If you are the SENDER:

• To decline a request you have not accepted yet: click on the pending request that pops up on My Account when you log into PBS.

• To cancel a request that you have accepted but now cannot send, click on the active request on the Books to be Mailed tab in My Account- that button is  just to the right of each cover image for each book on the request.

• If you need to cancel a book after you have marked it mailed

  • Please contact us and specify the book title, so that we can cancel the transaction for you.

• If this is a BULK (multiple-book) request you are sending, and you want to cancel one or more (but not all) of the books in the request:

• There is a  button next to each book in the bulk request.  You can click that up until you have marked the bulk shipment mailed.

• If the book is involved in a Wish List Hold, you will not be able to cancel the offer until a Wishing member requests the book.  When you get the request, click "I cannot mail" and this will cancel the request and remove the book from the system.

• To cancel a request at the REQUESTOR'S request (= you would be able to send the book but the requestor asks you not to)

  • If the book is still being offered as a Wish List offer, the other member can cancel
  • If you have not accepted the request, the requestor can cancel
  • If you have not printed the requestor's address, the requestor can cancel
  • If you have printed the requestor's address, you should contact US (using the feedback link on the Contact Us page) to cancel for you
    • You should not cancel in this case - if you do, this will just pass the request to a new sender
    • If you ask us to cancel, we can do this so that your book goes back to #1 in FIFO so it is next in line for requests
    • If you have printed with postage, we can refund postage for you *if you contact us quickly enough*
  • If you have marked the book mailed, you should contact US to cancel for you

If you are the REQUESTOR:

• Go to your My Account page and click "Cancel Order" on the active request.

  If the "Cancel Order" button is not there, read below for instructions  -- use the PM button to contact the sender and ask her to CONTACT US to cancel (tell her NOT to click the cancel button herself).

  The requestor can cancel a request up until the time the address is printed by the sender.

  • An active request you have submitted will be on the Books I've Requested tab on your My Account page until it has been marked mailed by the sender.
     
• If the sender has not mailed yet, she or he should ASK US to cancel. If a sender clicks "Cancel" on the transaction, that will pass your request to a new sender automatically (if there is another copy of the book available in the system).
  • So if you don't want the book at all and the sender has already printed the address (so you can't cancel from your end) but has not mailed and agrees to cancel, you should ask the sender to contact us (using the "send us feedback" button on the Contact Us page) to cancel, and we'll do it in a way that will keep the sender's book active and also will NOT pass along your request.

Who Can Cancel a Request and When:

• The REQUESTOR can cancel a request up until the time the wrapper is printed by the sender.
  • In fact, there is approximately 1 hour's delay between the time a book is first ordered and the time that the request is submitted to the sender. (the 1 hour delay does not apply to auto-requested Wish List books)
  • This allows for "buyer's remorse," so that the requestor can easily cancel if she changes her mind, without the sender ever knowing about the request.
  • If the requestor sends a Personal Message to the sender by clicking on the request, however, that 1-hr delay will be eliminated, and the book request will be submitted immediately at the time the PM is sent.


• The SENDER may cancel a request for a book up until the time is it marked mailed.
  • The reason for this is because sometimes "my dog ate my book just before I was going to drop it in the mail..." etc..
  • If the sender cancels and there is another copy of the book available in the system, the request will be passed along to another sender.
    • This will happen automatically, without email notification to the requestor.
  • If a sender cancels and there is not another copy of the book available in the system, the requestor will get her credit back and the book will go onto her Wish List.
    • In this case, the requestor will be notified by PBS auto-email.
• If you request a book you already have, and receive it, just mark it received and repost the extra copy that was sent to you in good faith.

If you request a book and change your mind, but cannot cancel because the sender has already printed the address:

• The sender is not obligated to cancel if you request this
  • if the book has already been mailed in good faith, of course the sender should not cancel.  You will have to mark the book received when you receive it and repost it to your own bookshelf if you don't want it.
  • If the sender cancels, he or she will have to repost the book, and it will go back to the "back of the line" for book requests. 
• If the sender DOES agree to cancel, and there is another copy of the book in the system, your request will be passed to a new sender when the first sender cancels! 
  • If the sender agrees to cancel this request, then:
    • the SENDER can send in a message to us using the feedback link on the contact us page to ask us to cancel, so that your request is not passed along.
    • If the sender cancels WITHOUT contacting us to ask us to do it: you should be sure to cancel the new request for the book that will appear on your account page after the sender cancels.
      • You will be responsible for the new request if your request is passed along--so be sure to do this before the NEW sender prints your address
  • The PBS system will automatically keep trying to get the book for you until YOU tell the system that you don't want it by clicking "Cancel Order".

 Related links:

I posted a Wish Listed book I can't send!
I canceled a book request by mistake!