I have a few small boxes of Harlequin books and I am trying to decide whether to wait or donate.  I have checked the # of copies in the system for the ones I have they range from 8-29.  But I don't seem to ever get any requests for these type of books.  When I have seen people seeking them I have checked their list if I had any they wanted I PM"d with a deal offer but they always turned it down (out of credits, already have it, not one of my priority ones.blah,blah,blah). 

To make a long question short are they just not sought after?

If they were yours would you donate or wait?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks

jannymarie

Hi, Jannymarie,

I'd say that they're generally slower to move.  If you have storage space, go ahead and post them, and they will eventually get requested.  I've got some that have finally worked their way up the FIFO listings.  Or you can try offer a generous deal in the Book Bazaar--that may move some of them, too.

Best wishes!

Unless an author goes on to become big, they move very very slow.  I recommend offering deals.  Then donating.

I know for me-I won't pay a full credit for one of them (I don't really read them that often though). I think I've maybe sent out 4 or 5 in the nearly 3yrs I've been here for a full credit and they were like brand new WL Blazes or rarer/hard to find early books by a now huge author. You'll find the occassional older Lori Foster, Suzanne Brockmann etc..,. to be WL.  But not many. 

For the most part these things are so easy and cheap to find at thrift stores for like .10 that they just don't move that fast on PBS.  Last year at the big FOL sale here they were selling them in huge box lots for $1-big boxes with like 100 books in them.   If you need credits you could try running a 3, 4 or even 5 for 1 deal in the BB.  That would get you some credits and they are so thin that the postage wouldn't be that much. 

If you like to read them yourself-have you condsiderred becoming a boxer?

I do another book trading site and have had better luck there getting people to request them for a full pt.  But that site gives partial pts for posting books, sending books, leavign feedback etc..,.  So I think people don't mind spendign a full pt on one for that reason.

I have  bunch posted here and if they don't move soon I'm going to post them on the other site for maybe offer them 3 for 1 here.

Here's a slightly different opinion.....

I agree that these books move slower - probably much slower - than other books on PBS.

However, after being a member here for several years, I now limit my ordering to wishlist books or books that I suspect will be going on my keeper shelves.  All other books I get from the library.   I have access to a huge metropolitan library system, which almost always has the books I'm interested in.   One of the exceptions to this are the Harlequins and other series romance.   The library doesn't keep those around for very long.  After a year or so they clean them out of their system.     So if I'm looking for a specific series romance book that they library doesn't have, then I WILL order it from PBS.  For example, an author I just discovered and I want to read from their backlist.   Or I'm looking to fill out books in a series.

So I would hate it if nobody ever posted these books.    I say post them if you have room to store them for a while.     You can always put the ones that aren't moving on sale in a few months.

I am fairly new to romance books and would be sorry if people didn't post Harlequin before I have a chance to read some of them.  Having said that, I got most of the ones on my shelf from box o books deals.  I am feeling that with all the members here, only 29 in the system is not so many. 

If the author and the story are good enough, in your opinion, you should post them.  I am always looking for the midwife ones for example and haven't even scratched the surface of finding them.  Offer deals on them and they will move.

If you have the room to store them, then post them to your shelf and run some deals in the book bazaar.  You can mail 3-4 of them (depending on the thickness) for under 1 lb.  I have a ton of them too.  I've had some success with FIFO but mostly got rid of them via deals. 

I did clean off my bookshelf of most of them and donated a box to Goodwill last fall.  They'd been on my shelf for over a year and I offered great deals on them before I did that.  The only reason I did that was because I have a gazillion more to replace them with.  I need to get more posted myself since I have a bunch more to get rid of.  You never know what someone else is looking for.

I agree on the deals.  Look thru them and see if you have many items in a series and offer them that way or maybe even on Ebay or Craigs List if you get desperate.   I usually just order my harlequins thru the "other" swap site Mary mentioned.