Linda K.

I ordered a pair of slippers for shipment via UPS to my elderly house-bound mom who lives in a very rural area of Northern New York State. UPS supposedly couldn't deliver them to her house, though at the time, there was no snow on the ground that would prevent access. Instead, somehow UPS "re-delivered" the package to a US Post Office over an hour away instead of the local PO 1/2 mile from her house where a neighbor could have picked it up. HUH? I called Sierra Trading Post and could not have been more impressed with their service. The CSR I spoke with assured me that the lost slippers would be returned to Sierra at some point and immediately shipped another pair with instructions for UPS to deliver to my mom's home and not to a post office or anywhere else under any circumstances. I thought this was great service and would definitely shop with Sierra Trading Post in the future.

I've been a member of the PaperBackSwap (PBS) site for about three years and I can't say enough good things about it. For those unfamiliar with how PBS works, members list books they have read and/or want to get rid of. Other members search for books they want to read. If there is a copy of a book available that has been posted by another member, a match is made and the book owner mails the book to the requester at his/her expense, typically $3-$3.50 by USPS Media Mail. The PBS system is point based in that a member gets a point (or two for audio-books) for every book they mail and spends a point (again, or two for audiobooks) for everyone they request and receive. Shipping couldn't be easier. Members can fund an account through a credit/debit card or PayPal to pay for shipping and then print a shipping label from the comfort of home. This process is amazingly simple to manage thanks to PBS's positive "we've thought everything through" attitude.

I have over 200 transactions so far with other book lovers and have never had one issue with another member or with PBS's system. The site is well run with lots of readily available information, FAQs and personalized help from other members for the newcomer.

Every year, the organization picks several schools that have great need for books for their "Books for Schools" program. Members donate points to the school(s) of their choice and PBS has deals with publishers to ship books to those schools. I love helping children love to read!

Lastly, I drive A LOT and if it wasn't for audiobooks (ABs)to listen to as I'm sailing down interstates, I think I would die of boredom. PBS usually has a great selection of ABs and I can't even calculate how much money I have saved over buying them in a book store or on-line.

If you are an avid reader or audiobook lover, check out PBS. They also have sister sites called Swap-A-CD and Swap-A-DVD.

First, I've been a member of Pinterest for just a few weeks. I found having to wait to be "invited" rather pretentious though I suppose it keeps out the great unwashed who would infuse the site with unwanted trash.

Here is my experience so far. After accepting the "invitation," I was asked to choose my areas of interest by checking boxes. I came back to the site a couple of days later when I had more time. Everything... and I mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that was pinned to my account was from the same person who, if the numbers are correct, apparently likes everything that every other member likes only think in numbers that are incomprehensible. I tried to get rid of this person, block her pins, block her name so that I might enjoy a variety of what other members have to offer. Well, apparently the geniuses at Pinterest have no intention of allowing members to block content they find objectionable or redundant. Now... that's scary.

I accessed the "Contact" page and sent a note asking, no really begging, the powers that be at Pinterest to either block from my account what I would consider to be no more than a high-class spammer, and, if they couldn't or wouldn't do that, to close my account. Seeing only pins from one person exclusively at the expense of others whose work and interests I would like to view is not my concept of a well designed social networking/media site. Needless to say, no one has responded. No surprise, really.

There should be a function for members to block other members content they find objectionable or just don't want to see. There should also be a way to close one's membership out.

I think the concept of Pinterest is a fairly good one. There just has to be a lot more functionality for the user to manage his/her account.