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Topic: Numerous copies of the same book....

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Subject: Numerous copies of the same book....
Date Posted: 8/17/2010 7:40 PM ET
Member Since: 8/15/2010
Posts: 52
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Ok, I am going to start out by saying that I am a newby to the site, so please bare with me!!! My husband has belonged to swapadvd for a while now, and I got looking at all the books in my son's "library" and thouht this was a great idea!

I am wondering how the whole system works in regard to a book that you post, which has numerous copies available...Say, I post a book and 100 copeis of it exist. When the next person that wants that book orders it, does it get offered to them by the person who has had it listed the longest, even if I just posted it and they are viewing the "books posted today" section?  I guess what I am trying to say is that I am wondering what my odds are when I post a book with multiple copies.

And, along the same lines, for those of you who do this regularly, do you find that books move rather quickly through the system? From my experience with Swapadvd, it seems like we wait for titles on our wish list (which is fine, because they are worth the wait!) and most of the dvds we have on our "DVD tower" (which is known as a "bookshelf" here) have been sitting and sitting now for what seems like ages!!!

Thanks for your time if you are reading this--any responses will be helpful! ;)

farazon avatar
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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 7:50 PM ET
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All the books I buy new and post to PBS go quickly; someone after all has to buy a new one once in awhile. The hot at the moment reads ; you may have to wait for. I keep all my trade books together in a big box and I keep my mailing supplies in there too. I save away packing material from other things we might buy, ie:plastic . I have had good luck with my wish listed books ( the common ones anyway). I'll bet there are alot of nearly worn out coppies of the most popular books.

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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 8:23 PM ET
Member Since: 8/15/2010
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Fara mentioned new books....is there a way to specify that you are posting a new book???

rebeccam avatar
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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 8:41 PM ET
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Rochelle, you have a lot of children's books posted and those tend to move slowly. I donated a bunch of my children's books to a school last year as they had been on my bookshelf for a while.

I think Fara meant new as in released in 2010 as there is no way to describe the condition of a book on this site. The books just need to meet the site condition requirements.

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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 8:45 PM ET
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Welcome to PBS!

I guess what I am trying to say is that I am wondering what my odds are when I post a book with multiple copies.

Almost all book transactions go through the First In, First Out system (FIFO), unless you are ordering directly from someone's shelf. The person who listed the book first gets the first order, and so on. Your odds when you post a book with multiple copies depends mostly on how much demand there is for that particular book and how many copies are "ahead" of yours. Ordering from the "Books posted today" directs the request to the first person in FIFO. You can find out how many copies of a book are in the system by adding it to your Reminder List. 

However, people can order your copy specifically if they are ordering off your shelf. This can happen, for example, when someone has ordered a book from you and takes a peek at your shelf with the "Order more from this member" function.

Again, getting Wish List (WL) books "granted" depends very much on the popularity of the book in question. If you fill out your WL and move up the lines, you can get a steady stream of books coming to you (unless you pick all esoteric titles that never get posted.)

Again, welcome.



Last Edited on: 8/17/10 8:47 PM ET - Total times edited: 2
farazon avatar
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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 8:54 PM ET
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Rebecca is right , when I say new , I mean new releases.  My sister decided to drop  some of her bookshelf that had many copies in the system.  Good luck .

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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 9:11 PM ET
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Well those heavily posted books do get ordered sometimes.  I find they will sometimes get added when I post a WL book by the person using teh Order More From Member button.  Another good way to move them is to join Box of Books for $9 or to run a deal.  It's up to you if you have the storage space and want to keep them on your bookshelf for awhile.  When I had lots of storage space for them I just kept them.  now that I'm moving into a much smaller place-I will probably donate the more heavily posted books to the thrift store.

A lot of times the heavily posted books will move faster than the only copy books because they are popular.  I tend to avoid Nora Roberts, Patterson, Grisham, Brown and the mega authors.  I read some of them but I get them from the library because while popular-some of their titles have 1,000+ in the system already.

sarap avatar
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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 9:50 PM ET
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How fast books go off your bookshelf will depend on the genres. Faster moving genres seem to be mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Most paranormal is still Wish Listed, so that does not even make it to a bookshelf, or if it does, it will get ordered within a week.  I have had a ton of mysteries ordered since I joined, I don't have much remaining on my shelf because it seems to go within several months.

I avoid posting books by authors that are mega-popular, unless I get them from my Mom while they are still Wish Listed or maybe not heavily posted yet.

Kids books are very thin, so most people do not want to pay a full credit for each one, they will tend to order them in deals in the Book Bazaar, instead.

Generic Profile avatar
Date Posted: 8/17/2010 11:13 PM ET
Member Since: 8/15/2010
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This is the second time I've heard someone mention the "book bazaar"--where do I find that???

Thanks everyone for your input! ;)

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Date Posted: 8/17/2010 11:15 PM ET
Member Since: 8/15/2010
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LOL....Hubby just saw the "book bazaar" here in the discussion forum!!!

Patouie avatar
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Date Posted: 8/18/2010 12:33 AM ET
Member Since: 8/26/2006
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Yes, the Book Bazaar is one of the discussion forums.  Go to to the Community menu, choose "discussion forums" and look for the circus tent icon.

EmilyKat avatar
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Date Posted: 8/18/2010 3:10 AM ET
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There is also a deals thread on the Children's Forum.   Posting to forums and reviewing books will also help to get your bookshelf noticed.

debbiecakes avatar
Date Posted: 8/18/2010 5:35 AM ET
Member Since: 6/23/2010
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How do I find out how many copies of a particular book are in the system?



Last Edited on: 8/18/10 5:36 AM ET - Total times edited: 1
rebeccam avatar
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Date Posted: 8/18/2010 7:56 AM ET
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Add the book to your reminder list and you will see how many of that particular version are posted. It won't tell you your place in that line but  at least you know if there are just a few posted or hundreds.

tinereads avatar
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Date Posted: 8/18/2010 11:34 AM ET
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And you can never tell what's going to get picked up - I have had people order "more" from my shelf, and I have just had a book requested from my shelf through FIFO (I assume) that had almost 300 copies when I first posted it 6 months ago.  On the other hand, I have a book on my shelf that has been there for almost a year with only 9 copies in the system.  You just never know what people are interested in reading.  :)

rainbowgirl28 avatar
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Date Posted: 8/18/2010 8:34 PM ET
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If it's a children's book with a hundred copies in the system, and it's not a relatively recent book, it will probably sit on your shelf for 2+ years. That's been my experience! 

But there are lots of kids books that move faster. The easiest thing is to just post everything you have for trade and hang on to them as long as you can. If you don't have space to maintain a big bookshelf, you could look up each ISBN and see how many copies are in the system.