does anyone ever get book wishes granted? every one i want seems like it's going to take over a year if it's possible at all. I know the person who asked me got their's.

Welcome to PBS! Patience is definitely a virute here, but wishes do get granted! The longer you are a member, the more time you will have to move up the queue and hopefully wished for items will come your way more frequently.

Happens all the time. 

I have WL books that have been stalled on my wishlist for 2 years, while others seems to get posted often and you move up the line quickly. WHen I was new, it took a while before I started seeing WL books offered to me. But once it started, it picked up quickly. Right now, I'm averaging about two WL offers a week. Sometimes more, sometimes none, but still pretty regular.

Bottom line: Waiting for wishlist books is a lesson in extreme patience.

ETA: I just looked at your wishlist. It's only six books so have patience. Too bad I didn't know sooner or I would have saved my copy of the Zombie Survival Guide for you. 

It obviously depends on what you're wishing for.  I'm wishing for quite a few books *in Spanish* by Borges, Quiroga, and other Latin American authors; I figure if I actually get any of them, I'll be very lucky.  On the other hand, TRUE GRIT did not take all that long, and some books are actually immediately available.  If what you want is large and/or expensive, you probably have to wait a lot longer.  (Many people would hesitate to list a 2.5-pound book they'll only get one credit for.)

I've got my WL on Auto and I average about 3 - 4 books a month. It all depends on what you are wishing for.

PATIENCE!

-RD

Jennifer,

If you have time, there is a thread on the Book Bazaar called Wish LIst Multiples where people are allowed to post their wishlist books that they want to send out in multiples to save on shipping. I've posted books there that I would not have listed due to weight because I could buy a credit for less that it would cost to ship. I try to check that thread at least once a day.

I used to enjoy checking to see what "number" I was for my wish listed books.  But lately, the numbers seem to be going up, instead of down, so I hardly even peek anymore.  I've actually started using my library more.

Wishes definitely get granted. If you look Under The Hood, it marks with a big red W all the wishes that are granted.

First of al if you only have 6 book on your WL, you might not get any for awhile. Max out your WL.  I get 5-6 WL books a month and that's with a huge chunk of my WL on hold most of hte time. (I have a limited postage budget and so unhold books as I'm ready for them and have credits. 

And don't feel like you have to post every book you have to start out with.  It's ok to just post books and earn credits as you need them.  I have over 200 WL books in my TBR Pile. I post them as I need credits and have postage money.

The games forum is also a great place ot get WL books.  Go check out some of the games and virtual boxes. 

I have books that have been on my WL for years.  While others I get really fast.

I've actually found that it's the really popular books with the long WL lines that you actually get quicker.  Some of htem might have 500 people on the list but the line moves quickly. While others you might be the only wisher but wait years because it's a hard to find book.

Welcome to PBS!

Yes ,you do get WL offers ,I know it seems really frustrating when you have to wait so long for a book you want. I'm on the other end of the WL thing and am very frustrated.

A couple days ago I posted a WL book that has 124 wishers, and has been turned down about 4 times already. I'd like to get it mailed out so I can get a credit for it.

I've actually found that it's the really popular books with the long WL lines that you actually get quicker.  Some of htem might have 500 people on the list but the line moves quickly. While others you might be the only wisher but wait years because it's a hard to find book.

This has been my experience, too. I've gotten, say, popular romance paperbacks fairly quickly once they come out - there are lots of copies cycling through lots of people and I've progressed up 20-40 spots in the wishlist in the space of a week. The obscure nonfiction on my wishlist, on the other hand, may only come up once a year if that. I actually went through a while ago and moved most of the books where I was 1 of 1 on the wishlist to my reminder list, because I felt like I was using up spaces on my wishlist that would probably never come to anything. (I wish there was some way to get an email if something on your reminder list is posted, even if it isn't reserved for you - there's not, is there?)

What you could do, if you're a new member, is to put plenty of things on your wishlist but put them on hold, if you are low on points. That way they will continue to climb the wishlist ranking but you don't have to spend the points until you have them.

You also have very genre specific books on your WL, some that I haven't come across in a long time.  Dark Shadows is a smaller market type of book and probably not posted very often.  I'm always on the lookout for small press horror and authors that are a bit extreme, as well old tv show tie-ins (especially Dark Shadows, oddly enough).  If I happen to come across any, I'll keep you in mind. :-)

Another good place to see wishlisted books that are actively being posted is on the Books Posted Today page. Any book listed there that does not have an Order This Book button next to it has already been requested, probably because it was wishlisted.

I've maxed out my Wish List.  I get about 7-8 books a month.   However, there are some books on my WL that have been there since 2007!  The more popular books with the long wait list actually move faster as another poster mentioned. 

I know that people get wish list books since every book I've listed since I've been a member (just over a month, give/take) have been wishlist books ;D I've only had 1 WL book offered to me, but I don't mind. I buy a lot of books. I only use paperbackswap because I don't have a used bookstore near my house. If I really want a book I just go buy it. I find this to be a good place to 'try' new series that I'm unsure of, or as a means to get children's books for my daughter.

Actually, I find I have to pace how many books/how often I list at one time since many of them are wishlist books! It was kind of boggling to have my first batch all go on WL hold. I hadn't expected that (or the associated cost, LOL).

Like you, Jennifer, I had only a specific genre of books in my WishList and was worried I'd never receive any of them.  But I've gotten HUNDREDS of books from PBS in the years I've been here, and MOST of them were WL books.  True, some on my WL have been on there since I joined back in 2007, but I have gotten a LOT of WL books here.  Have patience, good things will come of it!

3-4 a month is great.  I'm in the 2-3 in a year category, so I've sold some credits and ordered some books instead, but still have plenty of credits so if my WL books come in, I'm ready.

My Daughter to collect a bunch of books from her childhood for a niece on the other side of her family. That's when she discovered one of her favorite books is now out of print and costs $30 on Amazon!  I took a chance and added it to my Wish List.  And about two weeks letter, a very nice lady posted it. 

There's also another of my WL books that I've gotten three times. After I get to the top of the list, I put it on my wish list again, and wait until I get to the top again. It's a book about getting out of debt, and I pass out copies to family and friends that are interested.

But I also have some on my WL that I expect will still be there at the end of time.

Welcome! As others have said, the longer and more diverse your wishlist is, the more likely you will get books offered from it. It really does work! I've been a member here going on 6 years now and have sent over 1700 books and received over 1600, many of them wishlist books. In fact, most of the books I've received in the past couple of years (several hundred) have been from my wishlist, as I rarely order from the system anymore because I've got such a huge TBR pile that I'm cutting way back on acquiring books.

It definitely takes patience, especially when you're just starting out.

Cheryl

Margaret--it's taken me a long time to get to this point...I was like a kid in a candy store for several years after joining PBS....which is why I am now having to restrain myself. One thing I don't do is read the Daily Digest and Daily Wishlist anymore...no point in torturing myself, right? LOL

Cheryl

Oh-- I have been hitting the WL jackpot this year!  I have gotten as many as 6 books on my WL offered to me every month since JAN-- actually coming too fast for me to read!

My aquiring wish listed books goes in waves. I can have no action for weeks then all of a sudden i am getting alot of wishlisted book. I think I have gotten about 8-10 since the first of the year. I don't order too many book on the spur of the moment...I do get some-never said I'm perfect! I got a huge TBR pile. I will post from there as I need credits. I got three offered today..and 4 others in the last week.

I have had 4 WL books offered to me in the last three days -- at least 8 WL books since the start of the month. Sometimes I have to wait days after wishing for a book, and sometimes it's years but I've never had any trouble finding other things to read whilst waiting for WL books!