Wishlist dry spell?

Anyone else dealing with a wishlist dry spell?

I have around 1400 books on my WL, and nothing has been popping up in days.

I've got 130 points burning a hole in my pocket too!

Agree those points are really really hot !!!

I agree on both counts!

I have 31 books on my wishlist at Bookmooch; not one of those books is available to mooch. :( Oh well, if they were all moochable, I wouldn't have enough points anyhow... because the points burn their way out of my pocket in a very short time. Right now I have about 9 points. I think I'll hoard them awhile.

Holy cow, dakota! 130 points?!?! How on earth have you accumulated that many? Wow...

> 4

Do you know about "Show Related Editions", 1dragones?

Click that button at the top, right of your wishlist page, and you'll see that there's at least one more book that you can mooch.

Seems like 31 books is not very many on a wishlist, however, if you want bookmooch "action".

approximately 15 since the beginning of April.

Some where reserved for someone else, some wouldn't ship to the US, some were snatched before I could get to them (blast it!)...

I got the feeling that people were cleaning out their bookshelves!!

> 7
I agree, Skittles. I seemed to be getting quite a few wishlist hits in the past month. (It's dried up a bit in the past week, however).

I think people are spring cleaning.

I had quite a run there for a bit, now nothing for about a week? (about 850 on my wishlist) Hopefully it will give me a chance to catch up a bit :P

I too had a lot of hits earlier this month and now nothing. I actually was checking my blackberry last week cuz I thought it had stopped working because I wasn't receiving emails from my BM account. It's okay tho, my tbr pile is massive, and I haven't finished entering it all on BM yet.

I too have had the opposite "problem" I've had a bunch on my wishlist come up lately but I need someone to mooch some books from me as I'm down to 9 points!

5:

Just by adding books and swapping. Since I joined on 2/23, I've given nearly 300 books away within the USA and still have a little over 400 in my inventory.

I do make an effort to look for highly wishlisted books when thrift shopping - that accounts for about 75 or so of the 300 I've given away.

Yes, I've seen related editions. I want specific editions, (mainly hardcover) so the related editions wouldn't bring me what I'm after in most cases.

No, 31 books isn't many, but I am still adding to the list almost weekly. Being specific as I am, limits the number of books on my list. When I decide which books I want, I'll add more. I am not just filling my wish list to be filling it. I am choosing books I actually want to read, books I might keep rather than putting back up in my inventory after I read them. I am also putting books in my inventory after reading them that are not something I'll want to read again... but I usually do this in small batches (roughly 10 at a time). My inventory never seems to rise above 20 because the books I list are mooched almost faster than I can type the condition notes.

@ 12:

Wow, dakota... impressive! Good information too!

You all are the best!!Thanks for all the smooches!!

I'm happy if I have 9 points (which is about where I am right now) because generally I spend 'em as soon as I get 'em. LOL

What are smooches?

A smooch is a single point given away to another BM member - you can also smooch anonymously! You have to have been a BM member for a full week before the smooch button will appear on your home page, though ...

Wishlist hits come in waves for me. A few come up each week for me, because of the size of my wishlist, but occasionally several will be available at once, keeping my points count pretty low. Lately, I've been tying not to mooch, to read down the TBR mountain, but even with only checking my wishlist every few days (I know! Who knew I had the personal discipline?) I'm still mooching away.

Be patient, Dakotamidnight, the books will come.

None of the books on my wishlist are available but it's sort of a good thing for me. I'm moving in May and the last thing I need is to pack more books. I've tried to not go on bookmooch but I've also failed quite miserably at it :)

I just got one last night thanks to my RSS feed. :-)

It also looks like I lucked out on a highly wishlisted one that I thought wasn't going to work out. The owner had been a member for two years and had only sent one book in all that time. When I mooched the book I didn't hear anything for a week or two. Then I got an email saying she was going to mail it on Monday. Monday came and went and I didn't hear anything; the mooch request was still not officially accepted. Then today it was accepted, and I got a note saying that she actually mailed it Monday. I'm so glad I didn't get impatient and cancel it!

21: What book? :)

Hey! I just got a smooch! But it says:

Eliot () : member bio ?
Sorry, there is no member by that name.

Is this an anonymous smooch?

23> I think it must be, as I have had one of those too.

Well, how sweet is that? Thank you to whoever smooched me!

I will have to find the bm forum and post a thank you there as well. LOL just got this email to:

You've received a smooch!

Someone (we're not saying who!) at BookMooch thinks you're really fabulous and has sent you an anonymous smooch.

The "smooch" feature at BookMooch allows someone to thank you for being a great person, by sending you a "smooch".

To thank you, this fan of yours has also given you one of their BookMooch points which you can spend to get a free book.

Whodathunkit? ♥♥♥ I'm liking this, lots!!!

22> Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.

26: Oooh, good one dadena! :)

got one off my WL a week ago - now I'm in another dry spell.

Maybe posting on this thread again will make it rain wish-list books?

I've fortunately had wishlisted books show up pretty consistently the past few weeks since I joined (less than a month ago), and I've been able to snatch up many of them. Now I'm out of points, though, which I think is just as well, as Mt TBR is leaning precariously, and this will allow me to take a much-needed break--if I have points sitting there, I'm compulsively unable to not use them.

I have been lucky enough to find a few books since I last posted!

Now I have some international moochers who are not responding to any of my contacts.. and I don't want to ok until I hear from them! grrrr..

I've only ever had about 10 books show up on my wishlist and only 4 have been moochable. I don't have a huge wishlist though. And I very rarely have points to spare anyway, so it's probably just as well.

Yes! I have seen very few of my wishlisted books come available lately. Seems like last Spring was just the opposite.

This is my first post on this forum so I am not sure if I am doing this correctly

----

I currently only have eight books on my wishlist, but they are the books that I really…really want. Since most of the books on my wishlist are pretty new it is rare for me to even get an email saying that someone actually has one of them. Also, since I am new to booksmooth I am afraid I will run out of points if I get a book from my save-for-later list. So really, for me at least, it is a waiting game. I have been contemplating putting up more books in my inventory for points, but I am also a little reluctant. I am still waiting for some moochers to get the first batch of books I have sent out. I actually have become a little crazy checking my e mail for people who might have my wishlist books in the US. I want to be first, and I’d take it in any condition. I suppose you could say I have become a little frantic, and impatient when it comes to my wishlist.

Beth, starting up with bookmooch can take a little time. You sent out the bulk of your books on May 28th just before a long week-end. so with media rates being a little slower, they may not arrive for another week or more.

In the meantime, your wishlist is very small, so that minimizes the chances for "hits."

I'd suggest you add more to the list. In order to get to the books you want a little faster, you could regularly check "recently added books" under "browse" on Bookmooch. There is a way you can get this info quickly via Twitter and your cell phone, but I'm not sure how that works, you would have to ask another member. and be sure and let people know on BM and LT forums the names of the books you are seeking.
Please be patient, you'll find Bookmooch a very rewarding book exchange and people on this forum, as well as the ones on BookMooch (important to post what you want THERE too) are more than willing to help you.

#33 Hey Beth,
I did not see on your LT Profile page your BM name???

Books to us are just exciting and when you find both LT and BM it's Very exciting. My husband teases me that I'd race anyone to our mailbox now! The Forum on BM and here called "A Book Search Among Friends" is a great place to put out feelers for maybe one or two books. It's worked for me so many times. I also offer here on Pimp Your Inventory for all the memebers that have been as good to me. But many times new books (like my wishlist on BM) will be offered as Early Reviewers & someone may offer them in the Early Reviewers Group too.

Try those few things...and let us know your BM name. We all love to help anyone out when we can! (like carry wishlisted books of others)

Beth, Are you in the US and also on PBS? If not someone on both sites might be able to angel books from PBS to BM for you if they are available. What books are you looking for?

GlendaHam: ya, i figure the people who mooched off me won't get their books anytime really soon. I have very little control over when they are sent because I have someone else paying the shipping costs for me (thank god), so hopefully i won't get any complaints. I just started using the forum, so hopefully it will help me a lot (it already is!). I plan on posting about some of the books that i want on both forums as well, and becoming more active. I'm already finding bookmooch to be very rewarding. Books that are $15 in a book store are one point here, its a very exciting experience!

BONS: really? It should be up there. I couldn't figure out how to do the "also on" thing on my profile, since my name is different on the site. I just put the link on my websites. It's http://bookmooch.com/m/bio/bethmc . Wow, at least I am not the only one! I ran out in the rain today just to see if I got one of the books I mooched! I did!! I was thinking about putting one of the books I wanted on that forum, but i didn't want to sound sesperate for it (although I am getting there),and its also pretty new so i wanted to see if I could wait it out a little. I'm probably end up putting it up there anyway right after this. Pimp your inventory? I will have to look at that. I don't know what early reviewers are, but I will look it up. I saw some people talking about it, I just didn't understand what it was.

rxtheresa: I am not on PBS. I wanted to have all my books in the same area. I thought angel people were only for those out of he country? The books I am looking for are in my wishlist here http://bookmooch.com/m/wishlist/bethmc . Ya they are all basically by the same author (go figure). Not saying hes my fav though.

Thank you everyone with the suggestions!!!

Beth, I will pm you about two of your wishlisted & ER

37: Go to http://www.librarything.com/editprofile/profile

Pick Bookmooch from Also on. Put in your bookmooch userid. Save. Voila. :)

BethMC90, please be careful about mooching books when you are not able to send any out yourself. Maybe wait until you can get the books already mooched from you mailed before hunting down more books. If people start canceling because you haven't sent the books they've requested, you will lose those points and may come to the attention of the BookMooch admin.

In general, and speaking from painful experience, I would cancel a book if the person I mooched it from could not give me a specific time they would mail the book to me. Once you have built up a good BookMooch reputation, you will have leeway to delay books when you need to, but until you've had a few dozen books successfully sent, not sending books in a timely manner may make people wonder if you're being entirely honest.

RidgewayGirl: I have already sent out 7 books, I am just waiting to hear back from the moochers to see if they received them. I've only mooched about three books so far, receiving 2. I am thinking about adding more to my inventory soon as well. I said I would send them "within a week" on the mooch acceptance thing, so I'm pretty sure I am ok. Since I sent them out the end of that week they should be getting them soon. I'd be a little annoyed if they got lost in the mail. I appreciate the concern though. I'd get annoyed too if I was waiting forever for a book. If they don't get them at the end of this week I will personally send out e mail stating I was sorry for the delay. I really don’t want anyone to think I was scamming them.

Yes, I now see that you've sent everything requested of you, and quickly. I do hope you enjoy being a part of BookMooch.

33: BethMC90, welcome to BookMooch. Since you've found your way to LibraryThing, you are already on your way to becoming a BookMooch power user.

If you are waiting for emails from the BookMooch system, you might be missing opportunities to mooch books. In my experience, I get about half of my books from the system emails, and about half from "pouncing" on a book that spontaneously appears on my Wishlist (without receiving a corresponding email).

It appears that most of your books are on many people's wishlists. When the book becomes available, the BookMooch system sends an email to ONE person on the waiting list (at random), and gives them a chance (4 hours) to mooch. If they don't mooch, the system emails a 2nd random person, and so on. If your book is on 20 people's wishlist, then you only have 1 chance in 20 of getting that first email.

The second way to get books is to monitor your Wishlist page for newly-available books and to "pounce" on them by mooching them immediately, without waiting for the system email. Although it may feel like you are cutting in line ahead of the people who are patiently waiting for emails, it is within the rules of BookMooch and power users do it all the time.

On your Wishlist, be sure to always press the "All" and "Show Related Editions" buttons. The same title is often available under multiple ISBNs, and BookMooch's related-editions feature does an excellent job of showing them all.

In your browser, bookmark the All + Related Editions view of your Wishlist (to save a couple of mouse clicks).

When you tire of monitoring your Wishlist page, you can configure an "RSS Reader" (a special type of web page) to do it for you. Popular free RSS readers are Google Reader and My Yahoo. You configure the Reader to "watch" your Wishlist page, and display any newly-appearing entries. You can also configure some Readers to send you an email and/or text message when a new entry appears. RSS can be mildly addicting, since it can be used to monitor other web sites (e.g. news, blogs) not just BookMooch.

MapleWalnut (I like the name): Thank you for explaining to me the e mail system. I thought it sent to everyone on the wishlist, not just one. I did the RSS feed a couple of days ago as well. A lot of people have been helping me. This is actually the first time I have ever used RSS feeds. Thanks a lot for the advice!

I am pretty happy right now because my "dry Spell" is diffidently gone. There are so many nice people here and they have helped me find some of my wishlist books. They have also helped me figure out the ways around Bookmooch! Thanks again everyone!

I went through a period last month in which quite a few books from my wishlist were available. It's probably for the best that things have slowed down, since I'm down to 10 points (with a few angel mooches coming up that people have gotten for me). It will be a couple of weeks before I can go shopping for some books to list, so I'm really hoping that I don't miss out on anything from my wishlist before then (I have a book reserved for me now and can't decide whether or not to commit to the mooch).

45: You probably already know this, but if your points run (temporarily) low, you can borrow up to 3 points from the Bank Of BookMooch (see http://wiki.bookmooch.com/index.php?title=Unofficial_Bank_of_BookMooch). So if something pops up on your Wishlist that you absolutely must have...

I had 3 books come up on my BookMooch wishlist back in October-December of last year, and that's it. Over 130 books on my list and no movement whatsoever.

On PBS, however, I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that, on average, one wishlist book pops up every week. My wishlists are the same on both sites, but for the same time period, I received around 3 books from BM and just over 35 books from PBS.

I want to love BookMooch, but PBS seems to be so much more active for me. I'd love to see some numbers on how many members each site has, as well as how many individual books are listed on each.

I'm having another dry spell here too - seems like if I post it here then I get some so I'm posting it here.

You know, once I resolved not to mooch so many books and to only check my wishlist once a day, I have been inundated with hits. Of course, my wishlist is almost at 1500 books, which may have something to do with it.

47: You can see stats for Bookmooch here.
http://bookmooch.com/about/stats

As for the wishlist notifications, remember that Bookmooch wishlist emails go out to a random person on the wishlist, so you will only see some of the notices. Do you check your wishlist page ever, or related editions, or RSS, etc.?

>50 infiniteletters:: Because I so rarely get notified, I rarely check my wishlist. In fact, the only time I'm looking at my BM wishlist is to remove books I got from PBS!

Does checking the wishlist make a difference? Or adding the RSS feed to Google Reader? I never bothered because I thought I'd get an email if it was available.

(I usually don't bother with related editions because I almost always would rather have the hardcover.)

51> The RSS feed on Google Reader is my best friend!!

51: At one point, everyone who wishlisted a book got an email when a book was posted. For a while now (more than a year?), it was deliberately changed so 1 random person is emailed from the wishlist, then 4 hours another random person is emailed.

Checking your wishlist yourself, whether through book/author searches, the wishlist page, or RSS is highly recommended if you want more books.

*nod* I can be picky about binding too; just don't worry about related editions then.

I stalk my wishlist because I have only gotten Maybe 2 emails about wishlisted items and they have both been in a language I can't read.So I never depend on being notified when something on my wishlist pops up!

Aside from using the RSS feed (which can be spotty) I also keep a link to my wishlist as a bookmark on the quick bookmarks bar in Firefox. That way it's just a single click after I open my browser. Very easy to check.

55> I do that too. Sometimes, I go to my RSS feed and it is empty, I go to my wishlist and search for "mooch" and "available", find books that just came up, mooch them, then go back to my RSS feed and guess what? There they are. Only, its too late cuz they are mine, already! All mine! Muahahahaha...err..
Sorry, got carried away for a minute.

After a couple of weeks of a quiet wishlist (Finding some new posted books not on my wishlist though) there has been quite a flurry of activity on my list tonight! If the angel ones come through, I think 6 books in one evening! Might be a record for me :P

I have had a very active wishlist today too. Which was balanced out quite nicely with a few mooches from me. Now I just need to work on the massive tbr pile that I have. It's fantastic to have such a large selection to choose from, but sometimes that creates a problem!

I understand! :P

I just snagged three Roald Dahl books that have been sitting on my wishlist for a very long time from a user in the UK. She can't ship until August, but I am still *quite* excited. :D

It's fantastic to have such a large selection to choose from, but sometimes that creates a problem!

I agree. I must admit, though, that at times I feel like I possess inexhaustible wealth when my mind boggles at the thought of which of my many books I should choose to read next. :-)
Such a lovely, lovely problem.

I've the opposite problem - I've lots of books but I've read them all. I speed-read, so most books barely last half a day - a day tops if it's non-fiction and big.

But yes - books are truly a wealth.

And still on a wishlist dry spell here - crossing fingers for something to come up soon.

>62 dakotamidnight: Just out of curiosity, can you really enjoy your books when you speed read them? Do you ever slow down to savor certain ones? I know I don't like certain books to end.

63.> I don't know about Dakotamidnight, but I can't speed read and still really savor my books. I do catch myself speed-reading when I get bored or disenchanted with some books - especially if I promised to review said boring book, but when I find a book more than mildly interesting, I like to slow down and make it last

61 > I definitely get overwhelmed at the hundreds of awesome books I have still to read! And the ones I want to re-read. It's definitely not the worst problem to have. It's awe-inspiring when you think about the sheer volume of books out there waiting to be read.

63: I still savor mine - but I don't speed read in the typical fashion where you tend to skip words, etc but still get context.

I'm self-taught, so maybe that is why?

I've noticed that as the quality of my reading improves (thanks, LT), the speed at which I do so goes down. I simply can't appreciate the use of language, etc as quickly as I once plowed through airport thrillers.

But some people can absorb ideas at amazing speeds. Dakota, are you able to recall specific phrasing and complex ideas from your reading? And can you think about what you are ingesting as you read? It would be a remarkable skill and well suited for law or medical school!

67: Yes to most specific phrases if it's something I mentally marked as important, yes to complex ideas. And I do think about what I'm reading as well. A good 75% of what I read is non-fiction, so it really requires thinking and understanding.

I've had a lot of people tell me I should have went to law school - I am very good at debate as well. But I went to school for history and religion, and intended to become a nun until I discovered my daughter was coming. Then my whole life changed.

I can't seem to catch any of the books on my wishlist either. I have 4 points waiting to be used, but nothing...

After a bit of a dry spell for books that were on my wishlist I now seem to be finding a book a day! Perhaps bookmoochers were just away on holidays :)

#70: or you say to yourself that you want to cut back!

I think the book elves are laughing at me!!

"Oh, you THINK you want to cut back??? HA HA HA!! We will tempt you with MORE BOOKS!!! Wishlist books! Newly released books!! Books that you know your friends & family will want!!! We will tempt you to spend your points!!! tee hee hee!! We have the POWER!!!"

The Irony!!

Maybe I should cut back more frequently??

I'm new to Book Mooch, only been on four weeks or so, but I already have a STACK of unread books I've mooched! Like, 6! (A small stack, admittedly, but I don't like clutter, which is why I'm on BookMooch in the first place.) I now have lots to read! My wishlist is short - 15 books, and none are available right now, but it's ok. I like hardcovers and dislike Mass Market Paperbacks so I'm willing to wait. I love the fact that every few days a book is mooched out of my inventory... clears space in the shelves for newly mooched books...

Welcome to BookMooch! If you actually manage to reduce the number of books you own through BookMooch, we may have to throw you a party.

Yes, the I'm determined to mooch fewer books plan does bring out the wishlisted books in droves.

@73 I don't know how, but I've probably increased my permanent library by at least 30% since joining Bookmooch last year... to say nothing of my tbr pile! Haha.

My intention when I joined Book Mooch was to reduce my fiction and increase my history non-fiction. It is working much better on PBS. No, it is not working very well there either. The titles on my wishlist come up there but my books have not been very popular. On Book Mooch I have sent out some books but very few come up from my wish list. I have only been on both sites for about two months so I am trying to be patient.

Patience is essential, TLCrawford, as is a truly enormous wishlist. Luckily, there are thousands of excellent books about history out there.

I am also having the opposite problem. My book collection has grown by an astronomical amount since starting bookmooch instead of getting smaller. Since I have decided to "cut back" and "mooch less" I have been inundated with wishlist hits. Maybe it has something to do with my gigantic wishlist. I just can seem to make myself cut it down. Oh well, I guess there are worse problems to have.

I joined primarily to get rid of the inherited books I'd hung on to for years but didn't want. I am a hoarder and the idea of trading them for books I'd like meant I'd still get to have a horde, so that was appealing.

When we redid our living room and bought tons of bookcases, I thought it was the perfect time to weed. At first I cleared so many shelves, I was so elated! Then... well... I'd amassed a little reservoir of points because I had only been browsing for the books I mooched and hadn't put any on my wishlist. So I decided to add to it. And then I added some more. Then I went trolling LT and Amazon specifically to find stuff to put on it. And then I added anything and everything that ever looked even halfway interesting on the back of a cereal box. Now my shelves are overflowing, my TBR pile is in the hundreds, moochable inventory have been removed mostly into plastic bins under the bed due to lack of room, and I am having to rethink what constitutes a keeper. I can't stop sending out books because I still want to get rid of the ones I don't want, but they just give me points which just makes me get more books and aagh, it's a vicious, neverending, wonderful cycle!

Do not let my almost even incoming/outgoing stats fool you. The law of conservation does not apply to Bookmooch. Your pile will get bigger. It is known.

I am so happy to know that I'm not the omly one to have a TBR that has grown..it used to be 5 books at the most...I'm now at the 60 mark (without the pending that have to arrive) and I have to add a pile that are sitting at my mum's and are en route to me. And I still go out and buy books !
Re WL I had a dry spell but it is not as dry as I thought...yes I've mooched today too.

I have to say the last nine posts are most enlightening and amusing. I hadn't realized it yet but, since one gets points for adding to inventory, trading, marking received , etc. then mathematically it makes sense one would end up with more books that when one started. Who thought this whole scheme up? He's a genius.

>80 mlnelson01:

"...mathematically it makes sense one would end up with more books that when one started..."

And for those of us who send internationally, the points accumulate exponentially. Two points from the moocher and one from the system as a bonus.

I started on Bookmooch to have a "respectful" way of thinning the crowding on my bookshelves. Now, I'm just going to have to get more bookshelves. But I've received books that I never thought I'd get a chance to read, as they are long out-of-print, and the public libraries near me have discarded them.

To me, that is one of the biggest benefits of Bookmooch -- acquiring out-of-print books, and books that were never published in my country.

Unfortunately "weeding" is becoming more challenging, as I get more and more books that are "keepers".

Not to mention the opportunity to take a chance on new authors or books one hears about on LT. I've read so many books I would never have paid full price for or run across at the library. And when they don't thrill me, I just send them on to someone else.

>81 geophile:
And for those of us who send internationally, the points accumulate exponentially.

And if you serve as an angel you acquire all those extra points without even reducing your inventory. I was trying to figure out recently how I could have so many more books than I started with, and I realized it was the international sending, including all the angel assists, that did it.

I think I must have requested at least 6 books yesterday (Including one that I think may be a complete set!)... dryspell over :P

73. > "Welcome to BookMooch! If you actually manage to reduce the number of books you own through BookMooch, we may have to throw you a party."

All too true. For every book I've given away I've mooched another to replace it... well, almost. Got a wishlist book today, along with another... and someone mooched one of mine. Actually, I'd need to mooch two more to be even, but I don't want to be even, I want to reduce the number of books I own.

Reminds me of a grocery store ad we have here in Atlanta. "If you don't save money at XYZ, you couldn't have bought anything." LOL

After about a month of not much popping up that was already on my wishlist, I have run across 3-5 books in the past two days! Yay!

Anyone else noticing this pattern? Maybe people are cleaning out books in prep for the new year?

>87 Bcteagirl:: I've found the same thing. In the last week i've mooched about 8 books - all from my wishlist, which has under 50 titles! This after a long dry spell throughout November. For me it seems like these things are cyclical: it's never a book here, a book there; it's no books at all for weeks, then loads all of a sudden, including some books i'd despaired of ever finding on BM. Yay.

*happydance*

This thread's been quiet for a while. Despite having thousands of books on my wish list almost nothing ever becomes available any more. Is it just me?

same here. but, occasionally something pops up that i'm really glad to have. otherwise I use my wishlist as a reminder of titles I want to find, and I bring it when I go to book sales. It's helpful if I'm filling in a series and want to make sure I look for the right ones.

I have not mooched any books in awhile - years, in fact. I put my bookmooch account on a long vacation because I haven't had the time to properly manage it.