I just wanted to get a bit of fellow PBSer input on this.

I posted a Wishlisted book and went through the whole waiting period after mailing. No response and no indication of it being received. (I always wrap very well and make sure the label is clear and well secured) Now after sending a "have you received the book" email I still have not gotten a reply.

Something about this whole transaction struck me as a bit wonky from the start. I always check the requestors bookshelf to see if they have any wishlisted books that I have unpostable copies of. This member had no books on their shelf and 188 wishlisted books.

I guess the thing that irritates me the most is that the great copy of a wishlisted book that I got here and tried to pass on seems to have vanished into a black hole and will not return to the PBS community and I'm afraid any book this person gets sent is lost for good.

What are your thoughts? And do I have any recourse with the club. I'd really like to keep this guy from gobbling up our books.

That's kinda the reason I've been using DC.  It's an added expense, but IMO it's worth the stress relief.  Also gives TPTB an extra tool if a member has an unusually high number of books requested but not logged in as received (esp. if USPS says otherwise).

Hope your book turns up, maybe the receiver is away for the holiday and hasn't returned yet?

Don't let the no books posted throw you.....I have been a member a long time now and only post WLed books so they never show except to the person who had them wled......

As to the other issue of no reply from the person ..I would wait and see if  the book gets marked gone missing ..lost by post office....or write the club and ask them if this person is an active member...They may be very ill too..it's so hard to know....I hope you  get your book marked.....

PS lol I take unpostable wled books :)

and will not return to the PBS community

I'm sorry about the lost book ... however, please remember that (aside from this lost book incident) books do not have to be returned to PBS. They are the receivers to do whatever they want with. 

I would say roughly half of the books I get from here get put back into PBS but I put just as many in that I get from other sources.  It's my book once I get it and I'm under not obligation to post it back here. 

Also, as for not having any books listed on their shelf ... not everyone does. I play in the Games forum a lot and many there do not keep a shelf. It doesn't mean someone is trying to cheat the PBS system. They probably just post wishlisted books. I work at an FOL store as a volunteer and tons of paranormal and bestseller trade wishlisted books pass through my fingers and get put back into PBS via the FIFO system or to my PBS friends in other ways such as in the games forum. 

A member's bookshelf is certainly no indicator of what kind of trader they are. I currently have 1 book on my shelf and my WL is maxed out. I use two other swapping sites (I am impatient and many of the books I would otherwise have posted on PBS would take a long time to get requested. Most people would want those books in deals and I do not offer deals from my shelf), always log in and mark books within MINUTES of the mail arriving, and put quite a few brand new WL'd books into the system.

If you want to guarantee you will receive your credit, I'd suggest using DC. Yes, it's an extra cost, but if someone has a habit of not marking books as received even though DC would indicate otherwise, it is well worth it. After having one book I mailed out go lost, I decided the only way for me to do this was to use DC. I've sent books to trusted friends on this site without DC, however, when I haven't had PBS money on my account. But to someone I have never traded with before, I make sure to use DC.

On the receiving end of things: I have had 4 books go lost to me. One of those 4 books used DC, but the DC was never scanned when it initially went to the PO, or anywhere along the journey to me. I had 2 books go lost in the mail en route to me just this week that I ordered early December. So not only did I not get books, but my credits were also tied up for almost a month. On top of that, my account may look suspicious. I PM'd one of the senders to try and find out more details about when the book was mailed, and received NO response.

Senders are just as likely to NOT send a book to someone as receivers might be to not mark them received. But at the same time, why even bother not marking a book received? They'd still have to wait an entire month before they would even get their credit back.

Keep in mind too, that it really isn't possible for "this guy to gobble up our books." If he ordered 10 books and half of them "went lost" (as in, he didn't mark them received) his account would most likely be flagged and if it happens again he'd likely have his account put on hold or suspended. It does not take long for PBS to pick up on people who are trying to scam others.

You said you sent him a PM to ask if the book was received--has it been read? (If you go to Personal Messages/From Me tab and click 'unread' it will have a checkmark showing if PMs haven't been read.) It could be that he's just away, not that he's ignoring you.

As others said, what is on a person's bookshelf isn't any sort of indicator of what kind of trader they are. And the biggest thing here--sometimes books really do just go lost. They go off to some postal service fairy land...sometimes they come back (I had a book arrive 7 months after it was mailed!) and sometimes not. The only credit assurance is PBS DC, but to be honest, I've had so few books go lost that to me it's not really cost effective to use it for that reason.

Cheryl

How do you know if a book is wishlisted?  Is there some sort of master file somewhere that lists all wishlisted books?

Thanks everyone. I hadn't thought about the only posting wishlisted books. I did check and the PM hasn't been read - thanks Cheryl for showing me that option.

I'm sorry to have thought the worst of this member.

This is what happens when you decide to write something at 1 AM

Thanks again

Trish

John, you can add books to your TBR List and WishListed books there show up with an indicator letting you know if there are Wishers in the system for the book, and if they have the request set to AutoRequest or not.

Also, there -is- a sort of "Master Wish List" here as well.  Under Community at the top of any page, choose Top 50s link.  There is a tab on the Top 50s chart that shows Most Wished For, and this tab shows the 50 most Wished For books at PBS.

Link: http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/top_50.php#t=wishes

Also how long did you give the book to arrive?  Media Mail can take a month sometimes.

I know a lot of members who never have any books posted on their shelf.  They either only post WL books when they need credits or they buy credits from other members because they keep all their books. 

If the account looks inactive PBS will mark the book received for you.  It might have to go lost first.  If they see that this perso hasn't responded to PMs and maybe hasn't logged into their account-they will mark it received.

To me using the PBS DC to guarantee credits turns out to just be a waste of money in the long run.  I've sent out over 500 books and not a single one has gone lost.  At .46(.19 DC fee+ .27 printing fee) per book that would have been $230 just in DC fees.  I could buy a lot of credits for that.  The fee does help support PBS though so there is that.  I do use it on bulk orders and game books to help support PBS.  But to use it on every book is just not cost effective.  That's $230 I would have had less to spend on postage to send out books and less money to buy books to put into the system. 

You can also just look at the book details page. If anyone is wishing, there will be a line that says "Members Wishing:" followed by a number greater than 0.

John--

In addition to what Sianeka posted, if you look at the details page of a book, if it is wishlisted, there will be a line that shows how many members are wishing for that particular book.

You can also use the search feature and limit your search to only wishlisted books.

ETA--Looks like Cathy's quicker at posting than I am!!

Already addressed

Mary -It's gone the full month and gone "lost in the mail" I even planned for the holiday time crunch. I shipped 4 books out at that time and another 2 threee days later and all those others have made it.

I think I'm just going to let this one go and hope its just taking forever and a day. I hope its just a case of member absence since he had to have approved the book since it didn't pop over like an auto request..

I'll have to consider DC though I tend to mail from the PO since we've had mail lost that was mailed from our box.

And Sandy I'll keep you in mind if I get any new wishlist unpostables

Thanks again everyone.

I was wondering what happens when you use DC and the person doesn't mark it received. I sent a book to a person using DC, have gotten the credit, and details say the book was received on 12/24. The receiver has not marked the book as received.  System action date is 1/18/09. Should I not worry about it till that date, or should I go ahead and PM the receiver to ask if he really did receive it.  If there is no response by 1/18, will the credit I received be taken back?

You already have your credit, so I wouldn't worry about it. What does it say when you click Details? Does it say the book has been delivered?

Jennifer,

Yes, it said it was deliver on 12/24/09.... So if you use DC and the details say the book is deliver, does that mean that you keep the credits even if the receiver says they don't get the book?  (this question is hypothetical since I haven't heard anything from receiver yet)

Debbie

Yes, your credit is guaranteed because you used DC. From the Help Docs:

If you sent the book with Delivery Confirmation and it has been recorded as delivered by USPS but hasn't been marked received yet:

• Remember that the book could have been scanned as "delivered" at the local PO, before it went to the requestor's mailbox--the actual delivery can be a few days later  Also, the book could have been misdelivered.
• You should FIRST contact the requestor using the button on the transaction on the Books I've Mailed tab in My Account when a few days have passed after delivery.
• If the requestor does not respond to your PM within a week, and has not marked the book received by a week after the delivery scan, contact us.  We will look into it.
• If you used DC purchased through PBS, or PBS Printed postage, you will already have gotten your credit for sending the book.

Jennifer,

Thanks so much for sending the info to me. I searched the  help area and didn't find the info you sent. I thought I needed to do something, but didn't know for sure. I'll PM the requestor.

Thanks again,

Debbie

Yes, Debbie, you keep the credits even if the receiver doesn't mark it as such as long as it was scanned somewhere, which is the benefit of DC. I wouldn't start worrying yet about it not being marked though. For example, college kids probably don't start back for a day or two and might still be away for the holidays or whatever. Other people take a couple weeks off around the end of the year and might not be back at a computer yet. Hang in there until the lost-by date before contacting the receiver.

Anissa,

Just got thru sending a PM to requestor (before I read your e-mail). I just mentioned that the DC message said it was delivered on 12/24 and if he didn't have the book, he might want to check and see if it was delivered to correct place.

Thanks for the reply,

Debbie