So a few weeks ago I had a book go missing, and since there was another copy available I re-ordered it the same day.

A week later I recieved the first copy, and the second copy. So ended up wasting a credit because why would I want 2 copies of the same book? I know I can re-post to get the credit back, but then I will have to pay to mail it out, so I am still losing money on it. Anyway, no biggie, just makes me aggrivated.

My actual question is..... Today I had another book "go missing", and the credit was returned to me. This is a wish listed book, and I was offered it by another person. Since I only have 2 days to accept the wish, should I wait until the last second to accept it?? I really don't want to waste another credit if the "missing" copy shows up in the next couple of days.

It wouldn't be a big deal if I was "credit rich" -- but I don't have a single credit, I will actually have to buy some to accept this wish. What would you guys do?

Thanks, and sorry about the lengthy-ness!

That's a tough one. I'd hate to lose a WL book so I'd order it. Since it's a wl book, if you get two you can post and get credit back soon. 

I sent you a credit. No need to pay back. Order the book and enjoy.

Leslie, thank you so much! That was very kind of you!

My pleasure Dawn. I know they say to wait a week or so to reorder but that's hard when it's a WL book and you don't know when another copy will become available.  

This is now a moot point for your situation, but last time a book I was waiting for was reported lost in the mail and PBS offered me the book again, I PMed the sender of the first book to see if it had been mailed in a timely manner.  She told me no, and while she didn't know exactly when it had been mailed, she thought it was pretty late.  So I declined the second copy that had been offered to me, and the original copy showed up soon thereafter.  With a postmark 3 or 4 weeks after the date the sender had marked it mailed (yes, I filled out the survey when I marked the book received and noted the actual postmark).  Grrr.  But at least I didn't end up with two copies of the same book. 

Dawn, If the first book came to you late because it was mailed over two weeks after the stated mail date, then you do NOT have to mark it received.

From the Help Center:

"*There is an exception for late-mailed books:

• If a book was mailed more than 2 weeks late without notice to you about late mailing before it was mailed and
• was already declared Lost at PBS before it arrives, and
• you re-requested the book after it was declared "lost in the mail"  and
• you end up with 2 copies, THEN
• you do not have to mark the late-mailed-without-notice copy received.
  • Note: the late mailing must be confirmed- either the sender has told you this or the postmark on the package confirms it.  Sometimes Media Mail takes a long time, so a late-arriving book cannot be presumed to have been mailed late.
• The rules governing late-mailing are:
  • If a sender wants to mail a book that has been declared Lost at PBS already she needs to contact you with a Personal Message asking you to confirm that you still want the book from her, and
  • You would need to have confirmed that you still wanted her copy of the book in a Personal Message in reply to hers before she mailed it.
• The bottom line: If a sender sends a book late without getting confirmation from you that you have not gotten or requested another copy in the meantime, and you end up with two copies of the book, the sender has made the mistake here.  In this case (and ONLY in this case) you are not obligated to mark the lost book received (nor are you obligated to return the extra copy). "

PM the first person and ask them if they sent the book. If they do not respond go ahead and reorder it. The rules have been changed to protect you in situations like this. And there's always people around the forum willing to loan a credit on a WL book :)

:) Lynne got it copied and pasted quicker than I did :)

Thank you all for your responses --  I will definitely keep them handy for next time, as it seems I am a "late book target" ~ Which seems a little weird, because my PO is extremely fast when I am mailing things out, crossing the country in mere days!

Thanks again all.