I listed a copy of The Polar Express and then today knocked some water over on the back pages.  It is now unpostable but it is in WL hold waiting for the member to accept.  There are 20 or so people in line.  How do I cancel this?

When a person finally accepts, cancel it.

You will also have to put your account on vacation hold so that it doesn't roll over to the next person.  Delete the book and then take your shelf off of hold.

You do not have to put your account on vacation hold -- true, that will stop it from rolling over to the next person, but as long as you are active here, it is just as easy to cancel the request (I cannot mail this book) when it comes in. If your account is on vacation hold that also means that no one else can request from you either. People usually do that when there is a wishlist book rolling over and rolling over and they are going out of town soon and need to stop the rollover.

Personally I'd put my account on vacation hold, it isn't going to take that long for the person to either accept (then you can cancel) or Time Out (then you can cancel).  Either way that is not going to take that long (what 48 hours at max) and then you can delete the book and take your account off vacation hold.  It isn't a process that is only used by those having a book roll over and they are going out of town.

The other option is to use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page and contact the Team and they can cancel it.  Considering the situation I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

If there are 20 in line on the WL, I think I would put the shelf on vacation hold.  Or else it's going to be another month or longer that the OP will be messing around with this hassle..  By the time it rolls through all 20 people.

It won't necessarily run through all 20 people before someone accepts it.

I would do the hold thing if it's about to time out-simply not to disappoint the next person in line that does accept. 

If she puts her shelf on hold, her bookshelf books still keep moving up in the FIFO line. Even if a bunch have reached #1 to be ordered, if she puts her shelf on hold to take care of this issue, which is at most 48 hours, I doubt she would be missing out on any book orders for long.

And, besides, If she clicks that she cannot mail 20 books in a row (or the same book 20 times in a row), it is quite likely that TPTB will be examining her account. Right?

If you click Cannot Mail For Other REasons then it deletes the book adn doesn't go to the next wisher.  I still say use the vacation hold if it looks like it's going to time out. Then no getting someone else excited about a WL book only to have it cancelled.  Yes it happens but if you can prevent someone's disapointment then why not make the effort?

And, besides, If she clicks that she cannot mail 20 books in a row (or the same book 20 times in a row), it is quite likely that TPTB will be examining her account. Right?

Nope, because the first I Cannot Mail will remove the book and not offer again unless she reposts it.

I would only bother with the Vacation Hold if the book was going to time out in the middle of the night. I would PM the person it is being held for and let them know that the book is damaged and you need them to accept so that you can cancel the book to get it out of the system and they will keep their place in line. The other member might be scambling to come up with a credit they don't need.

I had a similar issue, hit the post button and immediately noticed a larger tear along the front cover (yes it was greater than 1").

I only had to wait one day to be able to cancel it, I apologized to the WL'er in my reason why I couldn't post but don't know if they ever saw that message.  If you were to find that it is going to time out though I would go ahead and use the vacation hold thing, I've had WL books wait a few weeks before being accept.

Don't cha hate that?