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Topic: Is it against the rules...

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Subject: Is it against the rules...
Date Posted: 9/2/2007 1:37 AM ET
Member Since: 6/3/2007
Posts: 63
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Is it against the rules to post looking for someone who might have a certain wish list book... to perhaps initiate a trade for another wish list book in the same genre/topic?  It seems shady, but then there's that whole ability to bypass and post directly to a person's wish list.. so there has to be some wiggle room for people to ask for WL books somewhere.  I'm just not sure of the protocol. 

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L. G. (L)
Date Posted: 9/2/2007 2:06 AM ET
Member Since: 9/5/2005
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The only way to trade books without credits is through BOB.  You can post something in the Book Bazaar as a "wanted" thread, but  it is generally frowned upon by other members, since so many people honor the FIFO system.

bridget avatar
Date Posted: 9/2/2007 8:01 AM ET
Member Since: 5/31/2006
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I think that if both parties posted directly to each other's WL, it would be fine according to the rules.  That way credits would be swapped and registered and all that jazz.

It does skirt the FIFO system, but as the guildelines say, it's your book.

Generic Profile avatar
Date Posted: 9/2/2007 10:48 AM ET
Member Since: 10/3/2006
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Seems kind of shady to me, but probably not technically against the rules.

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 12:34 PM ET
Member Since: 6/3/2007
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Well...  I'm no more certain of the rules than I was last night.  :)

I have a wish list book that I'm not willing to put up for trade unless I get another book that I want to replace it.  The other book is also a wish list book.  I won't give up the book I have unless I can replace it with the other, so I guess I'm just stuck with the one I have. 

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 12:38 PM ET
Member Since: 8/9/2005
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Yeah probably. Book for book trades are against the rules because BOB is a money generator for the site. If we were allowed to do it without buying the membership then it would make it obselete and they would lose that revenue.

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 12:46 PM ET
Member Since: 5/10/2007
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I guess I don't follow your reasoning.  If you post the book that is WL'd then you will get a credit to use towards a book you want.  Now it may be that the book you want isn't readily available but if you get on the list you'll get the book eventually. 

Or what if no one has the book?  does this mean you'll never post the book you have?

Catspaw avatar
Date Posted: 9/2/2007 1:50 PM ET
Member Since: 7/14/2007
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If both of the books are as yet un-posted, you can pop a note into your signature line, and when you get a taker, you just post the books to one another's wish list.

I sort of see what you mean.  I've probably posted 40 or so wish list books for others, but in 6 plus weeks of membership, I have never gotten one of my wish list books.  Sigh...

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 2:02 PM ET
Member Since: 6/3/2007
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>>I guess I don't follow your reasoning.  If you post the book that is WL'd

>>then you will get a credit to use towards a book you want. 

>>Now it may be that the book you want isn't readily available but

>>if you get on the list you'll get the book eventually. 

It's not the credits I need.  I just want the WL book.  It's already on my WL.  I'd rather buy the book new than sit on the WL any longer, but I figured that since I have this other highly sought after book, I would just see if anyone wanted to trade before running out to get it new.  It's a pretty narrow topic, so I figured most people would be looking for the same books.

>> Or what if no one has the book?  does this mean you'll never post the book you have?

Right.  I'll just go ahead and buy the other book new and still keep the one I have.  They aren't books you just read and pass on.  They're pattern books that you use over and over again.  To me, they are far more valuable than a single credit so I won't be posting it at all.  I'll just continue to get those books new and keep them in my collection.

>>I sort of see what you mean.  I've probably posted 40 or so wish list books for others,

>>but in 6 plus weeks of membership, I have never gotten one of my wish list books.  Sigh...

 Yep, I'd say 2/3 of the books I've posted have been WL books.  But the books I want most are the type that never get posted.  I've sent out tons and tons of WL books, but my only interests are either very easily available mass market paperbacks and then the books that no one ever posts.  I feel like i'm not getting my "money's worth" if I just get mass market paperbacks that have 200 in the system -- I'll never unload them here.  It's a catch 22.   Pretty soon all of my desirable books will be gone and I'll be stuck with all of the paperbacks that no one else wants.

 



Last Edited on: 9/2/07 2:05 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
hugbandit7 avatar
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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 2:19 PM ET
Member Since: 5/10/2007
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ahhh, I didn't realize they weren't your usual book!

as far as all the books that have a lot listed in the system, there are several other swap sites that don't have the amount of books posted here that are there.  I'm on another and have my bookshelf listed in both places.  I have sent out quite a few books there that I would never have sent from here.  Just a random thought for you

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 2:23 PM ET
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Sharon they probably havent been posting because you dont have a link up. Of course you can get to your WL books through your profile but Im assuming laziness as thats why I wouldnt have looked at your WL without you saying something.

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 2:52 PM ET
Member Since: 1/15/2007
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Have you ever "traded up" on PBS?  You know, posted a MM pb and gotten a hardback?

What if every member of PBS thought, "My book is too good to post, it's only worth a special trade?" 

It's your book.  You're free to participate in PBS as you see fit.

I'm glad that there are so many members of the PBS community that understand, "You have to give a little to get a little."

 

Catspaw avatar
Date Posted: 9/2/2007 3:56 PM ET
Member Since: 7/14/2007
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Thanks Chris - I thought I had that as public - just changed it.

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 4:51 PM ET
Member Since: 10/23/2005
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I just want to add that there are hundreds of new members joining every week, so new books are added to the system at an amazing rate. Yes there are books that have hundreds of copies available, but I believe that is why they are called Best Sellers. When I joined PBS I was buying books as my budget allowed and reading them just as fast. Now there are 90+ books waiting for me to read. There are lots more I can order as I get ready. I don't think of them as books no one wants, but books that are waiting for a member to order them. 

 

Generic Profile avatar
Date Posted: 9/2/2007 5:58 PM ET
Member Since: 6/3/2007
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>>What if every member of PBS thought, "My book is too good to post, it's only worth a special trade?"

Umm.  If every member thought a single one of their books shouldn't be put into the FIFO system because it's a special type of book that they could get a lot more use out of than the average single credit book, I wouldn't have an issue with that.  You do? 

I'm not obligated to post every.single.book in my collection.  I've sent out plenty of brand spanking new books and no, I generally don't trade up.  At this point I've sent out far more valuable books than I've received.  But to me, a hard cover isn't really worth much more than a paperback -- they'll both be read and that's that.  A pattern book can be used over and over again.  It's the same reason the popular cookbooks move so slowly through the system.  They aren't "read it once and pass it on" books.

If I have a single book I don't want to post to FIFO, well...  I'm OK with that.  I'm not going to lose any sleep over the crushing guilt of having one little book that I think is worth a bit more to me than the $2 I would save by posting it.

The problem has been solved.  I posted the trade on my sewing board and someone offered to trade with me within minutes.  I still don't understand the rules on this issue clearly, but I just wanted to help out a fellow PBS member who might be crossing wish lists with me instead of randomly offering it up to someone on my other board who might not really be searching for the book.  A PBS member did lose out, but at least there will be no questions about the rules being broken.

Thanks!

 

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 10:11 PM ET
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sounds like because of the type of book it was you did the right thing by going to the sewing thread.  That was probably the best place to try and do what you did (right or wrong) vs the general forums since it is such a specialized book.

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Date Posted: 9/2/2007 10:23 PM ET
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NP Sharon. Im not saying everyone is lazy like me but there have to at least be a few members that are ;)

melanied avatar
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Date Posted: 9/4/2007 12:21 AM ET
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This is in the rules:

Can we swap books for books directly with other members on this site?

Yes, but only if you both subscribe to Box-O-Books.

  • "Creditless" swaps are permitted ONLY between two Boxers.
  • Using the PBS site to conduct an under-the-table book-for-book swap without using credits would be in direct violation of PBS policy, and would put both members' PBS accounts in jeopardy.

Why is this?

  • We have worked very hard on this site, and it has cost us (and continues to cost us) a great deal of money. The Box-O-Books service is one of the few sources of income the site has generated to offset our financial losses, and we are still deeply in the red. Without some financial support we will not be able to continue the club. We are trying to keep the site free for our members, and Box-O-Books was one innovation intended to help us do so.
  • PBS relies greatly on the "honor" system among our members. We are pleased to say that the majority of PBSers are honest and above-board; if that were not so, the club could not continue.

So as long as you both paid credits to each other for the books you did not break the rules. If you agreed to send the books to each other without the credits, then you broke the rules of the site.