Do you post a book to be traded before you are actually done with it? I'm curious because of a recent situation where the sending member was still reading it 4 days after my request date and wanted to know if it was all right if they mailed by a certain date cause they weren't done with it.

I could see if you were down to just a little left and you knew would be done within same day, but to be reading it several days after it was requested just seems weird to me. I don't mean to sound critical, I've just always been the type to post for trade or sell AFTER I was completely done with it or knew I'd be done same day as posting. I realize we have 5 days to even accept request and another 5 day to mail it, so technically the member would be within the timeframe allowed.

I do sometiems post books before I read them. But only the really heavily posted books that take their time to work up FIFO.  If my library has it then I just send it off if it's ordered before I've read it and get the library copy.  I can read a book quickly though on the off chance one gets ordered before I've read it.  I've never had to ask for extra time to mail a book or had to send one off unread that I couldn't get at the library. 

I don't usually post WL books if I'm not done.  Maybe if I'm nearly finished.  But with those I usually just wait until I am done.  Maybe this person posted the book not realizing it was WL or thinking it would take awhile for it to get ordered.  Or maybe the WL books they post lately have been going through multiple requestors and so they decided to get a head start with this one.

Hate to admit it, but I do this a lot of the time. Depending on how many books are requested I can usually read the books within the mail date. I can only mail on Saturdays unless I'm on vacation from work so there's always that little bit of wiggle room. I don't wait 5 days to accept, but sometimes need the 4-5 wait days to mail.

If I have more requests than I can read I just make a judgment call: which one(s) I want to read the most. It's a way of forcing me to both read books and or books out of the house.

Gail

As long as they are hitting PBS deadlines (5 days to accept, up to 5 days to mail) there is nothing wrong with it.

Thanks for the replies.I can see your points. Melanie, I admitted that they were within guidelines however the member stated she was still reading it after 4 days and told me she would mail by a certain date asking if it was ok. She mailed within the timeline but the date she asked me to accept wasn't.

I post a book when I am about halfway through it, in the hopes that it will be requested by the time I am done with it. Mostly because I have had several books cycle through 5 or more wishers before being requested lately.

however the member stated she was still reading it after 4 days and told me she would mail by a certain date asking if it was ok. She mailed within the timeline but the date she asked me to accept wasn't.

If someone PMs you that, you can certainly say no it is not OK and they should remove the book from their bookshelf and repost it when it is actually available to be swapped. If someone posts an unread book, they should be willing to send it out without finishing it if they can't by the deadline.

Not me.  I wait til I'm finished because I never know if something will come up and I can't finish it or if I'll accidently damage it at the last minute.  I'm too OCD not to do things in my specific order, I guess. LOL

I, also, have several people in my family that also receive various books we read when they need something new to read so I don't always know if a book I'm reading will actually end up going to a relative or two.

I always wait until I'm done to post it.  Even if it's a book with lots of copies in the system.  For WL books, I definitely wait to post unitl I'm completely done with it and ready to send it out.  I have to mail books next day, that's just how I am.  It's very rare I don't get something right out, I just can't stand the delay.  Not to say that I expect everyone to be that way.  As long as they're within the PBS guidelines, that's all I can expect.  I realize it can take someone nearly two weeks from the date of my request to actually put that book in the mail.  That's fine for them, I just can't do that.

I'm like Mary. If there are a lot of copies of a book in the system, I might post it so my copy can work it's way up through FIFO. But, if for some reason I don't get around to reading it before it's requested, I'll send it without reading it. With wishlist books sometimes I'll post those when I'm almost done. I try to mail all my requests out really quickly. I almost always get any requests mailed out the next workday--having a blue box in front of my office and PBS postage is really handy!

This is the reason I love that they show the wishlist status on books on your To-Be-Read list.

I don't post wishlist books until I'm finished reading them. I will post non-wishlisted books before I'm finished so they can move their way up the FIFO line, but always with the expectation that someone may request them sooner than I think and I'll have to send it off unread.

I'm the same as Sarah - I always accept requests right away and mail them off the next day, although I don't expect everyone else to do so. It's just the way I am, I like to have things "checked off my list" as soon as possible or they nag at me.

I have so many books here that I've started looking some of the more heavily posted books up at my library and posting ones that I can get there.  I was actually surprised 2 wks ago when 3 of htem were ordered pretty quickly.  2 by the same member.  I just mailed them off and got them from the library.  I'm actually reading them much quicker now then if I hadn't posted them.  I think I'm going to do it with some more.  If my library has several copies then it doesn't really need to be taking up room on my bookshelves. 

If it is one that is WL and there is only 1 wisher, I will post it and then start reading it.  I'm a fast reader so I can normally get it done within a couple of days.  Although I may wait until I've finished the book to accept the request (again only a day or so) just in case anything happens while reading it.

No, I'm in the group that posts when finished.  I'm an impulse reader, and choose what looks good off Mt. TBR . . . reading on demand makes me cranky.

Other members have different approaches to reading, and it's all good if they can meet site guidelines and deadlines.

I agree with Denise's sentiments. - 

I did post some heavily posted books a while back before I had read them - thinking it would take  while for them to move up the FIFO queue. But, then I posted a deal in the bazaar, and, of course, some of the unread books were what was requested. I was able to read them and mail within a few days (and, well within PBS timelines) but, I didn't enjoy feeling that I "had" to read that book at that time. I prefer to chose form my TBR pile what I feel like at that time. Also, I really enjoy getting books in the mail the day after I accept the request..

It has never occured to me to post a book until I was ready to mail it.  This is just a new concept for me.  lol   I do better with no pressure when I'm reading so I think I'll continue to finish my books before posting them.

I wouldn't run a deal with books on my shelf that I hadn't read yet.  I would read them all first if I wanted to run a deal.  I usually put my bookshelf on hold when I have a nice credit cushion and read some of what I've posted.  I don't like to keep a high number of credits.

This thread inspired me to resort my bookshelf by date and read one that's been posted a while. 

Do you post a book to be traded before you are actually done with it?  

Only when I take my bookshelf off of vacation hold incorrectly and show all my books, including the ones in my TBR pile, as available.  Which gets really fun when a half dozen of those books are on WishLists. 

i have done and still do this:

I will check the book by placing it on my reminder list, to see how many copies are already in the system befor ei start reading it.    If the book has a lot of copies, i will put it on my bookshelf for trading months before i am ready to read it.

but, my account is on hold right now, so i really dont have this issue right about now

I don't, especially not WL books.  I'm clumsy and accident prone.  I've twirled spaghetti sauce on books, dropped them in puddles and snow in the driveway, spilled coffee on them and have had them soaked during water fights with DH in the yard. I once dropped half an oreo dipped into coffee on one (that was so not attractive, LOL).

If I have an idea of when I'm finishing a book then I would post it. I would not however tell my sender that I was still reading it & ask for more time. If I say I'm mailing by a certain date then that's the day I'm sending it.

I know there are people on PBS who have lists of people not to trade with and I would not want to be on them!

I was going to do it on a book that's WL is long. Glad I didn't do it, I got sick about halfway through and wouldn't have finished it in time. So, your never know if life is going to happen or the book is damaged during that time.

Ok so the replies I have read are pretty much in my thinking too. I always wait to post a book until I'm done reading it. I never know what I'm gonna do.I have accidentally stuck a book on the wet counter when I was almost done reading it, or gotten sick and not able to finish it for days. I generally read pretty quickly too but I would not have ever posted a book that wasn't ready to go out. Most of the time my requests are mailed next day, if I can't mail it within 2 days it's not because I'm not done with it. Glad to know most of you can read them and get them in the timerame allowed if you do wait to read it. Or mail it in the timeframe if you aren't and get another copy another way and not make the requestor wait until you were done. Thanks for your honest comments!

Not after 1) the bird pooped on the last page from above on one WL book

Oh man, I can't imagine having that happened!