IS THERE A WAY TO TRANSFER PBS $$ TO A MEMBER TO HELP PAY FOR SHIPPING?

Hi Bonnie,

You cannot transfer PBS money between members.

Just wanted to add that members aren't allowed to ask for money for sending a book through the site, even if the shipping cost is more than the average book would cost.

People here pay for shipping costs for returning a book --  or fixing a situation where they mailed books to the wrong people -- in various ways -- sending a selft-addressed stamped mailing envelope, sending stamps, a check, using PayPal, transferring a PBS credit, giving an Amazon gift certificate.  But to echo what Lsressler said, people aren't allowed to ask for (or offer) extra compensation for shipping heavier books, in case that's what's going on.  From the help center:

Can I ask or offer more than 'PBS price' for a particular book?

No.

• A bound book (= paperback, hardback) "costs" 1 credit on PBS (no exceptions), and
• an audiobook "costs" 2 credits on PBS (except for some "children's-length" audiocassette items, which cost 1 credit each).

If you feel that your book is too valuable (or too costly to ship) to be swapped for "PBS price", you should not Post it here.

You also may not offer more than "PBS Price" for a book.

• Because if the book is Wishlisted, offering more than the PBS "price" for the book may allow members to leapfrog over others in the Wish List for the book. This obviously is not fair, and will not be tolerated.
• Because even if the book is not Wish Listed, a "free market" system could lead to "bidding" for a book, and auctions are NOT permitted on PBS.

• Auctions are subject to state laws, and as PBS members belong to various states, this could be illegal.
• Also, we want all members to have a fair chance to get books on PBS. Pitting those who have lots of credits to spare against those who don't have a lot of credits at the time goes against the very spirit of PBS--the fair sharing of books, with everybody equal.

A member can't ask for additional money/credits to defray the cost of shipping, but if it's something you just want to do on your own, you can just buddy them a credit.  (I did it after receiving a humongous book that cost the sender considerably more than normal to send.  She didn't ask, I just wanted to do it when I saw how much she had paid to ship it.)

The easiest way to cover the extra postage for someone for returning a wrong book or a book you sent arriving postage due is just to buddy a credit.

We can offer; we cannot ask.

Actually, the rule above says that we can't even offer an extra credit.

We can, however, give an extra credit, after the fact, because we think it's appropriate. But they can't ask for one, and we can't offer one ahead of time.

Well put, Elizabeth

I'll add that you can also buddy back a credit to someone who requests something.  In particular, I had someone request two "audiobooks" which were only one CD each, cost me very little originally, and together weighed hardly anything.  Somehow, four credits for that seemed unreasonable, so I buddied back a credit.