I saw someone post that they had books they took off their shelf when there was more than 20 copies already listed.

It made me wonder how many others do this.

Also, for those who have been around a while. If you list a book that does have say, 50 to 100 copies ahead of yours, how long does it usually take for something like that to go through the system (on average would you estimate)?

Personally, I don't. Some do as they feel books turn over quickly and also that they make connections who order directly from their shelves. I don't have a set number, but probably wouldn't post if more than 15 or 20 copies were in the system. Definitely not 50 or 100. But - as I said - that is purely a person preference.

I do, but my shelf is pretty small still, so space isn't an issue yet.  I probably will when it gets bigger, anyway, you never know if someone might want it while browsing your shelf.

I have no problem waiting.  Once I've posted a book, I more or less forget about it until someone asks for it. 

If a book on my shelf has been listed for awhile and it appears there is no interest, I'll remove it and drop it by my local library so they may benefit from its sale. Some items remain posted as I feel there may be some future interest.

I post them. I have room in my house to store them, and I know they'll get ordered eventually. Besides, I don't have a used book store nearby to take them to.

Just last week, a book I posted earlier this year was requested.  When I posted it, there were well over 100 copies in the system.  When it was requested, there were still over 200 copies in the system.  This particular book must have had a lot of turnover, and my copy just worked its way up through the FIFO list (unless it was requested directly from me). I had another book request over the weekend that had over 75 copies in the system.

Since it's impossible to tell how much turnover a book has and thus how quickly books will move up the FIFO list, I post everything and leave it posted until I need to clear the space.

I do but I also have the room to store them. I find a lot of those really common books will go in a BOB.  I've sent out quite a few heavily posted books through BOBs.  I hadn't even had them on my shelf that long.

Sometimes I'll post a couple of really common books that I haven't read yet so they can work their way up the FIFO line.  I wouldn't recommend doing this with a lot of books at once. I'll usually just do one or two at at time. Usually I see if my library has a copy of it first.  Then if it happens to be requested directly from my shelf or I get a BOB offer for it-I can get the library copy to finish it if I run out of time. 

They do get ordered but it might take some time.  If you are low on space and have a lot of these: condiser running a deal.

I posted a book with 600+ copies in the system a few months ago and someone ordered it from me last week along with a book from their wishlist.

I also posted "the secret life of bees" back in the summer when there where hundreds of copies in the system. Then the movie came out and they all got ordered up. So now, I always post everything. You never know what can happen.

I do check by placing a book on my reminder list before I list it, but generally it won't stop me from listing it if there's a lot of copies. I have plenty of patience and enough credits that getting a request right away isn't an issue. The biggest problem I have is storage space for a big bookshelf, because I live in an apartment, so I  no longer list hardcovers here unless they are wishlisted and I can get them sent right away. A huge number of copies in system generally isn't an issue for me since much of what I read isn't really "super popular" stuff.

Cheryl

I do, but generally only they often move quickly through deals and BOB trades.

I keep all my posted books in a storage box under my bed - which only has space for about 50 books.  So yes, I do look at the number of copies in the system before posting a book.  However, not posting a book because there are over 20 copies in the PBS system seems like setting the bar waaayyyyy too low.   For most books, we have no idea how fast they are moving through the system.  And even if only 2-3 copies of that book are requested each month, if you had gone ahead and posted it then your copy would be requested within a year.  You have to give the FIFO system time to work, people!

I just had a book requested that I posted at the several months ago.   There were 40+ copies in the system at that time.

My bar is set much higher.  There have to be several hundred copies of the book in the system before I will consider not posting it.

The Virtual Boxes in the games forum are good ways to get rid of those common books.  I sent one out last month that had over 200 posted.  There's a Mystery, Cozy, Contemporary romance, Historica, Damaged, Erotic and I believe even a Christian fiction one.  They require  a 2 credit deposit but you get those back when you decide not to do the box anymore. 

I especially appreciate the Damaged one. I have quite a few unpostable books, many that are WL.  It's nice to send them out and get a book in return.  I never have much of a shelf to offer them as freebies. 

I have books in my list that I posted on my day 1 that have 2 copies in the system and are still sitting there, and books that are long gone that had 50-100 or more books in the system. Just because there aren't many copies in the system doesn't mean it has a high demand. 

I post everything I have that is in good enough condition.  I figure they will make their way up the list and eventually get ordered and when it comes to getting multiple orders from one member or running deals, the more books you have available the better.  The amount of time it takes varries wildly.  I had a book with over 300 copies in the system ordered in 2 months and books with less than 100 copies that have been sitting on my shelf since I joined.  Unless the book in on the top 50 list, there is no way to know.

I agree about the virtual box. I belong to the mystery one and I love it. Also if some of my books have alot of copies I offer a deal on the Bazaar. And I am also one of those people that automatically put my books on my reminder list (whether it's the one's on my bookshelf or on my TBR) so I know how many there are in the system.

I post the book, put it in the box that I use to store posted books, and then I forget about it.  I've had two books that I posted over a year ago get requested this week.  When I took them out of the box, I noticed that my box is about half empty.  I started out with two boxes to store my posted books.  Apparently they are being requested, even if it is a slow process.  I'm ok with waiting for the system to work.  I'm not in any hurry.

I don't check how many copies of a book are already in the system before I post it, so yes, I post whatever books I have. It seems like a crazy amount of extra steps/hassle to add your own books to your reminder list (I keep that for books I WANT) and then check to see how many are already there. Anything that gets requested is icing on the cake.

I post everything.  I figure its kind of like Mutual Funds... if you are willing to leave things in a long time, eventually there will be a dividend :  )

Also, I run specials in the book bazaar from time to time and that will move some of the really common books off my shelf faster than they would originally go in the normal first in first out system.

Wow, I am surprised how many others check. I do check on occasion with certain books, but I still post it even if there is tons in the system. I think I should check out BOB and this virtual box thing..

Thanks guys.

yes because they do eventually get requested.  I have one book that has been on my list for 1 1/2 years (oldest book).  Other books I posted about 1 1/4 years ago has been requested.

eventually I'll need to get rid of some books to make room for more but for now, I leave everything on my shelf

Wow, Lynne J. above took the words right out of my mouth! I have about 50-ish books on my shelf. I have 2 storage boxes under my bed that I keep my posted books in. When I fishish reading a book, I post it and throw it in the box and wait for someone to request it. Since my shelf is relatively small, storage space is not an issue. It seems like it has been weeks since I had a request and just last week I had 3 requests in one day. I figure even if there are already hundreds of books in the system when I post mine, eventually it will be my turn. I'm very patient ;-)