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Dear R&R: Newsletter – May 2007

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

Dear R&R— Raising the price of credits?!?! You’re killing me. What do credit prices have to do with postal rates? Credits don’t really exist!—Irritated in Idaho

Dear Ida,

I know it seems odd, but actually credits are not completely virtual commodities. When the taxman and the lawyers come around each year, they look at the number of credits and the number of books swapped at PBS and there is always a discrepancy—because we give each new member 3 credits. Any credit that does not represent an actual book is assessed at a price based on postal rates. The taxmen assess us for all of these “invented” credits, and it costs real money! So while credits may seem virtual, they are very real to Uncle Sam, and therefore to us too. We hate to raise the price of credits, but we are forced to. We feel your pain, believe me. April 15th is a tough day every year. We continue to give the 3 start-up credits, though, because we understand how hard it is for a new member to believe how well PBS works. Once you get a free book you are a believer. Some of our members have given back those free credits (and more!) after they have belonged for a while. We don’t ask that anyone do that, but we are deeply touched and humbled by such generosity. We created this website as a fun idea for booklovers, and it has attracted the nicest people! We get letters telling us that the service is priceless to them. So many people depend on PBS now for their books—we hear from folks who live rurally and don’t have access to bookstores, teachers struggling to provide books to their students, homeschooling parents whose kids go through books like wildfire, retired booklovers on fixed incomes. We would rather do anything than charge money for credits—but if we didn’t, PBS would not be able to survive. I hope that those who buy credits (or Box-O-Books or Book Journal or anything in the PBS Store) realize that they are keeping the club going for everyone when they do. And those of you who don’t visit the Kiosk are still giving to the club, every time you wrap up your nice book and send it off to its new home. You are all part of Team PBS, as much as those of us who program and administer the site. We never expected that PBS would take over our lives in this way, but our members inspire us every day to try to make the site better!
Dear R&R—What the heck is going on? I posted a book to my bookshelf and it went on there twice. I only have one copy! It’s on a wish list and I can’t make the extra request go away. –-Stymied in Saratoga

Dear Sara,

This double-posting sometimes happens when the server “hiccups”, and sometimes if a member clicks “refresh” on her browser while the posting is in process—this can send the posting through multiple times. The best thing to do is to wait for the extra copy to be requested, and click “I cannot send” on the request. You can explain to the requestor what happened (there is a text box to send a message when you cancel). It may have happened to her too in the past–if so, she will understand. When you click “I cannot send” the extra copy will be removed from your bookshelf. It’s annoying, I know, but it seems to be part of having so much activity on the site—we keep our servers terribly busy, and sometimes they miss a step. They do so much so well (check out the Pulse of PBS to get an idea of how much) the vast majority of the time!

Dear R&R—I got an email telling me I have a request, but when I went to my account, there isn’t any request there! What happened? –Empty-handed in Erie

Dear Em,

Well, a few things could have happened.

  1. The requestor could have canceled the request before you responded (check your email—you should have a cancellation notification there).
  2. If the book was on a Wish List, and the first Wisher had it on auto-request, you would have gotten the email about the request; then, if the Wisher canceled and the book was passed along, all you will see when you get to your account page is a pending Wish List offer. We don’t send you an email when this kind of cancellation happens. Not because we’re trying to drive you crazy! We just want to limit the number of PBS emails in our members’ inboxes.
  3. You also won’t get a cancellation email if you canceled a request yourself by mistake. This sometimes happens, especially if it is a bulk (multiple-book) request. Members click “I can mail” too quickly, without checking the boxes on the request to indicate which books of those requested can be mailed. If you don’t click the box beside each book on a bulk request, the system thinks you cannot mail that book. A window does come up asking if the number of books you are agreeing to send is correct, and you can go back and click the boxes if you missed some. However, some members click right past this “safety” measure and cancel all books in the request! Because of this, we have re-thought this design, and the new site will have all books in a bulk request “checked” by default–you will have to un-check the boxes next to books you can’t send. This will be part of the new site design that we hope to roll out very soon. Until then, check your bulk request boxes (and double-check your checkmarks!), to make sure you are agreeing to send the correct number of books.

If a request is canceled by mistake by a sender, the books have to be reposted in order to be swapped. I am glad you brought this up, Em; it reminded us to change this in the new site design.

Dear Members, Newsletter – May 2007

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

May… a time for things to blossom… which includes PBS. We hope to have the new site ready soon. It will be (if we do say so ourselves) a marvel. So many of the features you have asked us for have been implemented, and we are working on many others. The new site will be easier to use, feature-packed, and just darned pretty to look at! You should expect the new site to go live this month, barring unforeseen circumstances (or our untimely demise for exhaustion).

With the site growing so fast and changing so much, we anticipate a need for more PBS Volunteers, especially Tour Guides. Our PBS Tour Guides are our club “ambassadors”—the first people that most new members encounter on the site. The new site will be easier to use than the current design, but still there’s nothing like a helpful, friendly Tour Guide to give an idea of what PBS is all about. Tour Guides get little icons on their Forum sigs and PBS Profiles, and they also get access to a private Forum. To be a Tour Guide, you must have a PBS Nickname and have belonged to PBS for at least 4 months. There is also a little “quiz” involved to demonstrate basic working knowledge of the site—not too hard, we promise! If you are interested in joining this great group, contact Diane G. (icesk8tr), our Tour Guide Coordinator, or send us a message in the feedback area.

Don’t forget to read about the upcoming Postal Rate increase in News, below…

We wish a very happy Mother’s Day to all our Moms out there. And also to all of those that just feel like moms (overwhelmed and multitasking)! Hey, that makes us moms, too. 🙂

Dear Members: Newsletter – April 2007

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

We have had a wonderful month at PBS. So much has happened! The new interface is coming along, and we have many new features in the works. We passed the million-book (both posted and sent) mark, and we have welcomed many new members from all over the country. Those who heard about us from the following magazines, newspapers, radio and TV, welcome!

We want to thank all of you who responded to the PBS Survey and submitted your very helpful comments and suggestions. We got more than 2000 survey responses in a very short time, and we read all of them! The new site design is being guided by what our members want. We are asking for comments on the new interface (several sample pages are available), to help us as we continue to make changes. Please see the item in News for the link. We have gotten a lot of great feedback (and have done further tweaking) already! Thanks to our members, “PBS 2.0” will be the best it can be!

Spring Forward… Newsletter – April 2007

Friday, April 6th, 2007

the new PBS interface will be a real forward step for the club! PBS started small, and as we grew and added features, the interface became somewhat cluttered. It is a huge task to reprogram the entire site, but Robert has plunged in. We are soliciting comments! Go to http://www.paperbackswap.com/design_layout/ to see a list of sample pages of the new interface available for viewing and comment; you can submit your comments in the text box at the bottom of each sample page. Please remember that these are illustrations only, and that not all of the buttons and links will work. The pages shown give an idea of the new design. Thanks to those who have commented already! For those who haven’t, we hope to hear from you too!

Spring Cleaning… time to clear the cobwebs out of your Wish List! Please go over the items there and remove any you no longer want. This speeds up the swapping process, and ensures that Wish Listed books get to those members who still want them as quickly as possible. You can access your Wish List by clicking “Book Lists” on the right side of your account page, and choosing “Wish/Reminder List” from the menu that drops down. You can read about how the Wish List works from the “Need Help?” tab at the top right of your account page, by clicking the tab and choosing “Questions about the Wish List?” from the list that drops down there. Specific Help items concerning the Wish List are in the list that drops down from the Need Help? tab on the upper right of your Wish List page itself—you can read the information without even leaving the page!

PBS Store News… Newsletter – April 2007

Wednesday, April 4th, 2007

Because of popular demand, we are adding new “stock” colors and patterns for BookMates:

  • BookMate I is now available in three additional patterns: ShadowSuede – Forest, Green Python, and ShadowSuede – Purple (*exclusive to BookMate I—not available in BookMate II).
  • BookMate II is now available in three additional patterns and three additional solid colors: ShadowSuede – Forest, Green Python, and Crystal Glacier (*exclusive to BookMate II–not available in BookMate I). New solid colors: Spruce, Wine, and Charcoal (all available also in BookMate I).

We need to announce the discontinuation of the Cosmos pattern in both BookMates—the manufacturer will not be making any more. We have a few Cosmos BookMate I’s still available—get ‘em while you can!

Shown below, left to right: ShadowSuede—Forest, Green Python, ShadowSuede—Purple, Crystal Glacier.

The PBS Store can be accessed in the Kiosk, by clicking “PBS Kiosk” in the left menu of any page on the site.

TIPS & TRICKS: Newsletter – April 2007

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

Check your Pulse… The Pulse of PBS, accessible from the lower left menu of any page on the site, gives some fun (and awesome) numbers to ponder, including “Books Posted in last 60 minutes” and “Books Mailed Today”. You won’t believe how many books are changing hands at PBS every day until you see this new feature.

The Survey says… we received many requests in Survey responses for features that are already available at PBS! We wanted to let our members know that:

  • Audiobooks and hardcover books are permitted for swapping at PBS. The Help item “What can be swapped here?” (available in the Help Center under “About PBS” and “Posting Books” and from the Need Help? Tab on the right side of the book posting page) has more details. There are also items specifically about hardcovers and audiobooks: you can search the Help Center for “hardcover” or “audio” to see all the relevant items.
  • Westerns is a “highlighted” genre on the Genre Search portion of the Search page. To search the PBS library for Westerns, click Search in the left menu, then scroll down to the blue box “Browse by Genre”. There is a short list of Popular Genres, and “Westerns” is in that list. So yippee-ki-yay! Get your Westerns, and get reading!
  • You can easily see where you are “in line” for your Wish List book, from your Wish List itself: put your cursor over the grey ! to the left of any item on the list, and your place in line will pop up.
  • Members can easily give credits to one another, using the Buddy List. Please see the Help item “How do I give credits to other members?” which is in the Quick Help box on the right side of the Help Center page. You can get to the Help Center by clicking the gold button in the left menu of any page on the site. Note: this feature becomes available for each member only after he or she has received 3 books from PBS.

DEAR R&R: Newsletter – April 2007

Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Dear R&R— I got a book which was all marked up inside. The Book Conditions item in the Help Center says “no writing inside a book”. I contacted the sender, who said that she got the book this way from another member. Can YOU give my credit back? –Annoyed in Ashtabula

Dear Ann,

We are so sorry to hear you received a book in poor condition! Unfortunately, we cannot give your credit back. The sender who sent you the book has your credit, and she needs to do this. If she got this book from another member, it was her responsibility to deal with the problem then—not pass it on to you! As the Help item “I received a book in poor condition!” says, “”If a member receives a book in poor condition, he or she must NOT compound the error by reposting it. The “buck” (or should we say “book”) has to stop SOMEWHERE!” Each person is responsible for the books he or she sends out. Members should not make someone else’s violation into their own violation by passing along an unacceptable book.

Take this up with the sender who sent you the book. She should give your credit back, and contact the sender who sent HER the book to ask for the credit back. I do hope that both of you marked the book “received with a problem,” and chose “Damaged by Sender” from the options. This is the only way that PBS can keep track of poor swapping behavior. You can find more information in the Help item “I received a book in poor condition!” which is in the Help Center (search there for “damaged”) and also in the Need Help? Tab at the upper right of your account page—choose “Questions about receiving a book?” from the list that drops down there.

Dear R&R—I can’t ever find any answers in the Help Center. Who organized that thing? It’s confusing! –Muddled in Montana

Dear Monty—LOL. We tried to organize the Help Center logically by category, with “troubleshooting” items in a subheading for each. For example, clicking “Posting Books” shows you items about posting books, and clicking “Having trouble posting a book?” in the list that drops down after you click the “Posting Books” heading shows you troubleshooting items about posting books. We put in a Help Center search at the top (we have refined this lately, so it works better)—simple terms work best there, such as “lost” or “book condition”. We put in a Quick Help box on the right of the Help Center page for one-click answers to the most-commonly asked or most urgent questions. But we have to admit that it is a lot of information to wade through! And it may be inconvenient at times to have to click away from a page you are having trouble with, to go to the Help Center and find your answer, and then have to find your way back.

So we have added a Need Help? tab at the top right of nearly every page on the site. Each Need Help? tab contains items that are relevant to that page—so if you are on the Wish List page, the Need Help? tab has a list of Help items about the Wish List feature, for example. Almost ALL Help items are available from the Need Help? tab on your account page—these are organized into (1) basic questions (like “How do I post a book?”), (2) category questions (like “Questions about posting a book?”—troubleshooting items are included), and (3) urgent items (like “I can’t mark my book mailed!”). There is also an item which contains links to information managing your PBS account, called “Managing Your PBS Account”; and “The Wish List” has its own item too.

We hope that you will find this useful, Monty. Next time you have a question about something, click Need Help? on the upper right of the page you are on, and choose from the list that drops down. Most information will be viewable in a popup window, without even leaving that page.

Dear R&R—I am so frustrated! I posted a Wish Listed book that has 47 people Wishing for that ISBN in the Club Wish List. The first THREE have declined the book! The request is pending with the fourth Wisher now. I posted this book a week ago! When will I be able to send out this book? –Outraged in Ohio

Dear Hi,

This is classic Wish List abuse, which we have done so much to discourage. I sympathize with your frustration—all you want to do is share the book with someone who wants it! Some members don’t understand the different purposes of the Wish and Reminder Lists. The Wish List is for items that members KNOW they want, and that will be requested when they are offered; the Reminder List is for items that members are only considering requesting in the future. We tell people this over and over, and the information is very clear in the Help Center.

  • If you don’t want an item anymore, remove it from your Wish List (very easy to do, on the Wish List page). If you are not sure you want an item, use the “convert” feature on your Wish List to move it to your Reminder List. If you are going to be away from your account, put your bookshelf on hold and set the Wish List items you have credits for to auto-request.
  • If you don’t have credits but you want to stay in line for a book, put your bookshelf on hold (this puts your Wish List on hold too). You can post books to your “Held” bookshelf after you have applied the hold, and those newly posted books will appear available (see “How to put your account on hold” in the Help Center under “Account Options”, or from the Need Help? Tab on your account page, under “Managing your PBS Account”). You can send out the newly posted books, get credits, and then take your Wish List off hold again. It’s a little extra work, but it’s good swapping behavior to use the Wish List feature appropriately.

The worst Wish List abusers (those that decline or ignore multiple Wish List offers in a row) risk having their entire Wish Lists cleared, so it is important for them to heed this rule! There’s nothing you can do about this book, Hi, except wait for someone who actually wants it to accept your offer. You can take a little comfort from the fact that by doing this, you are helping to clear the Wish Lists of Wish List abusers—all by yourself!