Looking at the BB I noticed that some people were talking about having deals and no takers, has the economy affected the frequency people are trading books?  I myself have not had many takers so I am just curious has the economy also had an effect on PBS and the trading? 

Well I'm sure there are people who have to cut back on the books they mail out. But I'm not sure that's why people aren't ordering in the book bazaar unless people are out of credits and can't afford to buy them or mail books out.

I think the big issue with the book bazaar is that it's gotten so insane over there that a lot of people (myself included) just don't go there anymore. 

I only look for deals that match several books on Marilyn's RL.

Dan (for Marilyn)

I order deals as often as I can, but I have noticed that it seems like I am looking at the same shelf over and over again. So, sometimes I take a break from the bazaar in hopes that when I return, someone different will have a deal.

It seems like every other shelf in the bazaar is like this: has either 28 books or 78 books. At least 1/3 of the books are kid's books. At least 1/3 of the books are by Dean Koontz, John Grisham,  Nora Roberts, or James Patterson. One of the books is "Memoirs of a Geisha".  One of the books is "The Da Vinci Code".  snooze, snooze, snooze ...

Okay, complaint over! :)

I will say, though, that the economy brought me to PBS in the first place. I used to order almost all of my books new from Amazon ... and now I am saving tons of money, because I have a huge stockpile of books I can mail out and trade for new books. So, I am sending out lots of books on PBS, (and requesting lots of books), but its still a savings over how I used to obtain books.

Sara.

I agree!  We are looking at the same shelves over and over again in the bazaar.  Does everyone have Tami Hoag's, The Alibi? 

I have gotten bored with it.  1 for 1 is fine for me if I really want the book.

I spend a lot of time in the bazaar and I've received a lot of great deals. The problem for me at least is that there aren't many people there with deals on the types of books I want. If I read 20 posts, I might order from one person--and that's on a good day. Partially it is because of the mega-authors etc as mentioned, but it also seems like lots of them are so diverse that even if I can find 1 I want, finding a free 1-2 for a deal is a slim possibility.

I've had a lot better luck posting some of my lengthy list of reminder list books and asking anyone who has at least two of them and a deal to contact me. Not only do I get the deal, but the senders often end up on my buddy list because they have shelves with authors I enjoy and I search buddy shelves first before using FIFO.

Edited to correct an ugly typo. :) 

Yep...the deals in the BB are usually market-flooded romance and mystery books that I have no interest in, so I have generally avoided the forum for about a year now.

The BB has always intimidated me.  I really don't like to go there.  I think redwingsgal method is a good one.  But my reminder list is too long to do that.  I've been deleting books from the RL, but I have a long way to go.

Ruth

Ruth-- I know the feeling! MY RL is still absurdly long. :) Trying to do too much at once can be overwhelming.  It seems to work best if you select a specific genre or subgenre on you list, identify the genre in the title, and post 30+ books in that particular genre. It's less frustrating for senders than trying to wade through a mishmash of different genres to see if there's any of their types of books.

I never use the BB either anymore. Early on I did a few deals and was one of the beta-testers for Box O Books, but mostly I found the books I got from deals or BOB were books I ended up not really wanting--a year later (or two) they'd still be sitting on my shelf unread and I ended up just re-listing them unread. So for me, it was just the realization that getting a book free doesn't mean the book is good or one I really want.

I figure a book I really want is worth a credit, and what I really want is on my wishlist, or on my RL if it's a series I'm reading with copies already in the system. I just order from FIFO 99% of the time and have had very few problems over the years doing that.

Regarding the economy...well, books are my one true vice. I used to spend a LOT of money on books every month before I joined PBS, so while I do spend a fair bit on postage to get credits, it's still far, far less than I used to spend. I would give up a lot of other things before I'd give up PBS.

Cheryl

Books are my only real vice.  I don't smoke or drink or party or shop.  So it's the books for me.  Where I am and because I can't get out just getting a book I couldn't otherwise get around here is partly worth the credit just to be able to check out the book!  Sometimes I don't like them, but it's not like I spent gas and money to buy it.

Ruth

My ordering hasn't changed because of the ecomony.  My ordering has changed because of the amount of books around the house.  They are drving DH crazy.  He has set some restrictions on me this year and I'm working hard to meet them.  You know, the whole one out for every one in type of thing?  There is a group of people that actually try to not order anything but wishlist books for the first half of the year in an attempt to get their TBR piles under control.

BB turns a lot of people off.  It's always the same people, over and over again with almost nothing on their shelves and what they do have are children's books or romance novels.  Nothing wrong with either genre, but there are a lot of those books around.

Kerry

IMO the economy has had a huge effect on book buying.  I think people are purchasing alot fewer books, and looking to suppliment with used books.  The more expensive tradesize and hardbacks seem especially hard it... the waitlists here at PBS have increased dramatically in the last 6 or 8 months, with TS & HB waitlists (in some cases) almost four times longer than a year ago.

Example, I recently noticed a small imprint tradesize book has a waitlist of 42 and hasn't been in the system for several months.  12 to 14 months ago, that same book had a waitlist of under 10 and moved several a month.  The book is several years old, but the waitlist this month is much longer than last spring...and I'm seeing this scenario alot.

I too see the same people offering deals with the same books that I dont read.  So I've stopped looking at them.  I will request a book and then look at the person's shelf and request another book that might interest me. I have plenty to read so its no big deal.

As a deal-offerer from time to time, it seems the people who are still in the BB are only intersted in deals involving 1 credit, and preferably 4 books. (3 is apparently only a borderline good deal).   5:2s get hardly any interest.  10 for 3s don't either.  More than one credit, not interested.

I think it has more to do with the BB than with the economy.  I noticed it getting bad quite a while ago, and it's just gotten worse over time.

I still get an occasional good deal in the book bazaar but it's hard to find a shelf that has a lot of mysteries (NOT thrillers) or literary fiction.  I would love 5 for 2 or 10 for 3 deals but can never find that many books on one shelf that I want.  I'm sure newer members who don't have large TBR piles can still make use of the bazaar though, they probably still need to read all of those common books!

Diane,

I think you are right.  When I first joined the BB was great for me because I could collect multiple books by multiple authors I haven't read.  Now, that I am settled on a few series that I really am addicted to -- I only want to use my credits on these books.  Its rare to find a shelf that has what I need.