Can anyone provide suggestions on how to get books moving off my shelf? I have tagged many of them and provided reviews. Does a 2 for 1 sale work? Any advice appreciated as I am running out of storage!!

Thanks,

Liz

Doing deals in the Book Bazaar will sometimes help.  Sometimes people aren't willing to pay a credit for a certain book, but if they can get 2 for 1, they're willing to spend that credit.

You can always start out offering 2 for 1 and see how many takers you get. If there's not much movement, you can run a new offer (3 for 1, 5 for 2, etc). Good luck!

I am going to offer some advice, as I have benefited from the advice of others in posting and shipping books here.  Perhaps, it is time for me to help someone else.

I looked at your Bookshelf and, at the risk of over-simplification, all your books seem to be of one type: what I call the NYT best sellers. These books are so plentiful, as so many people read them, that you might have to offer a 2-1 deal as kindly suggested above. 

Me? I tend to avoid these books as my interests lie elsewhere. I have read this type of book, and some are even on my Bookshelf. However, my tastes, and the type of books on my Bookshelf, are so varied, that I find that I am continually going to the Post Office to ship books out. I do have dry periods, but they do not  last long. I shipped 12 books within the last week and received requests to ship two more today.

Suggestion: Do as I and others do. Visit garage sales, flea markets, library sales, Goodwill-type stores, etc., and pick up books at really low prices that you think others might be interested in. It also helps to look at the listings of the most requested books, but, frankly, very few of my books going out are on that list.  

Or let friends know you will take books they are "dumping."  Cull them for unpostables, which you can then give to Goodwill or library sales. Perhaps you can even offer your friends a book or two or three, depending on how many books they give you, in return. Ask what what they want and either request it or add to your WL. There is a price for this. I have over 280 books in piles in my den, taking up space. You may not want to do this.  Approximately half of the books on my Bookshelf are from friends in the Citizens Support Organization of a Florida park that I volunteer at. Credits earned by those books are used to request books for our park library.  The CSO reimburses me for the postage, I supply the packing materials from recycled items.

Most of the books on my Bookshelf have less than 25 in the system and many have far less than that. Still, others have hundreds and one has over 2,000. Popular books take time to move through the system but do eventually get requested. I once posted a book that had over 200 copies here and within weeks it was requested. At the same time, due to my interests, a number of my books which are the only ones posted here have not been requested in almost two years.

I followed PBS advice in creating a personal page and engaging in forum discussions, as PBS states that helps you receive requests. Perhaps, you could actively join or open a discussion thread on your authors or type of books. This might create interest in your Bookshelf. I have several discussion threads that I started and actively watch. Fortunately, for my mailbox and available time, none receive hundreds or even scores of postings. Still, I do believe that they have helped in moving my books.

There's also a document in the Help Center called "How to get your books requested!" that you might find helpful.

I agree with pretty much everything Thomas said...most of the books on your bookshelf you could not get me to take even if you were giving them away...they are just not my sort of book (with two exceptions--but those books are in series I keep up with so have already read those long ago).

I guess part of it is knowing what your goal is in moving the books...are you looking to just unload the books that are taking up space in your home, or are you trying to get credits? If you want credits, as Thomas suggested, you may want to hunt down some "not quite so best-selling" books at library sales, garage sales, anywhere you can get them cheap. If you are just trying to make space, I fear you may be waiting awhile to do so, although you can certainly try running the "deals."

Cheryl

I echo what Cheryl and Nancy said - I rarely bother to list my copy of a book if there are already several copies listed, because space and time are at a premium for me. What is your goal - getting more points or getting the books out of your house? I donate anything that isn't wishlisted to my local friends of the library, because I've not found that trying to sell or swap on other sites worth my time anymore (back in the day I used to resell a lot of my books on half.com but nowadays almost everything is being sold by professionals on ebay for a penny plus shipping).

Bestselling fiction that had a lot of copies printed will be very popular for a little while, and then there will be a glut of copies on the market. With the way PBS works FIFO, these items can sit on your bookshelf for a long time, and only you can say if that's worth it for you. Even though each book in the PBS system 'costs' a point, some of them are more prized than others, and are 'worth more' in the larger sense of rarer, or wanted by more people.

For me, I've found that sticking with wishlisted and only-copy books for PBS is the best plan for me, and if I ever run out of points I will simply buy some in the forums where they're usually available for less than $2.50, which is less than I would often spend on shipping a book, let alone the cost of the book itself, even secondhand.

Do you need credits or are you just trying to free up shelf space? If you need credits then offer them up for a deal.  You'll earn a few credits and free up space.

Personally if I didn't need credits than I'd just donate them and not bother with a deal. 

I agree with what pretty much everyone else said. I keep about 25 books on my shef as they fit nicely and unobtrusively under my desk. They get requested very slowly, but steadily. Most of what I post are WLed. If I get a shelf request, it's like a nice bonus, but if I didn't have the space, I wouldn't bother. Most of them have <20 copies per book. People have ordered very heavily posted books from me occasionally if they are ordering something more unusual, as well. But if all you have are heavily posted books, obviously that won't happen. Are you posting WL books as well as what's on your shelf? Because I think that makes a difference.

I don't bother to check how many copies are in the system.  I post what I have and if it gets requested soon, great.  If it gets requested in 6 months, great.  If I get tired of the boxes of books hanging around the house, I box them up and ship them to Operation Paperback.

I post a lot of wishlisted books, and sometimes when someone is accepting that request, they choose another book from my shelf.  Not always, and not very often, but it happens.

If you're looking to get more space, I would donate them locally or to Operation Paperback.  If you're looking for credits, offer a deal.  I just got 2 really great deals for my brother.

Sometimes it just takes patience.  A book I posted almost 3 years ago has just been requested.  

Lately, I am amazed that many books that I posted 3-4 years ago are finally being requested. I was tempted several times to remove them from my shelf, but am now glad that I didn't.

Thomas pretty hits it on the head. I have about a hundred books on my shelf of the general variety that yours are. They are the slowest moving stuff I have  posted. I have about 6 books posted by Kellerman, and I don't think I have ever moved one. Popular "thrillers" or "chick-lit" that everyone who wants to read already has just don't move. Also, with a very eclectic bookshelf of over 300 titles, I am currently moving not much more than one book a week. You want to move books; give the people more books to choose from.

definitely check the boards too. I just happened to come across a member mentioning VC Andrews books on one of the forums.  I PM'ed her that I had some and offered her a deal. She took a bunch off my hands for me!  But I probably wouldn't have gotten rid of them if I hadn't messaged her first.

Lizzie, what Stephanie said is so true!  I just read on another forum that someone is looking for a paperback copy of Rule of Four which you have.  I think she wants to be sure it is in good condition and is hoping to order from a specific member to be sure.  So read the genre forums too.

ETA - It is in the Hidden Gems forum

All suggestions given wer excellent! I would say either try  a 2 or 3 for 1 or 4 or 5 for 2 credits.

I find that the move active i am in the forum, the more request i get. I can have a dry spell then get several request in the span of a week or two.