Is it possible to tell how many copies of a book are in the system from the bookshelf page?  I know I can see how many books there are on my reminder page, but it would be nice to see how many copies there are of books I have on my bookshelf.  It would be really nice to see where my book is in the queue, the way you can see where you are in a wishlist queue.  Half of my objective with PBS is to clear out the books, and if I knew there were scads of copies already available, I would just donate some of my books to the library sale.

I am wondering the same thing. I would love to know how many copies of a book I am posting are already in the system. Anyone know how to check this?

Add the book to your "Reminder List", then go to your list. It'll show you "copies available".

It will tell you how many copies are available but not where in the list yours is in the FIFO order.  Is there any way to check this?

I sometimes will repost a book that I have yet to read but am currently or am going to read soon if there is 200+ copies in the system because it will take forever until my copy is up in the FIFO order.  Does anyone else do this?  Is there any way to see when the most recent copy was swapped or how often it swaps, etc?

Deanna, there is currently no way to check where you are in the FIFO line.  I don't think there is any information about the swapping history of any particular title.

Deanna -

I'm with you - there are times when I've wanted to post a book that I'm currently reading and know I will finish in the next day or so, but have been afraid that someone would order it immediately.  I like that I can see how many copies of a book there are from the reminder page, but it would be nice if this info was available from my bookshelf, and it would be really nice if I could see where my book is in the queue.  It just seems very labor-intensive to have to duplicate my bookshelf onto my reminder page to find out how many copies are in the system.  If the system can show us where we are in line for wishlisted books, then it should be able to show us where we are in line with books we have on our bookshelves.  This would be a nice upgrade.

A reason for not showing this information has been given, which is that it would lead to some people who have the only copy of a book dropping and relisting them on a daily basis (to drive requests from people who see the book listed in the daily listings).  Some people are doing that over on swap-a-cd.  (I do think there are better technical solutions - like not allowing someone to repost a book they have delisted for a week or so...)

Thanks, Bret, I guess I can understand why the powers that be have decided not to let us know where our book is in the queue.  Someone would always try to game the system.  Although, if I knew my book was the only copy in the system, I'd be more likely to leave it on my bookshelf until someone wanted it, rather than donate it to the FOL sale.

Wow, I guess I am just not devious enough. I never would have thought of reposting the same book day after day to drive interest.

I think it doesn't really help that much to know where you are in the FIFO list unless you also know the rate at which that particular title is requested. If you're #100 for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", but it gets requested 50 times a day, that's very different than if you're #1 for "Women of Mystery", which never gets requested (I know that because I had the only copy in the system on the day I posted it almost two years ago, and there it sits on my bookshelf still.) It's too easy to make the wrong decision, even my Nora Roberts books, which people say are over-posted have all been requested.

I am not computer smart enough to figure out how to do that.  I would get caught & tossed off .   I want to stay on and enjoy the site.

Another way to avoid it might be listing amounts less than 10 copies as 'about 5', 'between 5 and 10', and then starting the actual count after that ...