Kiosk
Help Center - FAQs About Gold Key
FAQs about Gold Key Membership:
Q: How much does it cost to subscribe to Gold Key membership?
A: $12.99 per year. You can purchase membership in the Kiosk with your credit card or debit card, or your PayPal account or PBS Money.
Q: Do I need to do anything to activate the Friends Direct and other features after purchasing the Gold Key membership?
A: No. The features will be enabled automatically - so when you Post a Wish LIst book you will do so normally from the Post Books page, and the screen will show you if any friends are wishing for the book. (The Friends will be listed in order in which they are in the Wish List for the book.) When you add books to your Wish List, it will all work the same - but you will be able to continue adding books up to 300 items.
Q: How do I search my Friends' Bookshelves?
A: You can do this two ways:
- From your Friends list - there will be a "
Search Friends' Books" link at the top of the page - From the Book Browser - you can check the box (shown below) on the left of the page and put in your Search terms:
Friend's Books Only
Q: What happens if my Gold Key membership expires and I have more than 200 books on my Wish List?
A: The most recently-added wishes over 200 will be moved to your Reminder List on the expiration date. If you resubscribe to (purchase another year of) Gold Key membership within 2 weeks of the expiration date, your wishes will be restored to your Wish List in their previous positions in line.
Q: I Posted a book that I know is on a Friend's Wish List, but the option to offer it to her did not show up! Why not?
A: These are the possibilties:
- You don't have Gold Key membership. You can check this by looking at your profile to see if the Gold Key icon is there. If you have not created a PBS Profile, you can look at the top of your Friends list to see if the link to "Search Friends' Bookshelves" appears there.
or
- Your friend has a different version (ISBN) of the book on his/her Wish List. The ISBN you post must match one on her Wish List in order for you to be able to offer your book to her.
or
- Your friend has this Wish on hold on his/her Wish List.
or
- Your friend has his/her account on Vacation Hold and this wish is not set to auto-request.
or
- Your friend has his/her account on Vacation Hold and this wish IS set to auto-request but your friend has no credits in his/her account.
Q: What if my Friend declines the Wish List offer of my book?
A: The book will be offered to the rest of the club, and the member who is first on the Wish List will be offered the book.
Q: What if my account is on Vacation Hold? Will my Gold Key Friend still be able to see me in the list of her PBS Friends who want the book when she goes to post a book that is on my Wish List?
A: If your account is on Vacation Hold, your wish is hidden from the club, including your Gold Key friends. However, if you have set a wish to auto-request, that activates the wish and your Friend WILL see you in the list when posting that book, even if your account is on Vacation Hold. Please note the exception to this: if you don't have credits. If your credit balance is zero and you have your account on Vacation Hold and your Wish is set to auto-request, your Friend will NOT see you in the list. (This is the way that auto-request works, to prevent you from getting Wish List offers for which you would have to buy credit while you are actually away from home.)
Q: How do I order multiple copies of a book?
A: Just click the "order this book" button on the book listing as usual, and on the next page you will have the option to choose to order more than one copy simultaneously - if more than one copy is available at that time.
Q: What if I have my Bookshelf and/or Wish List set to "private" ? If my Friends have Gold Key will they be able to see my name when they post a Wish List book? Will they see my books when they search their Friends' Bookshelves?
A: No; if your privacy control settings have your Wish List set to private, then you will not show as an option when a Gold Key Friend of yours posts a book on your Wish List. If your privacy control settings have your Bookshelf set to private, then your books will not show up on Friend book searches by Gold Key friends.
Q: How does the Directed Delivery work? Is it only based on who lives the closest to me?
A: No, Directed Delivery takes into account recent mailing history as well as geographical location, in a way that minimizes the time from request to receipt of the book. We do expect to continue to work on this algorithm as more data comes in, with a view to getting you the books you want, as quickly as possible.
Q: Can I give Gold Key Membership to a friend?
A: Yes! You can buy Gift Certficates in the Kiosk and print them out or email them to the lucky recipients.
Q: Can I renew my Gold Key Membership "in advance"? What if I renew early?
A: You can renew as early as you like - doing so will simply extend your Gold Key enrollment.