I just requested a book from a user who has no wish list books, only this book listed on his/her shelf, and it was placed there in 2012. What do you think? Will I ever get the book? It's the only copy in the system.

My guess is no but I hope to be pleasantly surprised. :)

Good luck with getting it!

Well, at least either way you'll remind them about PBS or put their account appropriately on vacation.

I'm thinking no. Don't you hate that!

Maybe yes, maybe no.

I  have received books from people with a single book on their shelf although that tends to happen with WL books so the book would be a current post.

And there are members without WLs, for example those who use e-readers and don't bother with physical books anymore although now there's a fee to join there are fewer of those sorts of members who simply enjoyed taking part in  the forums.

Best of luck, hope you get it./

No signs of life yet! I'll probably end up putting it on my wish list or buying a used copy on Amazon.

Can I ask what book it is? Maybe someone reading this has an unposted copy 

It's The Hamster Revolution, a short book about managing email. Sounds thrilling, no? ;)

Sound intriguing, something like "Who Moved my Cheese" but with actual metamorphosis from human to hamster running in a wheel instead of just human-like mice running through a maze.

Both are based on the good old "rat race" analogy.

May I suggest that if you're going to buy this book you try abebooks.com? I use them for when I really want a book that's been on my wishlist for a very long time. They have copies of the book you want for $2.97 including free postage. Here is the UrL to use to see this book.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=the+hamster+revolution&sts=t

Ed G.

An aside here, but, Ed, as I'm understanding your post Abe Books does not set a minimum order to get the free shipping? Is that correct?

Yes, that is correct. Most of their books include shipping with the price. A smaller portion of their books listed charge maybe a dollar for the book and then they charge extra for shipping. Each book listed gives you this information.

Ed G.

Thank you, Ed G.! That's better than $4.00 with shipping at Amazon.

As expected, no response from the member yet. I'll think of this as helping to weed out an inactive account.

Thriftbooks.com is also a great place to find bargain books. Free shipping over $10.

Thanks for the tip about Thriftbooks, Laura! The name sounds familiar - pretty sure I've received books from them in the past that were listed on Amazon.

I've actually lost interest in this book since I requested it (especially now that I see it's written "in parable format" - yikes!), so I'm happy just letting it time out. If it automatically goes on my wish list I'll delete it.

What I really need is not a book about managing email, but more time and motivation to organize mine!

I had exactly the same situation a month or so ago...member had not posted or wished for any books since 2012 and it seemed obviously an abandoned account. So imagine my surprise when on the 5th day the request was accepted, book mailed promptly and I'm so glad the member came thru because it was the only copy in the system and it turned out to be a thumping good read! On the other end of the spectrum, I've requested books from active members who I've seen in the forums and the request has timed out or they didn't mail in time...So you never can tell. I have also recently ended up requesting a number of books from the same member at different times and each and every one of those requests timed out and the member is still on the active list...that I don't understand! I know there is a magic number that trips your account onto hold but it is obviously higher than 3 and with the current state of PBS, I think that magic number is too high.

Add me to the list of people who love the books with free shipping at Abebooks. Good customer service too! I received a book that did not meet their definition of "good", I sent them a photo of the problem and they promptly refunded the money for that book and I did not have to return it.

PBS has the tools but has affirmatively chosen not to identify inactive accounts. They could send a confirm account email to anyone with no log/ activity in in the past 3 month and require a 30 day response. So simple! They do not want to identify inactive account. So the active members are the ones inconvenienced. I imagine the active members' frustration will be apparent when the 2/15/16 renewal date comes up. This is only one of the many frustration PBS  is unwilling to address. I guess I am here for now but without some positive action addressing this and other issues, I am no longer  posting my WL books because I have low confidence and do not desire more credits until the business plan looks more viable.

"PBS has the tools but has affirmatively chosen not to identify inactive accounts. They could send a confirm account email to anyone with no log/ activity in in the past 3 month and require a 30 day response. So simple! They do not want to identify inactive account. So the active members are the ones inconvenienced."

I don't disagree, Mary. I suspect PBS thinks the larger member stat makes them seem more impressive, even though it's not actual active members.

Abebooks is basically a marketplace for used booksellers - a lot of them also sell on Amazon, Alibris, etc., and some through Thriftbooks. I prefer Abebooks or Thriftbooks to Amazon, because I'm more likely to be dealing with a professional rather than someone who's reselling their personal books and isn't as good about stating condition and prompt shipping, etc.

Bookfinder.com is a great place to start when you're looking for a used book - it searches all of the usual suspects listed above, Powells, etc., and lists all the different options with and without shipping, used and new. I always compare prices there and then go to the actual website of the vendor to purchase.