How it works
From a finished book to your next one.
A Dogear exchange is reciprocal and permanent: two readers each send a book, and each keeps what they receive. Here is the whole journey.
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Create your reader profile.
A name, a photo if you want one, and roughly where you are — a town, not an address.
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Add books to your bookshelf.
Scan the barcode, enter the ISBN, or search by title and author.
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Mark the ones you are ready to pass on.
Books you want to keep stay on your shelf and are never offered.
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Build a wishlist and browse what is available.
Your wishlist tells Dogear what to look out for as copies appear.
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Request a swap.
You choose the book you want and offer one of yours in return.
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The other reader accepts or declines.
A request stays open for 24 hours. After that it closes on its own and nothing is committed.
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Agree how to exchange, privately.
Meet locally, or mail the books. The conversation happens inside the exchange.
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Confirm the exchange is complete.
Both readers confirm what they received.
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Ownership transfers permanently.
The book is yours. There is nothing to return and no due date.
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The Book Passport continues with the book.
Its journey stays with the physical copy, ready for whoever reads it next.
This is a permanent exchange. The books are not loans. Neither reader sends anything back, and neither reader owes anything once both have confirmed.
Two ways to exchange
Locally
Agree a public place and a time inside the exchange.
Hand the books over and both confirm in the app.
No postage, no packaging, no waiting.
By mail
Each reader mails their book and marks it sent.
Postage is paid separately from membership.
The parts people ask about
Privacy
Your street address is never shown to another member or on your profile. It is used to produce a shipping label and nothing else. Phone numbers, personal email addresses, street addresses and off-platform handles cannot be sent through ordinary exchange messages — Dogear explains what needs to be removed and returns the message for editing.
When no swap is available yet
Some books take a while to appear. Add them to your wishlist and Dogear will tell you when a copy is offered, so you are not refreshing a search.
When a request is not accepted
Requests stay open for 24 hours. If the other reader does not respond, the request closes by itself. Nothing is charged, nothing is committed, and your book is free to offer again.
If something goes wrong
A book that never arrives, a copy in worse condition than described, or a reader who stops responding — each can be reported from inside the exchange, so Dogear support can review the exchange record and follow up.
Ready to see what other readers have finished?
Free until your second completed swap or three months—whichever comes first. Card required.