OK, so let me start by saying I feel terrible. I posted some wishlisted books over the weekend and indicated I would ship them by yesterday (the day I left town). Well, it *completely* slipped my mind until I was on the plane heading out of town. I seriously don't know where my mind went. I had a lot of errands to do and packing and such and I guess the books got lost in the shuffle.

So now is the question of what I should do. I pmed the two members but I know sometimes people don't respond to pm's. I'm thinking I have two options: 1) cancel the transaction or 2) let the transaction time out. I'm not sure which one is better. I told the requestors that when I get back on the 30th I can mail it to them. But I'm assuming I would have to repost the books. Since they're on the wishlist they should still be first in line either way, right?

My other question is related to vacation holds. I have a book I've been waiting on forever and I am finally 2nd in line for the book. If I put on my vacation hold does it mean I would get passed over for the book if it becomes available while on hold. Or is there a way to prevent that?

Thanks for reading. I feel so bad about not shipping the books. I'm almost always a prompt shipper, sending them out the next day I get a request. And I hate when people flake out on me....now I know how it feels to have the shoe on the other foot. :(

Just cancel it, that way if the books happen to come up again the people that were supposed to get the books from you can get them from someone else. I'd also tell them that you are canceling it, but you will repost them and mail them around X date if they haven't already ordered/received the books from another member.  Yes, they will be first in line unless they manage to get the books from someone else before you repost them. Don't worry about it, stuff happens.

About the vacation hold from the help center (basically, set the book on Auto Request.)

All items not set to auto-request on your Wish List will be "hidden" from the system when a Hold is in effect. 

• If a Wish List book becomes available while a Hold is in effect, and the Wish List book is NOT set to auto-request:
  • you will be "passed over" for that copy
  • you will retain your place on the Wish List

• If a Wish List book becomes available while a Hold is in effect, and the Wish List book IS set to auto-request:
  • if you have credit(s) in your account to request the book, it will be requested for you automatically, and sent to the Mailing address on your account.
  • if you don't have any credits in your account, you will be passed over for that copy, and retain your place on the Wish List.

Put your WL books on autorequest incase they come in while you're on vacation.

If you can get to the internet cancel them so they dont' have to wait until it times out to go back to the top of the line. When you come back, check their WL and post it directly to them if they still have it on WL.  You can do this by going to your PMs, click on their name and go to their WL.  I would PM them again first to make sure they still want the book and have credits. 

I wouldn't cancel the transactions - and that's looking at it if I was one waiting to receive one of those books. If it's a wishlisted book I'd rather wait a bit for it than go back onto the wishlist - even at the No. 1 spot. If it was me waiting for the book I'd rather you marked it mailed and explained to me what you had to do. I realize that's going beyond the 48 hours time you're allowed to have between marking it mailed and actually mailing it but that would be preferable to me as opposed to going back on the wishlist. But that's only one opinion and I'm sure you'll get many. I'm not advocating doing that, I'm just saying it would be an acceptable option for me.

But, it also depends on how long you're going to be out of town. I, for one, would answer your PM and tell you not to worry about it and enjoy your holiday but others are a bit more impatient. And  they could be out of town as well with no Internet access.

I don't think there is any wrong answer to your dilemna. Hang tight and see if you get responses and then go from there. You could always let it time out and then post it directly to their wishlist when you got back - I think that would work.

As for the wishlist itself, when I went away a couple weeks ago and knew I wouldn't have regular Internet acess I put the books I was No 1 and No 2 on autorequest. That way my being out of touch wouldn't hamper anyone else.

And no, I don't think you're one of "those" people. I think VERY few people actually are "those" people on this site. Most of us have lives that don't allow us to sit on the computer or constantly think about or monitor PBS (although it's much preferable to some of the other things I have to think about! lol) and let's face it, life gets in the way of PBS sometime

I have to agree with Susan. If I was one of the ones who wanted one of those books I would rather wait for the book than go back in front of the list. I have had to wait a little longer for other books I wanted for various reasons and they all arrived within the time before they were considered lost. It isn't like you would be mailing it off a month late.

If she cancels the transaction and someone else posts the book to the system the first person would get the book offer. That's why it should be canceled.  Then those people don't have to wait while she's on vacation.  When she gets back and knows she can mail the books she can always post them directly to those peoples WL.  If she mails the books late and they go "lost" then people will be put back on the WL in the top spots and then there's another can of worms to deal with.  If she printed the labels already then the transaction can't be cancelled by either party only by PBS or by the system if it times the books out.  Not sure what I would do then.  You might have to make the decision w/o a response from the other people as not everyone checks their account everyday.  Will you be able to print the labels while on vacation?  If you can and you aren't going to be gone long-you could print the lables, mark them mailed and then send them ASAP when you get back and spend the extra $ on 1st class postage. 

My heart goes out to you. It sure sounds like you feel bad about it was a mistake so I don't think you are now "one of those people". With Christmas and everything else going on right now I am sure the people would understand. I know I would if it was me.

I've taken the rest of this week of and not mailing out items till after Christmas. I post books on this website and Bookmooch. A few days ago someone reqeusted a book from me and I right away let the person know that with Christmas and everything else going on that I will not get the book out till after Christmas. I told them I was sorry and if they want feel free to cancel. I haven't heard from them so I guessing they too are busy with Christmas. ; )

I have no idea about the vacation hold. I too would not want to miss out on a wish list book. Hope that works out.

Also I hope the people are kind about your mistake. Again most likely they too are running around shopping, seeing family, wrapping gifts and ready to flop in bed at the end of the day. ; )

Merry Christmas, Ashley

I'd rather you not cancel the transaction if it was me and send me a PM.  That way, hearing from you I'd know it was coming and wait a little more time for it and mark it received when it showed.  This way I dont' have to debate whether I should wait on a new offer and end up with 2 copies of the same book.  It happens and people understand if you just let them know.

Mary - If she can log on here and post this thread then she can "print" the labels simply by hitting the button. She doesn't have to have access to a printer to actually mark the labels as printed. Hitting the button triggers the system to "think" it's been printed.

Since she can do this (as indicated by the fact she has Internet service where ever she is), and since I don't think there is any wrong answer to her dilemna, she can 'print,"  mark it as mailed and then explain to the person what is going on. She should send them first class with DC when she gets home and since she can do that the likelihood of them going lost is almost nil. I've never had a lost book yet in either direction - they are an extreme rarity.

But as I said, I would rather stick with the person I originally ordered from. I'm not impatient, have plenty (and I do mean plenty!) to read in the mean time. And I firmly believe there is no right or wrong answer - she needs to do what she feels is best for her, what the receivers have indicated and the situation at hand. And not going back on the wishlist is important to me especially if I've languished in the No. 1 or 2 spot for a long time.

I agree with Susan.... In fact I had this happen to me, I waited several months on the wait list for a book finally it was my turn everything went smooth, except the sender had an emergany come up and forgot to mail.  Sender PM me and explained they would be home in a few days and then mail which they did.   I was so glad I didn't have to sit on that wait list again, even as #1 you never know how long you will wait, days or months...