Everything about how GiftABook book exchanges work. Can't find your answer? Contact us.
GiftABook matches readers with each other so they can swap physical books as gifts at real-world meet-ups in public places. Staff organise each exchange; you join it, and after the sign-up deadline we pair you with another participant.
You join an exchange, we pair you with another participant, and you each bring a physical book chosen for the other person to the meet-up. Staff create each exchange with a city, date and meeting place. Once the sign-up deadline passes, the matching runs automatically and you are notified that you have a match.
GiftABook is launching city by city. If your city is not open yet, join the waitlist on the home page and tell us your city; we email you when a chapter opens there. Account sign-up is currently limited while we launch.
Accounts are created by signing in with Google, once sign-ups are open. Before you can join an exchange you complete your profile: a short bio, your birth year, confirmation that you are 18 or older, and your book lists.
Matches are made at random among everyone with a confirmed place, when the sign-up deadline passes. Each person is paired with exactly one other. If there is an odd number of participants, one person is left unpaired and the organisers arrange a partner for them.
Your match is revealed by name 24 hours before the meet-up by default, though the organisers can set a different time. Until then you can see your match's book lists but not who they are, and the notification only tells you when the reveal happens. After the reveal you see your partner's name only, never their email address.
Each exchange has a set date, time and meeting place chosen by the organisers, and meet-ups are held in public places. The details are on the exchange page and in your match details.
Bring a physical book you think your partner would enjoy. Your partner's profile lists books they loved and books they disliked or feel nothing about, with optional notes. Use those to choose a gift.
You can leave an exchange freely until matching. After you are matched you can cancel your match from the match page, and your partner is told that the match was cancelled without being told who cancelled. Cancelling after the reveal counts as a late cancellation strike.
If every place is taken, you can join the queue before the sign-up deadline. Queue order is the order people joined. If someone leaves, the person at the front of the queue gets the place and is notified. Anyone still in the queue when matching runs is told there was no place this time.
A strike is recorded when a participant cancels a match after the reveal, or when organisers confirm a reported no-show. The first strike is a warning. At two active strikes you cannot join new exchanges or queues until the organisers clear them. The Terms of Service also allow us to suspend accounts that repeatedly no-show.
After the meet-up time, report that your partner did not show on the match page. Organisers review the report before anything is decided, so a report alone does not give anyone a strike. If both of you report meeting, the match is simply marked complete.
Yes. You must confirm that you are 18 or older before joining an exchange, and the confirmation is checked again when matching runs. We store your birth year only, not your full date of birth.
You add at least two books you loved and two you disliked or feel nothing about, up to ten of each, found by searching a public book catalogue. You can add a short note to each book. These lists are what your partner uses to choose your gift.
Your profile, your book lists, your exchange activity and your notifications. Match and attendance records are removed 12 months after the meet-up, and strikes are kept so that blocks stay fair. Our analytics are cookieless and use hashed IP addresses. The Privacy Policy has the full details.
Yes. From your profile you can download your data as a JSON file, or delete your account. Deleting cancels your upcoming matches, frees your places and removes your profile, book lists and notifications. Emails already sent cannot be recalled. If you are only on the waitlist, the confirmation email has a link that deletes your entry instantly.
Use the contact form on the Contact Us page. We read every message and reply by email.