struggling with the demand they have and then you have pricks like this who (I'm assuming) can afford food shops for the month and brags about using them on top. I felt nothing but absolutely in the pits about having to resorting to help from food banks to afford food and Christmas years back.
Skinsarelli@reddit
Can’t believe I’m gonna say it, but grass him up! That’s a real cunt move!
SmellyPubes69@reddit
Mmm won't say anything at work because don't want to be seen the office snitch, but is it a 101 matter?
jdp117@reddit
Fuck that, if he's as much of a cunt as he sounds then snitch away!
SmellyPubes69@reddit
No because he womt get fired for it and make my life hell, just not worth it
jdp117@reddit
Do it anonymously! Or I'd just tell all of your colleagues so word gets around that he's going down the food bank, it'll make him look so bad
Skinsarelli@reddit
Tell the food bank or whoever grants you access to the food bank.
SmellyPubes69@reddit
I don't use it! I don't know which one it is but he just openly brags about using it, and he is a fucking melt so I believe him!
mdzmdz@reddit
He couldn't be volunteering there could he?
An acquaintance does and there seems to be an awful lot of stuff which they're 'unable' to give out but he's happy to take home.
bugzbonez@reddit
quite often people are referred through the local council, or some other support structure linking different welfare and benefits schemes - like local advice centres and registered charities. I don't believe there are many if any food banks you can just walk into anymore without referral from a trusted source. It's usually dealt with by the same people as housing/homelessness/benefits in the council - all things that require evidence of incomings and outgoings, which is what makes it particularly suspect because he very well may also be doing a bit of benefits fraud on the side, or may have done in the past to get to the food bank stage.
If I were you, I would maybe report it to 101, just in case- or directly ring your local council and tell them. Food banks in my area usually require evidence that youre on universal credit or similar, or on a very low income, or that you are in particular hardship. He'd be lying to them about something for sure to get it
CrocodileJock@reddit
I believe that you've got the ratio wrong, for every 50 decent people there's one cunt. But the cunts are more noticeable, and often spoil things for everyone else.
homelaberator@reddit
It feels that way sometimes, but honestly I think there's far fewer cunts than people who are trying to be decent humans. It's just they are so egregious in their cuntery that it seems there must be hundreds of them instead of one.
mumwifealcoholic@reddit
I don't believe you.
72dk72@reddit
Not all "food banks" need any sort of referral and there are a couple just run by locals in community centres / village halls near me. No checks are made. There are also things like the Bread and Butter thing that rae there to reduce food waste. You pay £8.50 and het three bags of food worth £25+. It's like a lucky dip!
phatboi23@reddit
as soeone who's had to use a foodbank i'm pretty pissed off about that as it's hard to admit you need that kind of help and he's just ripping the piss.
External-Praline-451@reddit
Please someone tell him he's disgusting and should be ashamed of himself! What cheek, and to brag about it 🤮
Fizzywaterjones@reddit
I suspect eBay sellers. When I donate to boxes, I use permanent marker and write “enjoy” on the cover.
Rubberfootman@reddit
You make piss-poor money selling used paparrbacks. If someone needs the money that badly I’d turn a blind eye.
DeadBallDescendant@reddit
Absolutely this. 5p for 50 Shades of Grey etc etc.
mdzmdz@reddit
And tuppence to hand as they read it.
DeadBallDescendant@reddit
I'm appalled at you. APPALLED.
NickPDay@reddit
Wow, only 0.1p per shade.
SongsAboutGhosts@reddit
Plus OP has said they're using it to recycle books. If you don't want them and can't be bothered to sell them yourself, why does it matter if someone else does? They haven't come into your house to take them.
pajamakitten@reddit
The ones near me are full but it is all stuff your great granny would want (reflective of the area). No one is making money off those, especially as the target audience is not online.
CologneMom@reddit
You might just be surprised at what great granny has already read😉😅
Timely_Atmosphere735@reddit
Randy granny porn.
“She lifted her dress slightly to show Bartholomew her stocking covered ankle, heavens above exclaimed Bartholomew his heart quivering with excitement.”
caffeine_lights@reddit
This. They'll probably stop once they realise nothing is shifting.
tinymoominmama@reddit
I agree, I couldn't be arsed for the meger return. If they, can all power to them.
RattyHandwriting@reddit
Round here we have a guy who empties our regularly and we think flogs them on that “world of books” app.
We can’t prove it, so he just gets a lot of hard stares and no one ever buys him a drink in the pub.
Life_Put1070@reddit
There is a number of these book selling apps, I used them to clear out after university and made a little money. Having sold books through various bookselling apps of that sort, it's unlikely he's emptying a little library for it, as those buyers don't take everything you scan into them (I probably was able to sell about 50% of what I scanned in), and won't take multiples. They're also very strict about condition.
The apps work by you scanning the bar code, so if you wanted to stop him from doing it, just Sharpie through the bar code.
RattyHandwriting@reddit
I got about a hundred and fifty quid from World of Books when I cleared out my parents house, so they seem to be slightly less fussy.
Honestly, no idea what he’s doing with them, but he’s emptied it at least three times this year, and I mean completely emptied. It’s a small village, this is what passes for entertainment round here.
mdzmdz@reddit
Cheaper than buying firelighters?
Chemical_Count5054@reddit
Why don’t you write on the back of the books your road name and phone box library(whatever you call them) name and scribble off the bar code. He would really piss me off!
InternationalRich150@reddit
Yea,they're being sold. Which is sad because the ethos of these things is take one,leave one. I'd love to have one of these near me to share and find new books!
SuzLouA@reddit
I walk past one every day on my school run, and it’s always gratifying to see it’s well used - it’s usually full, but the book selection is always subtly changing (ie might take a week or more for one book to go, others are gone the next day). I’ve been walking past it four times a day since September and never once remembered to bring any old books to put in it, and I always feel too guilty to take one I like the look of without an old one to swap 😂
InternationalRich150@reddit
Ah don't feel guilty! In my mind they're there to be read,and taking one without replacing won't hurt! Sounds like it's full anyhow,so someone else will be glad to use the space!
Spare-Egg24@reddit
The one in my village is so stuffed full of books it's impossible to actually look at any of the books (we use an old phone box) we could do with someone selling at least half the stock so we can start again!
InternationalRich150@reddit
Haha if I was near I'd come and help with that issue!!! I love books,I read so much I can't keep up and am always looking for new books. Where I lived before,block of flats,a lady used to put her read books out on the landing and I'd put mine out,we used to swap then other people must have started and we had a good thing going for a bit! Never met the people but og lady had a similar taste to me! Massive pile would go in days!
nadthegoat@reddit
If you build it, they will come.
MatteKudesai@reddit
... and take them all and flog them
InternationalRich150@reddit
Wouldn't even know where to start!
Isgortio@reddit
Bird house but bigger and with a door
mike9874@reddit
One near us someone comes and stamps them all saying it's from that book box. People could still sell them, but they've been stamped. It looks provisional, similar to how a library would stamp them, so nobody seems to mind
KYchan1021@reddit
I continuously get a lot of brand new books that I need to get rid of, usually psychological thrillers, police procedurals, YA fiction, and similar. Because I have a thing about keeping my books pristine, when I’ve read them they still look brand new and perfect condition. They are all books published in the last year or two.
I’ve surprisingly had trouble finding somewhere that will take them. I like to read paper books rather than kindle but can’t keep them due to only having one room for all my stuff, so I try to donate all the books I read, which amount up to 200 or so a year.
The general charity shops don’t want books. Apparently they don’t see enough value in them and prefer clothes. The library also didn’t want them, they refused me but I honestly think they would change their mind if they saw the pile of perfect-looking, new books that I have in my room right now.
Luckily I live near an Oxfam bookshop and I’ve been carrying them all there, but would like to use one of those book boxes or small “libraries” in phone boxes, that I’ve seen all over the place. Especially because I don’t have a car and have to carry the bags of books for 45 minutes to take them to the shop!
Unfortunately what happens with the book boxes is that it seems all the decent books get quickly taken by one person, leaving those very old boring-looking books with a plain red or black cover that I don’t know what they contain but for some reason any small book collection I see is full of them. I wish someone would clear those out and only allow each person to take one book at once and make them contribute a book in return, or any kind of system that would stop one selfish person taking all the books to sell.
But of course no one controls those small book collections. So it’s a shame but I’d rather take all my books to the Oxfam shop than have them get sold for the benefit of only one selfish person.
Life_Put1070@reddit
The library can't take second hand books as they have to purchase the books with a special lending license. Have you considered just leaving the books you want to sell in a box outside your house on a sunny day?
Kaylee__Frye@reddit
That's not true. Libraries can't take donations because they don't have the resources to add things to stock, because of years of underfunding. The books on the shelf in your local library are exactly the same as the ones in Waterstones.
ecapapollag@reddit
Really? I've worked in libraries since 1990, we were happy accepting donations IF they tied into our collection development policy.
GinjaWhinger@reddit
You could advertise your used books on Freecycle or Olio, it would save carrying the books for 45 minutes to your local charity shop 🙂
Marble-Boy@reddit
They're being sold in bulk and shredded to train an AI. /s
If you're driving/travelling to the book bank, you may as well drive them to a charity shop. Let them sell what they can and then the rest of them will be recycled. And at least that way, the books that are sold will help a charity out rather than just whoever it is at the council that owns the book bank.
homelaberator@reddit
Honestly, I wouldn't be bothered if someone was taking the effort to sell them on eBay. I'm just wanting them to be useful, and cut down on the clutter (a never ending battle). If I wanted the money, I'd sell them myself but it's a faff.
I doubt anyone stealing books is getting rich.
I'd be more concerned if people were taking them as fire lighters or toilet paper.
Strange_Ad854@reddit
Before the wee free library was a thing I got rid of a lot of my books by giving them away free on gumtree. I had a lot as I used to work in a library and I saved a lot of books that were to be scrapped. An absolutely lovely wee old lady came to pick them up. She was a volunteer running her own mobile library for care home residents. I've thought of doing the free library thing but I'd honestly prefer to donate to people like her.
Outrageous-Arm1945@reddit
Yeah because we can't do nice things without some scummy bastards abusing it.
72dk72@reddit
I always thought the purpose of the book boxes or book libraries is you swap a book for another book. Often when I have used them , I have taken one or two books and left a pile of new ones for them.
Head-Eye-6824@reddit
Some of them are being sold. Some book boxes are over-managed. The person who set it up, or other interfering busybody has opinions and standards that get applied to any donations.
The guy who runs one near me tends to weed out the 50 Shades, Mills & Boon, etc... I think he keeps the level right because there's a fair turnover of books but it never gets too empty.
phatboi23@reddit
tbf charity shops are quite litterally sending them to recycling wholesale as they've already got 50 sets of them in paperback.
nobody wants the for 50p for the set at this point.
WeWereInfinite@reddit
The one near me gets completely cleared out regularly by people taking them to sell.
I lost out on a rare hardback copy of my favourite childhood book because I wanted to stick to rules and drop off some books before I took any. Ran home to get my old books and was back in less than half an hour and the entire thing, around 20 books, had been nabbed.
Some people are just selfish arseholes.
Flaky_Walrus_668@reddit
Next time, take the book you want. And remember to drop a book or two in next time you're passing. These things aren't supposed to be strict.
PigHillJimster@reddit
The one near us is always full. I discovered Elly Griffiths from donations in there, and a few books for my daughter. I have donated as well.
There were a few dotted around Granville in France when we were visiting last including one near the beach. I donated my English language copy of an Agatha Christie and found it had disappeared the next day!
Strangelyblue93@reddit
I would guess they're being sold. Humans just can't have nice things :(.
My local library lets you donate books that aren't too worn out. It might be an idea for next time to see if they'll take them. That way at least they'll get read and shared in a more secure way.
thelaurasaurus@reddit
We used to have this with our local book/defibrillator phone box until the local Facebook group kicked off, and then the council stuck a CCTV sticker up and it stopped. Unfortunately we now have the issue that it’s too full to see any of the books properly and people keep dumping more on the floor rather than taking them to the 17 charity shops on our high street.
thierry_ennui_@reddit
If there is a way for people to exploit loopholes, someone somewhere will be exploiting that loophole. It's frustrating, but the only way to stop it is to take away nice things like this, and I'd rather have nice things and the odd selfish prick than no nice things, because no nice things will create a lot more selfish pricks.
Nemariwa@reddit
We have a few locally as well as shelves in coffee shops etc. I've not heard of them being cleared out on mass but there are some local volunteers that do the rounds one day a week to check on condition and shuffle stock if necessary. I only give second hand books I'm done with. A couple of times a yeargenerally buy a couple of new hard backs of popular stuff I don't
kotare78@reddit
We have one and the rule is leave a book, take a book.
ecapapollag@reddit
THANK YOU for not calling them libraries. Drives me mad (as a librarian).
rachaelg666@reddit
I’ve had the same experience but tbh if they’re out of my house I’m happy. I’ve been using the one in my local station more recently as it’s convenient but also watched over by staff presumably!
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