I have been requesting a book for over a week now.  Obviously, after 5 days, the request is automatically cancelled and it moves to the next person in line.  I am now on my third 'request' and this person isn't responding to it, either.  I checked the amount of books available just to make sure it wasn't going to the same person over and over again, and there are over 80 copies available.   I know nothing can be done about this, but has anyone else been experiencing the same problems?

I would blame it on Sandy as of Friday because of everything going on, but for almost 2 weeks now?  I'm not sure and was wondering if I'm being too impatient (which I've been known to be haha)

I had it happen recently with 2 different books. They just kept rolling over and over. Finally got them both though.

You are just weeding out some of the inactive swappers.  Good job!  If there are 80 copies available, you will eventually get one.

I've had books that I requested roll over at least 4 times per book and they just didn't roll over, they timed out.  I could almost tell that the book wasn't going to be picked up on when I checked the shelf of the people, as there hadn't been any books posted for 2-3 years (I know that's probably not the norm, but if someone is active it would seem that they'd post a couple of books a year at least).  Once I just gave up and the last one took 20 days for someone to finally pick up on it.  Good thing I wasn't in any hurry to read it.  Good luck.  Pat

Thank you all!  It makes me feel better I'm not the only one getting this.

And you're right.  I'm weeding out the people who aren't on anymore!  Yay me hahaha

It seems to happen more often with the more heavily posted books.  Inactives can collect at the top just like difficult RCs can collect at the top of heavily WL books.

I've had a couple roll over five times.  Stuff happens.

I'm waiting on another one also.  To fend of frustration, best to remind yourself that several missed transactions and TPTB will put that member's account on hold.

AND, we may see a bit more of it just now, with the storm damage and power outages in the Northeast.  Not everyone thought to put their account on hold, or underestimated how long they might be without power.

I requested a book on October 12, and I still don't have it.  And I can't blame Sandy, as this started long before she blew up the East Coast, plus the wrapper was printed yesterday by the only responder that was located on the East Coast (the 3 others were midwest). Of course, it hasn't been marked as mailed yet.

Had I known it would take this long, I would have just went out and bought it.

Yeah, I know. I need to be more tolerant. But I was looking forward to reading it for Halloween. :)

You're doing the right thing waiting each request out and letting the system remove that particular book from the FIFO queue. A lot of this happens because people requesting books give up in frustration and cancel the request, because when an order is cancelled, that book on that inactive account stays at the front of the queue only to have the next person requesting it go through the same thing. People not in the know will cancel after 3 or 4 days of no response and then re-order, not realizing that they are requesting the very same book from the very same person and now have another whole five days to wait for it to roll over to the next person.

And yes, it's the heavily posted books that this happens most often with, and that are associated more with inactive accounts. One of the reasons people wander away from PBS in frustration is that no one requests their books...but when all you've posted is 10-20 books that all have dozens or hundreds of copies in the system already, it's going to be awhile before a request gets to you. Patience is definitely a virtue here, on both ends. :)

Cheryl

I sort of had the opposite happen to me.  I had a request for a book, which I fulfilled as normal.  However, I kept getting email reminders to mark the book as sent, but when I would login to check, it was clear that I had already clicked on the button to show that I mailed the book...which I did, lol.  Finally, this evening, I get an email saying that the request was canceled because I never marked it as sent.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?  I thought it may be a Sandy-related glitch, but I have no idea what happened.

I requested a children's book that has either been cancelled by senders or timed out. It's on it's 6th request and still waiting on member to accept the request. Mine was requested long before Sandy as well so I can't blame the storm. I'm in VA and luckily we didn't lose power or anything but at least one of my requests has been delayed due to Sandy. The lady lives in CT and posties are still closed due to damage. She's already marked it mailed but I doubt it's actually been yet. I just hope it doesn't go lost in mail.

Sometimes if I want a book that is heavily posted I go to the Bazaar and post that I am looking for a certain book.  Then I can order directly from someone who responds to my post so I know they are active.   I know it skips the FIFO, and I don’t need to do it often but I have when I needed a book for book club, or my kids in a timely fashion.

I kept getting email reminders to mark the book as sent, but when I would login to check, it was clear that I had already clicked on the button to show that I mailed the book...which I did, lol.  Finally, this evening, I get an email saying that the request was canceled because I never marked it as sent.

Theresa, I'm PMing you since time is of the essence.  -- These help docs explain what happened:

I can't mark my book mailed

My transaction was canceled but I already mailed the book

I'm with you Margaret.  If you guys are having this much trouble getting the book go to the BBZ or the discussion forum for the genre and ask in the book deals if someone has the book.  As long as its not a wl copy you are allowed to ask for it so if its taking months try it that way. 

Also for those that are not gold key members you might try getting that too.  Its only 12..99 for a year membership.  You get to add more books to your wl, you can request multiple copies of a book, 1 free postage fee, a badge on your profile and:

Directed Delivery - When multiple copies of a book you order are available, we’ll determine the most expedient route to you. We take into account several factors to get your book to you as quickly as possible, putting special emphasis on the closest geographical location for “Greener swapping”!

Friends Direct - What are friends for, if not to share books with? Gold Key Members can easily search all their PaperBackSwap Friends' Bookshelves to find books to request, and can also post Wish List books directly to their Friends' Wish Lists.

Jennifer I know you don't have a lot of friends yet but you can start adding people you know are active that you meet in chats you'd be suprised how many times I've found a book on a friends shelf as opposed to ordering it from someone else and i know they are active. 

Its not that hard to purchase and you can use secured paypal so that isn't a problem either really if it has a possibility to help you why not try it all your out it $13 and you don't have to repurchse it next year. 

Thanks for the idea Margaret. I'm right now facing the same thing with a book I requested last week. I think it's rolled over three times now.

It's a common book (Nora Roberts), and there are numerous copies in the system. I wish I would have thought to post in the Bazaar and I might of even gotten a deal. I will certainly remember this next time.

I would blame it on Sandy as of Friday because of everything going on, but for almost 2 weeks now?

I just got my internet connection back just today, almost three weeks later.  Still waiting on my land line.

My account was put on hold by PBS due to some WL offers and a request that expired.  Since I didn't leave the area I had no way of logging on to put myself on vacation hold.

Actually, PBS should weed out inactive members periodically by sending an email to people who have not had activity on the account for a while---perhaps 6 months.  If there is no response, the account should be cancelled.

Now there's a controversial can of worms Barbara!

So, I am wondering, my request has been in limbo for almost 2 weeks now, and still no one has accepted it. Can I just cancel the request and be done with it? Will it be a mark against me or what are the consequences of canceling a request?

The consequences? basically, you won't get the book :-) that's all, no "black marks", no-one will care :-)

Unless you are getting impatient and want to get th ebook from another source, why not just let the request carry on - think of it as an experiamtn to see how long it will take/how may members it will roll through before youre requets finally gets accepted.

Actually, PBS should weed out inactive members periodically by sending an email to people who have not had activity on the account for a while---perhaps 6 months.  If there is no response, the account should be cancelled.

I am so in  agreement with this, I have even sent it in to TPTB as a suggestion. A cynical person might suggest they don't actually want to weed out their members (and their books) as it would make the clubs membership statistics look less impressive. It's difficult to see any other reason why it would not be done.