I use multiple swap sites, and I figured the best way to list new in-demand books would be to post them all three sites, then let the book go to the first person that requested it. Well I did this and the request on Goodreads won out. But before I could take the book back off my PBS bookshelf, it got offered to someone that had it on their WL.

Now I understand how the FIFO thing works in hindsight this probably isn't a good practice for PBS. Next time, I'll choose to either list the new book only on the other two sites, or only on PBS to avoid this problem.

But in the meantime, I now have this book on hold because I'm waiting on the other member to either accept the offer or decline it. So what do I do? Should I PM them explaining the situation and ask them to deny it? Wouldn't that automacly offer the book to someone else? Or would I have time to remove the book from my self?

Or, is there a way for me to remove the book even though it's been offered?

Thanks for any help here.

Ah, I just found this. I must've missed it the first time I looked through the help topics.

If you have Posted a Wish Listed book by mistake and it is involved in a Wish List offer, you need to wait until the book is requested, and then decline it.

Note: If you have clicked "I cannot mail" on a request, or clicked "Cancel" on an active outgoing transaction, or the system has canceled your transaction for failure to complete the sending process by the deadline, the book involved will have been automatically removed from your bookshelf.

Yes, not a good practice on PBS because the WL will always automatically hold a book that has member's wishing with no way to cance,l so in essence you have a request here the second you post the book.

You will need to wait until it is requested and then cancel the request. I wouldn't bother to go into much of an explanation why, that explanation usually just ticks off members.

You may want to put your bookshelf on Vacation Hold in case the wisher that it is currently held for denies the offer or doesn't respond, that way it doesn't get offered to someone else.

Never request that the other member cancel a Wish List book offer. If they cancel (decline the book) it will remove them from their place in the Wish List line.

So, in this type of case, the sender is always the person who must figure out how to cancel the book offer. Anybody who cancels at your request (not understanding what will happen) will undoubtedly get mad about the situation.

It would definitely be a good idea to check if books are Wish List on PBS first, before you also cross-post them to other sites. As you have found, a Wish List book on PBS will pretty much always get requested. You can check if books are Wish Listed on PBS by either looking up their PBS listing first (Wish List books have a line in the top information that tells how many members are wishing, plus they do not have an "Order This Book" button), OR, you can enter them on your TBR (to-be-read list) and when you look at your TBR list, you will see them with either a red or green "W" within the entry.

Welcome to PBS!

I believe it is also a violation of use to advertise other sites, such as you are doing in your signature line.
 

Wow, yes. To the OP, you really need to clean up your profile as well. You have links to competitors sites and even what looks like an advertisement.
 

They need to accept it and then you decline it.  They should NOT decline it, because it would make them go to the end of the wish list for that book.  That would not be fair in any way, shape or form for them.   They could have been waiting 3 years to crawl up the FIFO line for this book.  No way should they cancel or decline.

Thanks for the advice guys. I didn't know it was against the rules to have links to other sites, either. I guess I need to read over the rules and guidelines.

I always post to PBS first because WL books automatically are put on WL Hold as soon as I post them.  If it's not a WL book then I post to another site as well.  The biggest issue with posting on multiple sites is that you have to be very diligent about removing books from the other site(s) when a book is requested.  Over the years I've kind of changed tactics and just use the other site for things that are not postable on PBS.

Manda, although PBS is easy to use there's a surprising amount of stuff members should know 

During the brief times I've dabbled on other book sites, discovered there's a couple ways to successfully manage your inventory.  1) As Lisa suggests, be super diligent to keep book lists current on both sites (and hope Murphy doesn't make an appearance...which he always does).  Every time a book is requested from either site you will need to adjust the other site immediately. or 2) Keep two seperate boxes (bookshelves, etc).  Have a box for PBS and a box for brand X.  When you post books place them directly into the appropriate box and leave them there until requested.  If you wish to move a listing - physically take the book out of the box, list on a different site, and put the book in the other box.

Many members find Method #2 works well even for PBS.  Inspect and post books, place in box (or dedicated bookshelf), receive request, retreive book from box, inspect postability again, accept request, print and mail.  Wandering books and overlooked condition flaws are thus minimized...and we've probably all been surprised by one or both.

Best wishes clearing up that double request Manda.  And if you must list a reason for canceling the transaction, feel free to use something vague .... like 'posted in error'.

The other thing you might want to consider is that books that are not necessarily WLed, but have very few copies in the PBS system, may get requested pretty quickly after posting them.  So as someone mentioned above, you can add the books to your TBR and that will tell you which ones are WLed, but it won't tell you which books may have no copies in the system, or maybe just one or 2 and may be requested soon after you post them.  The only way to tell how many copies of a book are in the system is to add them to your reminder list.  It's an extra step, but might help you avoid another situation like this.

I do 2 other trading sites as well. I don't list the same book on different sites at the same time.  I usually list a book wherever it's WL and wherever I need pts.  For books that aren't WL anywhere-I usually put them here to work their way up FIFO (frequently before I've read them). 

Posting WL books on multiple sites at the same time is not cool and not good book trading ediquette.  If it's a WL book on more than one site than obviously it's going to be grabbed quickly on more than 1 site.  Just common sense. 

Pick the site you want to send it out the most and list it there. 

Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it. I think I'll stick to what Mary L. said and try to post my books on whichever site I need the points at. This seems like the best way to go about it.