Requested On: 10/13/09 12:14 PM ET
Will Mail by: 10/18/2009 11:00 PM ET

I have requested a book, Voyager,  and this is what it says  (Look above).  The sender had not printed the lable or done anything yet.  I am not sure what this means.  Has the sender accepted and promised to mail in 5 days, but hasn't done anything else?

I guess I am getting frustrated with a system that gives people so long to respond.  I had requested another book, Kite Runner, and didn't get a response in the first 3 people.  Meanwhile, 15 days have gone by.  Finally the 4th person accepted the request.  A month has gone by, and I still have not received Kite Runner.

I wish Paperback Swap would consider making the response time shorter like 3 days.  They would still have 5 days to mail.  Things would move along a lot quicker.

What do you think?

This is a "been well discussed" topic. Very few people feel that less time is needed, since there are so many people that really need the time because of lack of transpo to the PO, lack of funds except for everyother week, and many other reasons. Patience is necessary on PBS, tho, I do feel the pain for having to go thru several people before getting your request accepted.

The one thing that might help with that situation (I mean might help you deal with it in your mind) when you go thru several people to get a book requested sent to you, you are most of the time, helping to clear out deadbeat members. People that sign up only to get their 2 free books then disappear, people that sign up and just plain disappear, those people only get so many times of ignoring a request, and their account is then put on hold. So, every time you hit one of those, you are helping to clean out the trash (not that all non-responders are trash, don't mean that at all, just referring to those that are :)

Like I said, this has been asked about once a month at the minimum, and PBS has never given any indication of changing it, partly because there is such a large support for it and partly because "it works".

I can tell you from my personal position, I am disabled and my husband is also. We sometimes have to wait until we get a good day to go thru our books to find the requested book, and then we can only go to the PO once a week, so we really need those days. I know others need it because they only get paid every two weeks. They wouldn't be able to be members if they couldn't stretch their requests using the delay of response and extra mailing days.

Hope this helps you to understand why the rule is the way it is.

Patty, you are correct. The person has accepted and promised to mail in 5 days.

The Kite Runner request probably went through a lot of inactive accounts, when those books were posted long ago.

You'll find a variety of opinions on this issue. Some people like it as it is since they have limited times they can mail. Others share your opinions. I have so many books to read in my possession it doesn't really bother me.

I'm sorry, Patty, I didn't actually answer your question. Thanks Sophia for doing so.

Well today is the 18th and it's Sunday. If they chose 10/18 as the mail by date then they have until 10/20 at 11pm to mark it mailed.  So they are not in the wrong in anyway here.  If they are a post office mailer then they will probably go tomorrow or Tues. 

I am a person who believes the extended times are good.  As someone who has unexpectedly lost power for 4 days due ot a severe winter storm, had a close reletative die recently and had a kid come home from school with swine flu and then spend 4 days sick in bed-those longer acceptance and mailing times are a blessing.

It would be nice if they had a PM button on requests before you accept so you could PM and say "I'm going to mail you this book-I just need to get closer to payday" or whatever. 

Also whenever I order a highly posted book that I want quickly (like the Kite Runner)-I post in teh book bazaar or one of the genre forums which book I'm lookng for-someone always has it and will gladly ship it out quickly.  It's those heavily posted books that seem to time out more.   It's rare that I need one quickly though since I have a 600+ TBR.  But once in a while I'll need one quickly for a reading challenge, book discussion or to fill in a series where I have later ones in the TBR. 

The one thing PBS teaches you is patience.  I've learned that, if I want the book NOW, I need to find someone that has it and will mail it quickly by posting in the BB or genre forums.  Or, I need to purchase the book.

We've all been there, watching our request roll over from person to person to person.  Yes, it can be frustrating but the system seems to work and, like Sherry said, some people really need the extra time to get their requests out.

Also when a request times out it puts a red flag on the account and can help get rid of dead accounts-which removes all their books from they system and takes them out of WL lines. 

We share your frustration for waiting Patty, but unfortunately there are reasons to retain the mailing period as it exists...and the situation looks different from the other side when you might need the extra time.  So *hugs* while you wait (hope the book is mailed soon) and feel free to vent anytime 

Book Bazaar and a few of the genre discussion threads (Romance, Paranormal, and ?) have threads where members post wishlisted books they are ready to mail.  First come, first served, autorequest, and sometimes in multiples to save on postage...but these tend to move quickly because both parties are active members.

Hi Patty, I totally understand your frustration.

Just be patient. That's the best advice I've received and will now give.

The key to developing patience is to acquire a large-to-you TBR book pile so that a delay of 15 days is not a big deal.

Also, don't ever sign up for a bookclub or college class and depend on PBS to (a) have the book you need, and (b) deliver it to you pronto. Murphy's law dictates that the sooner you need a book, the longer the delay will be.

Well, Thank you all for responding.  

I am glad that I am helping to weed out inactive members even if it can be frustrating.  It makes me feel better that I am doing a public service in a way.  I didn't know that they keep track of these things and will put accounts on hold.  This site really is on the ball !

I have ordered books for school but I ordered 3 months in advance allowing plenty of time for problems.  PBS has saved me lots of money on required reading for my kids school needs.

And yes - I am learning to be patient - lol

Thanks for letting me vent and for the words of advice.