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Posts Tagged ‘Improvements’

Dear Librarian: Email Notification Settings, Wish List Expander,

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Dear Librarian-  I love the sliding displays of available books on the Browse page, but I have such a hard time browsing from there!  Every time I click a book in the display to read more about it, and then go back, I go to a different place in the sliding display and I have to find where I was. I  get totally confused.  I wish I could just go back to the book I clicked on in the display! –Lost in Lexington

Dear Lexy,

We hear and obey!  It’s actually pretty tricky to make the sliding display remember where you were when you go back to it, but we have done this now. So from now on, when you are browsing from the sliding display and you click “Back” in your browser you will go back to the same place in the sliding display,  We hope this helps!

Dear Librarian– Why am I getting so many emails telling me that books similar to the ones I am wishing for are available?  I get a lot of these. How can I stop getting them? –Bombarded in Boca

Dear Bom,

We’ve improved the method that the system uses to recognize alternate versions of your Wished-for books.  That’s probably why you are getting more of these alerts: they go out to anyone wishing for a version of this book, whenever an alternate version of the title (different ISBN) is posted. They’re super ways to get the books you want when a version you didn’t know about comes into the system.  But we know that some members want ONLY the versions of the books that are actually on their Wish List – so you can opt out of these alerts altogether, or for a specific title.

If you do not wish to receive alerts about this title AT ALL, you should remove this title from your Wish List.

If you are wishing for a specific version (ISBN) of a title, and do not wish to receive notifications about any other versions, you can opt out of these email alerts in your Account Settings. Just click the link in the email to do this, or see the Help doc “What’s in Settings in My Account?” for instructions on how to adjust your email settings.  You can read more about “similar item” emails in several other Help docs in the Help Center.  You can access the Help Center from the grey menu bar at the top of any page on the site.

Dear Librarian – I’m getting those emails too –  I love getting them about Wish List books usually!  I do have one book on my Wish List that I want only in audio for my mom.  Can I stop getting alerts about just that one book?  I don’t want to turn off the alerts for my whole wish list! –Wondering in Westport

Dear Westie,

You sure can do this!  This is another recent innovation on the site.  If you want to block only similar-item alerts about one specific title only, you should click the link in the alert email to opt out of alerts for that title only. There is no way to do this from the account settings – that option is available only from the email.  So you can wish just for the audio of this book and never get an alert about any other version.

Dear Librarian– I check the What’s New link at the top of the page regularly, and the other day I saw that there had been changes to the WIsh list.  I tried the Wish Expander by clicking the Expand WIsh button on the listing for a book I had had on my Wish List FOREVER.  To my surprise, there was an available copy in a different version!  I snapped it up.  Needless to say I enabled the WIsh Expander using the Options button at the top of my Wish List ASAP and now I am going back to check the rest of the wishes on my list.  This is awesome!  –Cheering in Chattanooga

Dear Chatty,

We’re so glad you like this new feature of the Wish List!  We’ve had a number of reports of this happening, all in the first few days after the feature was made available.  We hope it makes everyone’s wishes come true faster than ever before!

COMING SOON:

  • Snazzy new items in the Kiosk….just you wait and see!

NEW & IMPROVED: Robert has been busy! Newsletter – April 2006

Sunday, April 2nd, 2006

My goodness, where to begin with all that has changed at PBS? There’s the Boxer Rating System, the Message Center and Buddy List re-organization, the new Account page, the Wish List, the Bookshelf sort-by-genre, the Back to Top Link at the bottom of each Forum topic page…the list goes on and on.

The Boxer Rating System–A recently added new feature is the ability to record feedback about the members with whom you exchange a Box-O-Books™. When you have received your box and are ready to report your rating, simply go to Box-O-Books and find the swap you wish to rate. First select how you would rate the overall performance of the member: Positive, Neutral, or Negative. Then leave a few comments to explain your rating. It is appropriate to comment here on how long the member took to mail the box, whether s/he used delivery confirmation, and how well the books were packaged. If you disagree with the comments the other member has made about you, you also have the ability to insert a few words of explanation or defense. Remember that you will not be allowed to edit your comments at a later date, so say what you mean, but mean what you say!

The New Account page: The active transactions have moved down on your Account page, but they are still there! Robert has placed links in the white area in the top middle of the page to take you quickly to the different categories of Active Transactions in your account. This will be very helpful to those members who have a lot of books coming and going and who need to “jump” right to a category to mark a specific book mailed or received. Notice also that your bookshelf has moved off the Account page. To see the books you have listed for swapping, click My Bookshelf on the right-hand menu. You can see all your completed transactions on the Completed Transactions page, also available from the right-hand menu. Your Lost Books and your Canceled Transactions are linked from the top of the Completed Transactions page as well.

The Wish List: The Wish List is now limited to 200 items. Please see the Wish List Update at http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/wish_list_change.php for an explanation of this change in policy. There is also a new feature which will help you keep your Wish List tidy as you go along: when you are offered a Wish List item, if there are other versions of this book also on your Wish List, you have the option to keep the other versions on your Wish List or have them automatically deleted from your Wish List by the system when you accept the offer. If you would prefer NOT to have the other versions deleted when you accept, simply uncheck the box next to the list of alternate versions on the offer. It’s that easy! Remember, if you opt out of the auto-deletion, once you receive the Wish List item, you will need to remove these alternate versions manually from your Wish List.

Box-O-Books Gift Certificates: these make a great gift to a Buddy! To buy a membership in Box-O-Books for another member, simply log into your account and click Buy More Credits on the right side of your Account page. Scroll down to see the various Gift Certificates options. Box-O-Books Gift Certificates are at the bottom of the page. You can use PayPal or Verisign to do this, or send us a money order or check payable to PaperBackSwap, at: PaperBackSwap, 3651 Peachtree Pkwy Suite E390, Suwanee GA, 30024.

The New Buddy List: you can tag your buddies now and sort them by tags–for instance, Boxers, or Cozy Mystery Lovers. You can apply more than one tag to a Buddy, and view your Buddy categories–all Boxers, or all members in a Games Forum swap–with one click. The Buddy List is available as always from the right-hand menu of your Account page.