Occasionally, I see posts from members who state they haven't had a book requested for weeks, if not months. I find this surprising as members are always requesting books from me. In fact, for the last month or so I've been mailing out at least one book per day,  and often two or three, requested by a member.  I think this is because I have a very varied bookshelf in numerous genres. If all, or most of, the books on your Bookshelf are Romance, Westerns (Men's Romance), religious, cookbooks etc, then you've limited your potential audience. It's as if your supermarket only sold canned goods.

It's not necessary to read across a wide range of genres, but if you want credits then place more than your favorite genre on your bookshelf. In my town, there are numerous thrift stores, and I volunteer at one, where the books are offered at very low prices.  In fact, at the thrift store where I volunteer $1 is the average price for most of the 2,000 books on the shelves. We even have a 25-cent bookshelf, which includes even hardbacks, many of which are novels.

Garage sales are also a great place to pick up cheap books, and don't forget your friends. Let them know if they are disposing of books, that you're willing to to take them. You might even ask if there is a book they want, as it might be available on this site. What a great way to help your friends, who helped you. What books your friends give you that you or other members might not want---or are not postable---can be given to a thrift store.

I'd also like to point out that I only have about 160 to 180 books on my shelf at any one time. Plus, some books which have been there for years still get requested. Of course, depending on your situation you may not want to have that many hanging around. For me, it's not a problem.

And, if you are reading this post, then you are almost doing something right. Think about making an occasional post yourself. I think members who post have a better chance of someone checking out their bookshelf then someone who doesn't. That may not be the case if you post in CAAP. Because someone who doesn't post is bascially a 'hidden' member.  This is also why I post reviews of most books I read. One of the first places I go to when I log on is Member Book Reviews. While not all reviews link to a posted book, I've gotten a number of cool books due to my habit of scanning those reviews. These are books I might not otherwise find in my Daily Digest.

Perhaps other members have suggestions too.....

UPDATE.... Just while I was sitting here typing this, I received requests for four books. As Dave Barry would say, I'm not making that up.

Good post, Tom.

Good points, Thomas.  I do buy WL books at FoL bookshops cheaply just to post to get more credits. Since my bookshelf went down from 100 to only 50-60 books my requests have slowed down, but still plenty to keep my credit balance up. 

Thomas: "That may not be the case if you post in CAAP."

Me: LOL!!!

A very thoughtful, helpful post, Thomas. After the most popular books are requested from me, others sit on my shelf, some for a long time. If I don't post new books occasionally, then my shelf only holds rarely requested books.  Also, when I post new books, they appear on the "Books Posted Today" page, which can give me nibbles on my rarely requested hidden gems, just because someone looks at my shelf.

I have two friends who give me bags of lovely books occasionally, and I, too, order books here for them. For Wish List books they want, I use the Book Note feature (also called Personal Note -- under "more options" on a book's info page) to remind me who wants that particular book. I love Book Notes because only I can see them. I also use them to tell me where I've stored a book, or if a textbook has writing in it, etc.

My thrift stores compete with each other (We have Savers, Goodwill, Salvation Army) but the cheapest books are $3.00 (2.99-5.99). I love FOL sales for me..my library has a lot of older books for sale that have been discarded by the library and some are pretty worn and others have the library markings and I find there are quite a few members who have RC's about not accepting them.  I keep a very small almost non existent shelf. When I had a lot on my bookshelf, most of the books had several copies in the system and after they sat for a long time, I donated them to a senior living center.

Sometimes if I know people want a book..it seems like anything Colleen Hoover is wanted by a lot..I'll buy it for 3.99 and send out.