Hi Amy,

Yes, you send out the 9 books that were requested from you. In exchange, you get 9 credits that you can use to request a book for yourself. There are over 4.5 million books available for order right now, so you definitely don't have to wait for the books on your wish list to become available.

If you do choose to wait, you'll be notified when these books are posted and you've reached the front of the line.

If you decide you don't want to participate, then the way to cancel your account is to click on Contact Us under Company at the bottom of any page and ask to have the account canceled. The team will cancel all the pending requests for your books so that other members won't be kept waiting for you to send them.

Amy, I'm assuming that the 9 requests were all for single books to 9 different members, right?  otherwise, if several books were going to the same member, that actually saves you a ton in postage costs!

Welcome to PBS Amy

So if I read your post correctly, you joined today, posted 9 books that were on the wishlist but none of the books you want are available?

Perhaps you should appreciate the fact that the members whose wishes you fulfilled have been waiting months, maybe longer to get the books you have put into the system. That's the way this site works. The books you want are in the system but you have to put them on your wishlist and wait to get to the head of the line. In the meantime, browse through the available books.

Go back and read the all the information available to you about PBS and better understand how it all works.

If you decide to leave the site, please send the books that you have posted and therefore committed to send per the rules.

Hi Amy,

Welcome to PBS! That's a common situation that happens to many of us when we first join ... we end up sending books right away, and then for things on your WL, you may wait a while. It's hard to say how fast or slow the lines might move, as some lines move extremely quickly and some are really slow.

I know at first it seems like you are sending out books and not getting any ... but there are are lots and lots of established members who send out brand new books to the club as well, frequently.  We're not all just waiting to get WL books.

I know I didn't have any problems finding stuff to order in the meantime. Maybe if you look around more you will find things of interest as well?

I took a look at your Wish List ... some of the books that you are wishing for are brand new just released ... generally here, you will find that those do have a Wish List line. If you think about it, you will find that does make sense ... if it was that easy to fidn a website to pick up a brand new just published book for less than $3 (cost of mailing a different book out to get a credit) ... wouldn't everybody be doing it?

Based on your books, I think those lines will move pretty steadily, those are pretty popular books and I think the lines will move steadily on those.

One thing that PBS teaches is a little patience! We've all been in your situation when we first joined.

This is a great site, by the way, so I hope you stick with it, but if not, sorry it didn't work out for you!

The popular new released by mega selling authors tend to have long lines before and shortly after their publication date, But those lines tend to move very quickly.  They're usually the books that end up with hundreds if not thousands of copies posted into the system.  (I remember when books like The Davinci Code and Twilight had hundreds on the WL and now there's literally thousands of those books in the system.)  Many of those wishers will buy the book themselves, get them as gifts, get them from the library etc.., and remove themselves from the line and often end up posting those copies.  The lines might move 50+ spaces a week.

It's the books with very few wishers that you can sometimes wait years for here.  Because they aren't popular and aren't easily found in thrift stores and library sales soon after release. 

If you aren't sure this is going to work for you than don't post anymore books. Load your WL up and just post books as you need credits.  I know how PBS works but that's still how I do it.  I keep 5-10 credits on hand and post WL books as I need them.  So if I don't get any WL books for awhile, I don't post any for awhile.  (I have a huge TBR and so I don't normally order non-WL books unless I can't get it anywhere else and I am ready to read it). 

You don't receive "nothing" in return for mailing out the books. You receive 9 PBS credits, these can be used to order any of the 620,000 unique titles currently available to be requested. If you choose, you can put books on your wishlist, wait, and use the credits to request these books when they become available.

You might also want to check to see if a book is on the wish list before you post it into the system. That way, you won't be slammed with many orders all at once.

Welcome to PBS. I hope it works out well for you.

No one is hiding the ball here.  You get 9 credits for sending out the 9 books (plus, BTW, 2 bonus credits for joining and posting 10+ books).  So you get credits from which to request books.  Request any books that you want, and those that aren't available right now add to your wishlist. Most of us have pretty long wishlists.  As a regular (non-goldkey) member, you can have up to 200 books on your wishlist!  I've had instances where books have been on my wishlist for only a day or two (but, not to scare you, but I've had some - more expensive book sets, "keepers", or more obscure books - on my wishlist for 5+ years.)

Honestly, if you are only ever interested in reading new releases, and reading them within a few weeks of them being released, this site probably isn't for you.  The wishlist process is somewhat of an exercise in patience, but it does really pay off.  Checking to see if a book is wishlisted before posting is an excellent suggestion.  If postage cost is a problem, consider weighing each book on a kitchen scale before posting it so you know what it will cost to mail - and opt to post the lighter ones first.  Also, make sure to take advantage of media mail rates for books over several ounces.

Also, not being exactly aware of the books you are looking for, you might look for other editions of the books (paperback instead of hardback or different printings are sometimes available when the others are not), when you do a search the books with a button saying "order this book" are the ones available.

I hope that helps, but if not then welcome to the site be your time here short or long.