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Topic: Wish List Offers

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agentalpo avatar
Subject: Wish List Offers
Date Posted: 4/11/2009 2:17 AM ET
Member Since: 1/28/2009
Posts: 3
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So this may be more of a suggestion to PBS (if they're even paying attention to this) than a question, but here goes.

With the wish list I have auto-request off, but I still receive offers when books on my WL become listed. The only actions I'm allowed to take when this happens is to order the book or say I don't want it anymore. Almost every time I get one of these offers, I don't have any credits and I don't want to buy any. In fact, only one time have I gotten a credit before a WL offer expired so I could accept the WL offer.

So I realize it's fine if I don't want to order the book at that time, but if I say I don't want to order it, it gets removed from my WL. Usually the only reason I'm not ordering it is because I don't have any credits, and I actually want the book to remain on my WL. My account just got put on hold because I ignored too many WL offers. So what I would love is the option to not order the book AND keep the book on my WL for when I actually have credits.

Anybody agree?

AshleyL avatar
Date Posted: 4/11/2009 2:22 AM ET
Member Since: 2/23/2008
Posts: 285
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On Swap-a-CD and Swap-a-DVD, they have the option to put individual wish list items on hold if you don't want them yet without having to put your entire account on hold.  I know what you mean, and I hope that's an option here too at some point!

fangrrl avatar
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Date Posted: 4/11/2009 3:08 AM ET
Member Since: 12/28/2006
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Some people put their account on hold if they don't have credits.  You stay on the WL, but the book is offered to the next person in line until you take your account off hold.

EmilyKat avatar
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Date Posted: 4/11/2009 3:15 AM ET
Member Since: 7/19/2008
Posts: 15,525
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Doesn't it automatically skip you if it is on auto request and you don't have credit?  So you don't get it but also don't lose your place in line?

Hunter1 avatar
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Date Posted: 4/11/2009 8:51 AM ET
Member Since: 2/26/2006
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Emily if a book is on auto-request and the member doesn't have any credits, then the request reverts to a regular wishlist offer and the member will need to deny or accept the request.

Princess65 avatar
Date Posted: 4/11/2009 9:28 AM ET
Member Since: 7/31/2007
Posts: 2,697
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Allison the solution to your problem is that when you have no credits you put your account on vacation hold...you maintain your place in the WL line.  Periodically you can take it off hold for a few seconds to allow any book requests to come up and then put it back on hold before you get a book offer.  It is really simple and what alot of folks do.

Generic Profile avatar
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Date Posted: 4/11/2009 10:34 AM ET
Member Since: 8/23/2007
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I always keep a buffer of at least 5 credits.  If I'm getting low then I put my account on hold and find some WL books to post.  Usually I have some in my TBR but I might also check out the thrift stores and frequently find a cheap WL book or two to post. If you have a lot of books on your shelf that aren't moving you can run a deal.

By letting them time out like that you are holding up the WL lines.  If you don't have credits to order your WL books then your account should be on hold until you have WL books to post or money to buy credits. Or like I said run a deal on your shelf to earn a few credits. Then keep an eye on your WL and have credits handy for those books where you might be near the top of the line. 

Also you don't have to buy credits from PBS.  You can buy them cheaper from another member. 

If you are taking a lot of WL books out of the system then you need to put some back in to help move the lines and to earn credits.

CozSnShine avatar
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Date Posted: 4/11/2009 11:17 AM ET
Member Since: 2/5/2007
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If you have a suggestion for the PBS team it is more effective to use Contact Us rather to assume they will read your post. 



Last Edited on: 4/11/09 11:17 AM ET - Total times edited: 1
melanied avatar
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Date Posted: 4/11/2009 11:20 AM ET
Member Since: 8/16/2007
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With the wish list I have auto-request off, but I still receive offers when books on my WL become listed.

You seem a little confused on how the WL works on PBS. If you have a book on your WL it means you want it now and are willing to get credits to order it if it becomes available. Auto-request just means that the offer will automatically be accepted. Auto-request being turn off only means that you need to mannually accept the offer, it has nothing to do with whether you will get the offer or not. If you are unwilling to buy credits  to get books on your WL, you should either put your account on hold as others have said, or remove the books from your WL. PBS doesn't have a mechanism to allow you to just sit in first in the WL lines until you decide you do really want the book enough to get the credits, they only want the people who are really going to order the books to get the WL offers. 

If the new WL is every fully implemented, you will have the ability to put your books on individual hold, but you will not continue to earn points on book on hold, so you would slowly fall back in the WL lines if you kept them on hold for long. In that system you will continue to have to accept the offer or get out of line if you don't put them on hold.

It will be nice to put a book into a hold so that we don't have to go to the very end of the line if we can't order it right now, but no I can't agree that someone that doesn't really want the book should be able to keep the first spot in lines repeatedly holding up the books people are posting. In my opinion, either you want to book enough to get the credit to get it, or you should not be in the front of the line.

Generic Profile avatar
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Date Posted: 4/11/2009 12:16 PM ET
Member Since: 8/23/2007
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I think it would be awesome if you could just put your whole WL on vacation hold and keep yourshelf open. I ended up donating a bunch of books when I had to move because I had my account on hold.  I didn't want WL books coming in so I'd have less books to move. But I would have loved to have kept getting shelf orders besides the WL books I posted. 

 

VLR avatar
Date Posted: 4/14/2009 8:42 AM ET
Member Since: 8/31/2008
Posts: 2,608
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If you put your entire shelf on vacation hold you retain your place on the WL.  I think you retain your place on FIFO too for the books you are offering. 

If you put an individual book on hold while the rest of your bookshelf is not on hold (ex. you want to loan the book to someone but anticipate getting it back) you lose your place for that book in the FIFO.  I learned that from a Tour Guide.

My son's Boy Scout troop is having a yard sale next month.  I plan to put my bookshelf on hold and donate some books to the yard sale.  For the books that don't sell, hopefully I can get them back, take my bookshelf off hold and delete the books that were sold.