How long do you guys keep a wishlist book on your list? I have seen books on members' WL dating back to early 2006! I don't think I could last that long and would go out and buy it.

I really don't know when is the best time to just go out and buy the book. One of my WL books that had been on since early last year popped up last week. I was thrilled, and was just about ready to delete it.

There are other books that are heavily wished ( 900- over 1000 wishers). Now, that is a time when I will go and buy the book instead of waiting what sounds like forever.

What do you do? How long do you keep your books on your wishlist? What is the best waiting period before going and buying the book from another source?

Connie

Depending on the book, I'm going to keep it on there until I (crossing fingers) get it from here. There was a book I had on from the first day I joined that was out of print and I got it earlier this year. I hadn't been able to find it anywhere else.

A lot of it just depends on how badly I want to read the book. Can I wait to read it or do I want it right away!

I guess that really didn't help much, did it?

Since joining PBS, I have found so many new-to-me authors and books that I feel like I could read forever and never be caught up!  So there's not really much that I'm in a very big hurry for, so I'll just wait it out.  That being said, I would buy anything that I know is going to be a keeper.  For example, I did run out and buy the latested Sisterchicks book by Robin Jones Gunn the first day it was out!  But that's a special series to me and I knew I wasn't going to post it. 

Also, I try to buy one WL book a month and put it in the system.  If nobody ever bought any of them, we'd have none to pass around! I pick a book that has been on my WL for at least a month, and hasn't moved much, if any at all. 

If it's a book that I know will go from being WL to heavily posted quickly-then I buy it myself and post it while it's WL. Those I don't usually even put on my WL. 

If it's the next in a series that I'm all caught up on and anxious for then I'll buy it myself. 

If it's a book in a series and I still have others to read before it then I keep it WL. 

If I see one of my WL books in a thrift store or UBS for a good price then I'll buy it. 

I have some favorite authors that I try to buy new as much as I can because I want to see them keep getting published Charlaine Harris, Shannon McKenna, Marianne Stillings and a few others. 

The rare out of print/hard to find books I just keep on my WL and also check for them on line, ,thrift stores and UBS. 

I have a TBR of 600 books so mostly I just let myself wait now and only buy if I see it cheap somewhere. 

How long do you keep your books on your wishlist?

Not very long at all.

What is the best waiting period before going and buying the book from another source?

I wait until the book comes out in paperback and costs less than a dollar at Amazon.

Well, I had some on my WL that I wasn't going to see for over five years and there they were on Amazon at a discounted price so I bought 'em.  Right now my WL isn't that big and there's only one book that has a waiting rime of 49 weeks.  With a 700+ TBR pile I really, really don't have a problem wairing..

Depends on how badly I want the book and how fast the WL line is moving.  When they get to be only a dollar or two at Half.com, I'll buy the book.  Some I'll spend more on if I REALLY want them.  Others, I'm content to wait because I'm pretty sure the book's not going to be a keeper so I don't want to spend money on it, just my credit which I can recoup by reposting the book.

I have a small WL and half of the books are those I read either through the library and want my own copy; one is a HC (BCE) I want to match the next 3 (HC) books I have in the author's series. I wanted to kick myself for not getting it - thought I had but apparently not. One is a Heyer HC I'd "love" to have but probably never will which doesn't matter as I have it in various paperback and trade versions.

I've had some books I removed from the WL when I decided I didn't want to read the authors' 2nd books all that much.

I must admit to being awed by the number of books on some members' wishlists.

Gail

The answer is....it depends. On many different things, including my whims. LOL

If it gets to be many months (or years) on the WL and it's a series book where I need that book in the series, I will likely either check the library or other sources (usually online first--used book stores, or discount stores like Bookcloseouts.com) for it. Very occasionally I'll buy from Amazon, but not often. I just ordered several books from Bookcloseouts, when I noticed 3 books I've been #1 in line for at least a year with no luck were available there, then rounded my order to save on shipping with a few more from my WL, some not so long on the list.

Sometimes, I have infinite patience...I have a huge TBR so don't really "need" any particular book RIGHT NOW and usually will wait. I only actually purchase books 3-4 times a year anymore...as opposed to 3-4 times a MONTH before PBS. :)

Cheryl

Several of the books on my WL are out-of-print and hard to find. I have a genealogy book I would love to get, but I can't afford to pay a fortune for one of the few copies I've found. I'll leave them there until I'm able to get them for somewhere.

Otherwise, I leave books on my WL unless I find a good deal on them somewhere else. Most of them aren't really time-sensative.  

I'm a lot like Mary.  It just all depends, although I do buy them if there is much of  WL and it costs less than a dollar on Amazon ( or $5 from Amazon) since I have Prime membership on Amazon I get free shipping for their books.  And I'll pay $1 + the $3.99 for a book from the re-sellers there.  

I have several HTF and OOP books on my WL.  And they will probably stay there.  One is the 3red of a series that I have the other 4 of.  That one bugs me a lot, but I won't pay $40 for a paperback.  I may contact the publisher to ask them if they know where a copy could be found.  Otherwise I'll sit and hope!

Ruth

I like to think of my WL as a special surprise.  Books that I wasn't going to buy but would like.  Books that aren't at my local bookstore.  They are my presents to myself.  

I try and buy books that I want as keepers and books from small presses. 

I order a lot of kid's book deals to send to my niece's first grade classroom.  The class wears down books quickly. 

PBS has made my TBR pile huge.  I'm not in any rush to get those books.  I also watch the library's new books list.

If I want to read a newer book and it's heavily WL'ed, I'll go ahead and buy it. I know that it'll be quickly snapped up once I read it, and that's one more copy of that book in the PBS system. Good karma, right?

 How long/if I leave books on my WL depends on how badly I want to read them and if I plan on keeping them.  I have certain authors who are auto-buys for me but I have the books on my WL to remind me of their new releases.  Other books I've checked out of my local library or gotten through their ILL program when I don't want to wait and don't want to buy/don't have the $ to buy.

Some of the books on my WL are out of print.  I frankly don't expect to ever get them.  But they are on my WL as long as I have the space.  One was last posted in 2007.  If I get up to 200, it will get bumped.

there are a few authors I never wish list and usually buy the frist few weeks they are out cause I just can't wait I have books on my WL that have been there for 2 years, I haven't bought them cause I don't have to have them, they would be nice to read but don't want to pay full price KWIM

When I buy books I usually place an order at barnes and noble and I'll sometimes depending on price add a few WL books to get me free shipping and I choose them by what ever looks good at the time

Many of my WL books are out of print, so I will wait as long as it takes to get them.  The only way I can reasonably buy them is if I find them at a book sale.  On occasion I buy them at Amazon, but most are way too expensive there.

Wow, alot of great responses.I will keep a book on my WL especially if it is no longer available on amazon. I like to put books on there that will soon be released. I put one book on my WL  on May 15th that was released on May 1st. I was 12 in line then. Now I am 9th place out of 121! Another book to be released on June 9th, was placed on my WL on May 27th. I was 11 of 11, now I am 11 out of 156! When I want to complete a series I will place unavailable books on my WL.

One cookbook I had sitting on my wishlist for months popped up yesterday. The sender just joined yesterday and already has it in the mail! I thought that was great!

I have a few authors I must buy the week after their newest books are released - and one or two that I even pre-order. I'm not going to be 890 on the WL!   I've been introduced to many new authors and series here - and that is such a benefit of PBS. But I'm also very anal retentive - I'll WL book 1 of a series and if I like it, will WL every other book and wait til I've collected the series before reading, so the WL can be a long wait. I'm blessed (or cursed, depending on how tight that month's budget is!) to have 4 1/2PricedBooks in my route to/fro work. 2 are accessible if I just have to get out of the office at lunchtime, so I definitely check there a few times a month for stuff on my WL, too.

I've waited a year or longer -- sometimes I drop hints that I'd like a certain book for Christmas or for a birthday, and that sometimes solves the waiting problem.  :)   If one of these books goes two years, I'll probably just buy it or forget it. 

If I love an author and want them to keep getting published, I will tend to buy the wishlist book new as mrslefty said.

If I see a book in the bargain bin or a good deal at a UBS, I will also buy it and often put it back into the system, unless it is a keeper.   I like to keep series of books that are fun to reread or that I would recommend to other people.  Books that other people have recommended I can usually wait for the wishlist, or at least have been content to wait so far.

I have also gone to the store and bought new copies of books I have traded on here because after reading I decided I wanted a keeper copy of my own.  I might end up spending more money because of this website instead of less :)

Many of my WL books have been on there for *years* and may never come about. They are highly collectible and out-of-print. I doubt I'll ever find them anywhere, but one can hope.

Like others have said, I'll pay for a book from a beloved author. And when I have a decent coupon or gift card from a bookstore I'll use it to buy a WL book.

Mostly I wait!