I've deleted my first post because it's time to move on and today is a day of THANKSGIVING...

Added to so many blessing I have..is PBS and all of you!!! ((((((((((HUGS TO EVERYONE!))))))))))))

I totally agree with you.

I have had experiences like this too. I get the feeling that some people post deals in the bazzar to get you

look at their bookshelves and order. However, I think they are actually wanting to get rid of books on their shelves

that no one wants. If you order good or popular titles you yet slow or no response or an "I'll think about it" response

because they know they can get full credit for those titles. If that is the case then they should only have deals on books

they want to deal on and not the more popular titles on their shelves.

Peggy, did they mark your books shipped yet? If you  bought 2 and asked for 2 freebies, I would assume/expect those 2 are on their way to you (I guess you can check to see whether they were taken off the shelf or not). If the books have been marked shipped and/or accepted/printed, assume the books are on their way. Some people may be inundated with orders and not want to PM back just to say "OK, you got it" or something like that. Now, I'm not sure what to do if you get ONLY what you ordered (as in, no freebies). What's the recourse there? I guess you can't say "not received," but it does seem like you should have some recourse.

i have never turned down any deal asked of me..

so make me a deal..

2 for 1 

3 for 1

5 for 2

just wait for my next postoffice day... friday or saturday.   :D

(deals are just another reason i give myself to go and buy more books to continue overflowing my bookshelves)  SMILE

When I do a deal - I ALWAYS PM the person back and restate the deal and the books, so we both know what is coming/going out.  I did have an experience once where I got the books confused, so I'm glad I do it the way I do.  I can't understand being too busy to be polite when someone orders a book from me.  I would think that people would be extremely happy (if they're doing a deal or not) to have someone order  a book from them.  JMHO.  Pat

I haven't heard from either one of these people. The first one with the "I have to think about it"   I just cancelled it.   I told the person that they should not mislead people if they really don't want to offer a deal. I think you are right Ammie, and I am not going to play that game.

In answer to Heather's question--The other person, whom I did place two book orders has not responded.  it says (still waiting for member) so I assume that person has not even noticed there is an order.  I think I am going to cancel that one as well and place the books on my wish list. Am sure they are available from others.

Pat and Yvonne, I have learned now that When I do my first deal  I will be sure to PM people right away and follow through.

I have the opposite rant. A lot of times when I put my books up for specials people will PM me saying they ordered something and they give me a word of one of the freebies they want, not the whole title and they usually don't tell me what they ordered. When I message them back to confirm what they'd like they either don't reply or take days to reply, which ties up the books that someone else might want.

I had that happen to me yesterday. I'm running 3 for 1 right now and a person said she ordered a book from me and wanted her two freebies. I noticed she didn't order her first book from me and must have accidentally ordered it from someone else (which is what happened), yet she thought she ordered it from me. I had put aside not only that book for her until I heard back from her, but the other two freebies as well. It took her over 24 hours to get back to me and in the meantime someone else had wanted two of those books. Turns out she did indeed order the book from someone else accidentally, thus she didn't get her two freebies unfortunately and those other two books that someone else wanted they couldn't get.

So...I think the bottom line on book deals either way is to check your messages within a reasonable amount of time if it's at all possible. It would sure save a lot of confusion both for the people who offer the deals as well as the people requesting.

I have gotten a ton of books through Book Bazaar deals and have never had a problem.  There are a few things I do which may or may not contribute to this:

1) I only respond to deals in which the deal is stated up front (e.g. 2 for 1 or 3 for 1), none of this "PM me and we can make a deal" stuff.  Surely some of those folks would be fine to deal with, but I don't want to spend a lot of time negotiating through PMs.

2) Before I respond, I click on the poster's nickname to see if s/he has a profile.  If s/he does, I look to see how long that person has been a member of PBS.  If the person just joined a day or so ago, I steer clear.  Maybe this is unfair to the newer folks, but I'm hedging my bets that people who have been members longer are more familiar with the PBS posting guidelines and the process for sending books through the site, and understand how deals in the Bazaar work.  (Yes, I know that longterm members sometimes send unpostable books and mess up deals as well, but like I said, I'm playing the odds...  I definitely will not participate in a deal from someone who just joined a day ago and has 4 threads on the first page, because clearly that person hasn't read the posting rules for the Book Bazaar so very likely hasn't read other site rules!)

3) After placing my order, I always click on the "Order more from this member" link to make sure that I have ordered from the correct person.  When browsing a shelf, it is all too easy to open a new window to view a book description then wind up ordering from someone other than the person offering the deal!  I have done this twice - in one case I kept the order open anyway (and PM'ed the deal offer-er saying nevermind since I'd screwed up) and in the other case I caught it right away and was able to cancel the order.  So always make sure you have ordered from the correct person's shelf!

4) I always post my order in the thread and PM the person.  That way the other members know I have responded to the deal and what books are already spoken for.  This also makes it so that the person offering the deal doesn't have to be online 24/7 to constantly update his or her shelf.  Some folks like myself don't have internet access at work (I do field service so am at customer sites all the time).

Maybe some of these things will work for you too.  Don't give up... almost all my non-wishlist PBS requests have been through the Book Bazaar, so there are a lot of members out there who offer great deals and follow through on them!

Good advice Elizabeth!

Peggy,

You didnt mention how long it has been since you sent the PM to the other member, but it is a holiday week, perhaps the other member is working extra hours so they can take Thursday and Friday off, or maybe they are preparing for company. While "right away" may be your intention when you run a deal, sometimes life just happens.

One of the things I have had to learn here at PBS is a bit of patience. And trust me, that is not something that I have an abundance of. But if someone is kind enough to offer a deal, a few days of waiting may be well worth it.

Real life usually has a way of interferring with my book swapping, but lots of folks here have jobs, and family that are, and should be their first priority.

The best suggestion I got when I was a new member was to give PBS and its members a chance to work its magic, and when I remember that, I am rarely disappointed.

Hope your books come soon.

And have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Cheryl

Some really good advice here!!!  Thanks EVERONE!!!

Thanks Elizabeth for the details.  And you are right Cheryl, I should have thought of that. I guess I have been sooo spoiled on this site. When someone offers a specific deal and I have taken them up on it..bing bang boom!!!! the person has PMd me and the books are on their way. The person who offered the specific deal and I ordered from,, I am going to keep that one up for a bit longer. The other one, 'PM me with your deal"  then  says"I'll have to think about it."..it was  2/1) This person did not get back to me until I cancelled it.

That's really good advise.  I am new (since July) and mess up alot.  Sometimes I get stuck with a book and no deal (cause I ordered from wrong person and not really stuck since I wanted the book ) That really hurts cause I don't trade many books so have to buy credits.  BUT I have never had more books to read than now so I guess it pays off.  (I read fast so I go through alot of books)  Some people here can be not nice.  Once I posted book deal and listed chick-lit (cause I thought that was what I had) among other genre's and had 2 postings telling me I shouldn't list it if I didn't have it.  I was taken aback by that since I had only about 50 books listed and had looked up the definition (guess I didn't understand it) Now I am afraid to specify anything!  Some people forget this is a gathering of friends to share books. We should treat each other as if we were in someone's home sharing books.  Anyways it gladdens my heart to read all of these nice e-mails. 

As someone who is new, I'm glad to read your insights.  Thank you.

"The first one stated to PM with any reasonable deal request. (This person did not note ANY stipulations, just reasonable deal."

Did the person say that any reasonable request would be accepted?  Or just to PM with what you thought was a reasonable deal?  I don't think it is unreasonable for a person to want to think about it, especially if the phrasing was more along the lines of my second example.  I, for one, will make sure I have the books before I offer a deal, but I like to pull them and have them sitting in front of me before I accept the request.    Maybe (like Cheryl said) they were very busy and didn't have time to pull the books right then.  Or maybe they just thought that sending you a quick note to let you know they got your message was much more polite than ignoring it until they could fully process it.  How long did you wait before canceling?

Cheryl you mean there are people that have a life outside of PBS?? lol I'm definitely not one of them! lol

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I too have problems with people ordering from me.  I am having a 2/1 til Thanksgiving.  I keep getting orders for 1 book but no 2nd book named!  When I ask them about the 2nd book  few go back & order the 2nd book thru the system instead of PM me!  So now I have to Buddy them Back the cr! Right now I have been waiting for a week for the last order to be complete...after 3 PMs I am not still sure what to do.  Do I give up and send the ordered book...or add a book & mail them?

Please Read All the instructions & Follow them its less confusing believe me. 

Personally.. If I see the make me a reasonable offer thing I never offer less than 3/2 or if I wanted 5 I might ask for a 5/3. I don't want to take advantage of anyone, ya know?

Now, if someone is RUNNING a better deal than that.. you bet I'll take em up on it :)

I have been running my 5 for 1 deal for over a month now, and I've ordered a ton of books here on the bazaar using offered deals.  I think communication is the key, and so far I have been very lucky in dealing only with nice, polite, reasonable people.  I will say that when I am the one sending, I ask people to PM me with their freebie titles.  I use that PM as my guide....to pull the books off my shelf, to verify the order, to write the freebie list onto the printed order, to double check as I pack up the books, and then I archive the PM until the books are safely received with no problems.  And I ALWAYS respond to PM's acknowledging the order and letting them know when the books will be mailed.  I think it is rude to leave someone hanging. 

When someone has a deal, I always go to their PM tab, then their booklist, and order that way.  In that way, I know that I'm ordering from the right person and getting my free books,  Pat

I guess I have been sooo spoiled on this site.

Me. too.

Hey did you guys see that you can get sheriff badges now?

Peggy,

I have a standing 3/2. If someone wants better and takes time to send me a PM, then I'm all over it. I want to move books. I am here daily. If you ever send me a communication you can expect a response asap.

I thought the point of offering deals is to get a response, then the dealer should be available. If you're not able to respond quickly, don't post deals.

 I thought the point of offering deals is to get a response, then the dealer should be available. If you're not able to respond quickly, don't post deals.

Exactly L.B. That's what i thought. I have had people ask about doing a deal and I've not even offered one..but I jump on it anyway because it does move books which is the idea. I have never had any one ask me anything unreasonable..oh except for maybe the first day or two I was on PBS and someone ask for a 5/1 deal. I had no idea because I was so new and I told the person I was new and would decline the offer at the time because I only had 12 books posted.  Owell, it's not a big deal and I need to stop whining. All I have ever had is excellent experiences thus far. I couldn't ask for better people, better organization or a better run club.

Elizabeth, your ideas are real helpful. I have been on here since August, and of course made my mistakes, too. But always PM and Post when  accepting a deal. I have only refused one offer, but it was outrageous, but still felt bad about it.

My question is a little off the subject a bit, but I can't understand why it takes someone so long to accept a request.  I just like to know soon, in case I need to request from someone else. I accept as soon as I see a request that comes to me for the same reason. And if you are a member of PBS, I think you should check in at least once a day. I guess I am a little impatient.

But thanks to everyone else for suggestions, too. And especially, thanks to Peggy for bring the subject up.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving today.

Jeanne