Hi!

I'm still new here (about 2 weeks since I registered) and I've only listed 30 books. Out of that 30, only 1 has been requested.

So I'm wondering if there's a link between how many books are in your shelf and how many requests you get per week? I know it probably will be better to have more books, but I'm curious...

1. How many books are on your shelf?

2. How many do you add per week?

3. How many requests do you get a week?

Thanks!

I have about 80 or so on average on my shelf. A lot of the time the requests just depend on what books you have listed and how many are posted in the system. There are most days that I mail out books that were on someones wishlish and thats it, then other times i'll get requests for books that have been on my shelf quite awhile.

I have about 85 on my shelf right now and I get maybe 1 request a week.  it really does depend, sometimes I get a lot more sometimes none.  I have a lot on my TBR shelf as well and I can see which ones are wish listed so sometimes I'll read those first.

I don't really add too many per week, it all depends on how fast I go through my TBR shelf and if I'm sharing those books with friends before posting them.

you can always try the Book Bazaar and do a 2 for 1 special or I see that you have the Key trilogy by Nora Roberts, offer all 3 for 2 credits (bundle).  That is a good way to get people to look at your shelf.  You do have some good books, most I've read and the few I haven't I'm trying to not request any more until I whittle down that TBR pile that is threatening to overtake my closet!  :)

I looked at your shelf and you seem to have a lot of popular books on your shelf.  Which you think would work in your favor, right?  Well, if the book is popular, sometimes that means that there are a lot of copies of that book in the system.  PBS works on what is referred to as the FIFO system, meaning, "first in, first out."  So, if 5 people before you have posted the same book as you, those 5 copies will get requested before yours.  So, just be patient - some people get frustrated and remove books from their shelf, but I would not advise this.  As a personal example, I joined in February, and one of the books I posted when I joined was requested just 2 weeks ago.  Good luck and welcome to PBS!

I have over 200 books on my shelf, but the number of requests I get still varies depending on what books I add.  I try to go to thrift stores and library sales to add books, I find a lot of almost new trade paperbacks there but only a few of them are on wishlists.  Sometimes months go by but eventually someone will be looking for them.  If I'm not adding wishlist books I get 1 or 2 requests a week.  The best thing to do is just set up a place somewhere out of the way where you can keep your listed books and then just forget about them--keep adding books you've read and don't want to keep, or books you find at sales (make sure they meet the PBS posting guidelines--you can find them in the help center) and just wait, you'll start getting more requests the more books you add and the closer your books get to the front of the line.

In the meantime there's a lot to explore here, forums to participate in, reviews to read and suggestions of new authors that will make you read more, request more books, post more books, etc. etc!  It can be addictive, so welcome and have fun.

I looked at your shelf, and saw an Evanovich I don't have yet! It pays to post in the forums! :)

There's a great list of tips in the Help Center about how to get traffic on your bookshelf. Go have a look at it!

Lisa is right, though. A lot of the books you have probably have many copies in the system, so it may take a while with FIFO. Often it helps to do a 2-for-1 deal on the Bazaar with those books. Unless they're hardback, the cost to ship usually isn't much different.

I have about 65 books posted.  I haven't been getting that many orders off my shelf lately.  I had a lot of WL books to post when I first signed up-some that I never expected to have a WL line for them. So I searched some titles in my TBR pile and found a bunch more WL books that I'm trying to read and post.  That's where most of my credits have come from. I've earned about 60credits in my 1st 2 months.  But it's mostly because of those WL books.  When the WL books are gone from the TBR pile I'm going to advertise more deals.  If you aren't getting many orders try offering a 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 deal on some of your more common books.  Post it in your signature and on book bazaar.  Also making regular posts to the boards seems to help.  I know I check out the shelves of other posters and frequently order directly from their shelves.

I have 561 books posted, and had 5-10 (or a few more) every week after I go to the library bookshop each week.  My shelf is on hold right now, but when it was available, I was getting several requests per week.

It varies, I think it depends on what book are on your shelf rather than the quantlty. Some book there are so many in the system that it's a long time before they are requested. I have book on my shelf that have been there since I joined two years ago. My book shelf is quite small I add one or two books a week and get the same amount of requests.

I have around 20-25 books posted but ive already had lke 7 requested and i just joined last week... i guess i just have popular stuff?

Right now I have almost 400 books on my shelf -- I will go days without a single request and then suddenly I will get 5 or 6 in a single day -- no rhyme or reason to it. I have had weeks where I have sent out 20-30 books in a week, but I am more likely to send out 5-8 books a week. When I first joined last February, I used to go to several thrift shores that had great prices on books, and I would look for trade paperbacks, mystery series and not-mainstream-books or books that had only been out for a month or so to add to my bookshelf and those usually found quick homes. Some of the "popular" books that I listed last February and now being requested, so it takes patience for a lot of books, but a credit is a credit!

I have 84 on my shelf right now and it varies. The last month I've been shipping out 3-5 books a week. Usually 1-2 wishlisted books a week and then a few random orders from my shelf. Right now I don't have any pending orders. It really just seems to come in spurts. Hang in there!

I've been on the site since mid July, and I generally have 250-300 books on my shelf.  I've moved 173 books - about 50 my first week, and I get about 3-4 a week requested on average now.

Once I actually started posting books regularly I began having a few orders (1-2) a week. Then it dropped off for a while and I would go a week or two with no requests. Then one morning I would wake up and have 5 or 6 requests! I just mailed out 12 today and have 3 more to mail Friday, since I ran out of tape LOL!

One good piece of advice: If you have books at home that are still waiting to be read, go ahead and add them to your TBR List. If they are wishlisted they will have either a Red or Green W next to it. That way you know which books will be requested quickly, and if there is a book you are wanting to request on the site, go ahead and read one of the wishlisted books to get that credit!

I posted about 30 to start, and I've sent out more than ten, and have three more to send out (been a member for 2 weeks).  It helps to get yourself out there and let people know, like you did with this post.  Also, offer some deals, like 2 for 1. 

best of luck.

It  really just depends WHICH books are on your bookshelf.  I posted some Sue Grafton mysteries on my shelf when I first joined up, and thought, she's popular, they should trade well.  Wrong, they are still sitting on my shelf months later.  I only recently found out how to see how many copies of a book is in the system, and when I found out that there are hundreds of copies of my Sue Grafton books in the system, it explained a lot to me why my "popular" books weren't moving off my shelf...

However, almost every time I post a manga book, it gets scooped up as soon as I post it.  They are either WL'd or gone soon after I post them.  Seems to be a lot of people want them.  I posted 12 here once and they were all spoken for right away.

I generally keep about 20+ books on my bookshelf, but will be working to increase that number.  I have a ton of books TBR, but I have so many other books to read (keepers and library books) that my poor trading pile of books is neglected.  Heaven forbid I trade a book without reading it first!!!  Seems almost like a sin to me.  *grin*

Jennifer - thanks for the tip about adding books to your TBR pile!  I didn't realize I could do that!  I've been going through my books recently trying to cull the ones that realistically I'll never get around to reading (which I'm posting to my bookshelf), but now I've just added the ones I've decided to keep to my TBR pile, and I can't believe how many are wishlisted.  Now I definitely know which ones to read first!

And even better - I just realized I can download my TBR pile!  So once I enter all my unread books, I'll be able to print out an inventory!  I was thinking I would manually create an inventory in Excel, but adding the ISBNs to my TBR pile, then downloading it will be so much faster!

Oh yes thanks for the TBR tip.  I've been posting some books to it and I love seeing that little WL come up. I also like the fact that I can just hit Post This Book when I've read them to have them go on their merry way. 

I joined back in July and currently I have about 50 books posted and since being a member I've sent out over 40 books.  Some weeks I get no requests and some weeks I get quite a few, so maybe on average 2-3 requests a week.  I think posting a deal in the book bazaar is an effective way of getting people to notice you bookshelf.

Tara

I have around 80-something books on my shelf right now. I've had anywhere between 60-140 books depending on what was happening...my FOL sale is coming up next month so I'll probably go to well over 100 on my shelf after that. In a normal week, I'm sending out probably 3-4 books/week, but not all those are "off the shelf." I do read quite a bit and generally post a couple of books every week as I finish them, and some of those are wishlisted.

This past couple of weeks, I've been doing a bit of a purge to try to get my 700+ TBR stacks down a bit, and have been posting some extra books that have been just sitting there for a year or more, that I've changed my mind about reading or that I tried reading and lost interest, so this past couple weeks I've probably sent out about 20 books.

It can be frustrating when you're new and most of your books are well back in the FIFO line and it seems no one wants your books. My advice is to be patient--they do get chosen eventually! Also keep an eye out for used book sales at libraries and thrift shops and such. If you can pick up a few wishlisted books for 50 cents here and there and post them, it does a lot to raise your spirits! Welcome to PBS, by the way. :)

Cheryl

Sienka, what's a "manga book"?

I've been here since February and my shelf is active then sits and is then active again. Patience. I just got requests for Ann Rule books which I thought wouldn't go quickly, and bam, two are gone. So hang in there. People do request your books, they just have to find you first. :)

Oh wow! There have been many responses. Thank you so much!

I generally have 50-100 books on my shelf.  Left alone, I don't get very many stand alone requests out of the blue. Part of that problem is that I have only been a member since September of this year and a lot of my books are popular and there is a glut in the system, so waiting for the FIFO (first in first out) will take a while for them to get ordered from me.

I do get immediate hits when I post a wishlisted book, but that is the only guaranteed orders I get.

I often post deals to get folks to look at my shelf, otherwise it would be waiting for FIFO (which would be years possible for some of my books).

I also put stuff in my forum signature to generate interest in my shelf

I have the most hits if I do a 3/1 special, but get some hits with 3/2 5/3 specials.