KidsHappen Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have plenty of credit and I pretty long list but I haven't received any of the books off my list in at least six months. Granted they are kind of obscure (not terribly so - most science) non-fiction type books but surely some of them would have become available in the last six months. Any idea why I haven't received any? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have plenty of credit and I pretty long list but I haven't received any of the books off my list in at least six months. Granted they are kind of obscure (not terribly so - most science) non-fiction type books but surely some of them would have become available in the last six months. Any idea why I haven't received any? Where are you in line for these books? On the PBS wishlist, it should tell you your rank (13 of 27 wishing, or whatever) and will usually give you an estimate of how many weeks you might have to wait for that book to become available. I have a large number books on my wishlist that are out of print and very rare. Most of those don't even show an estimate of my wait time because so few copies become available that they can't even guess how long it will be. So, sure, a copy of two of those books might have come through the system, but if you were number 12 on the list of people waiting, it's not your turn yet. Also, even if you have credits and a book on your wishlisht becomes available, it won't just ship to you automatically. You will get an e-mail letting you know it's available and will need to log in and accept the offer. If you don't move quickly enough, they will pass it on to the next person in line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have 138 titles on our list, many of which have been there a year or more. They are primarily non-fiction as well, many school-related. Some ideas: 1) Take a look at your wish list and see where you are in the queue for each of the books. For many of mine, I'm 1 of 1, for others, I'm 35 of 46 or so or even farther down the list. That means that all the ones ahead of me in line have to turn down an offer for any copy that comes in. It will also often tell you when a copy was last posted. It's been a year or more since any of the copies of some of the books I want have been posted. 2) Look at the books you are requesting. Are they larger, hardback or some other option that might be more expensive to ship? If so, it's less likely that someone will post them there. I know I tend to list books that will not cost me much to ship, so I assume others may do the same. 3) Are people getting reasonable prices for these titles at Amazon or Alibris? If so, there's less incentive to put them on a swap site. I would guess that in this economy, people are more likely to try to get as much as they can rather than swap. 4) I would also guess that non-fiction is less likely to be swapped than the latest bestsellers or romance titles, simply because people tend to buy fewer copies. If they are consumable, that also limits the number available for resale or swap. 5) Check to make sure you're getting mail from PBS. http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/help_index.php 6) Are there other editions/bindings/etc of the titles you want? Have you requested all of them, in case one of the alternates shows up? They may or may not always be linked in the database, so you may or may not get a "similar to wish" email about ones that come available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I don't know, but I was thinking about joining PBS and now after reading this I'm not sure! I have a few obscure science books. What are you looking for? You can check on the titles of those books to see if anyone is waiting for them. When you enter the ISBN, it should tell you if there's a wait list, as I recall. I've checked some of the books I had because I wanted to process them as quickly as possible so I would have available credits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in MN Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Because of the economy I know personally that more people are selling than posting. It's caused a backlash because used bookstores are full and paying less money for books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Must have missed something. Someone, 'splain' me please. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have many books on my PBS wishlist that have been there for 2 years. They're just books that people do not want to get rid of, and I don't blame them. I will likely keep them when I finally get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murmer Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Also you could check the book bazaar which is in discussions...there are posts for wish listed book that are damaged...books that are only for multiple orders or special deals...you might find what you are looking for in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have some that have been on there at least 3 years. They are obscure, some are just expensive and popular. I personally haven't sent out a book in nearly 8 months. I don't have money for postage so I removed all the books on my shelf. I wonder if PBS is slowing down because of the postal increases and more scrutiny on media mail? I haven't even been over there recently and I used to browse several times a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have also waited a year or longer for a book. I have seen no slowdown. I mailed out 7 books last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Where are you in line for these books? On the PBS wishlist, it should tell you your rank (13 of 27 wishing, or whatever) and will usually give you an estimate of how many weeks you might have to wait for that book to become available. I have a large number books on my wishlist that are out of print and very rare. Most of those don't even show an estimate of my wait time because so few copies become available that they can't even guess how long it will be. So, sure, a copy of two of those books might have come through the system, but if you were number 12 on the list of people waiting, it's not your turn yet. Also, even if you have credits and a book on your wishlisht becomes available, it won't just ship to you automatically. You will get an e-mail letting you know it's available and will need to log in and accept the offer. If you don't move quickly enough, they will pass it on to the next person in line. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Yes, nearly all on my wishlist are either out of print or books people might try to sell here or on Amazon. I get about one wish fulfilled a month. I borrow general literature from the library. The books I wish for are books I typically plan on keeping for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Here is my list. As you can see I have more than one version listed of some of the items. On some of them I am the next in line and on others I am 50 of 150. Some items haven't been shipped in two years and other ship on a regular basis but I am pretty far down the line. I have my account sent to auto request so it is supposed to automatically request any item that becomes available. Granted some are very desirable books and others are very obscure but it just seems weird that I haven't received any of them in over six months. I was just wondering if I am doing something wrong or if this is at all unusual. Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" Earl Doherty - Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life Daniel C. Dennett The Egypt Code Robert Bauval Endless Forms Most Beautiful Sean B Carroll Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea Carl Zimmer The genius of China: 3,000 years of science, discovery, and invention Robert K. G Temple God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist Victor J Stenger The God Theory: Universes, Zero-point Fields, And What's Behind It All Bernard Haisch Good Vibrations: The Physics of Music Barry Parker How Language Works David Crystal How Language Works: How Babies Babble, Words Change Meaning, and Languages Live or Die David Crystal Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook James Talmage Stevens The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom Simon Winchester Measure Solar System Objects and Their Movements for Yourself! (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) John D. Clark Organize for Disaster Judith Kolberg The Quantum Zoo: A Tourist's Guide to the Never-Ending Universe Marcus Chown The Secret Origins of the Bible Tim Callahan Secret Origins of the Bible Tim Callahan The Secret Pulse of Time: Making Sense of Life's Scarcest Commodity Stefan Klein Shattering the Myths of Darwinism Richard Milton Sun of gOd: Discover the Self-Organizing Consciousness That Underlies Everything Gregory Sams Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval The Talisman : Sacred Cities, Secret Faith Robert Bauval, Graham Hancock Talisman : Sacred Cities, Secret Faith Graham; Bauval, Robert Hancock The Top 10 Myths About Evolution Cameron Smith, Charles Sullivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I have 148 on my wishlist and I rarely receive books on it. They're just not the usual books for patrons. I went for over a year before receiving anything on it (its picked up a bit in the last few months). You can also look for other books too. I went onto the Award-winning books list and ordered a few I'd never heard of and I'll often scan the Just Posted list and general subject searches. You can also trade credits between PaperbackSwap, CDswap, and DVDswap. I've used @20 PBS credits for CDs in the last 6 months, and I still have a good half dozen credits for wishlist books when they show up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 The Egypt CodeRobert Bauval Well, I didn't check all of them. But I experimented with putting this one on my wish list. It now says that my wish is number 19 of 19 and does not have an estimated number of weeks listed. That means that not enough copies of that book have come through the system to make it possible to guess how long it will be before one becomes available for the 19th person on the list. In fact, since there is no "last posted" date, I'm assuming that this book has never been posted for swap on the site. I have a bunch of those things on my list, too. Hope springs eternal, right? But if it's something I really want that has no estimate of the wait time, I usually just go ahead and buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart'sjoy Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Sometimes I've missed a book when I'm emailed a notice of a similar title being available. The similar titles are first come first serve not a couple of days like a wish list offer. Of course similar title offers are not always what I want, for example a solutions guide to a specific edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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