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Help Center - My request disappeared!

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If this is an OUTGOING book (a book requested from you) and you don't see it in your account, this means one of six possible things :

the requestor canceled the request

you would have been sent an email if that happened.
OR

you canceled the request  (perhaps in error)

you would NOT have been sent an email if that happened.
OR

the system canceled the request

you would have been sent an email if that happened.

OR

the book was declared "lost in the mail" by the system

you would have been sent an email if that happened.
OR

the book was marked received already

you would have been sent an email if that happened.
OR

you are not looking at the correct tab on the My Account page

see below

To find the book request:

  • First, look in your active transactions, in My Account:

  • Click My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site. 

  •  Look at the Requested From Me tab, the Books to Mail tab, and the Books I've Mailed tab there.  *Scroll down if necessary to see these tabs*. These tabs are under the Message from the Librarian in the blue box on your My Account page.

    Why don't you see all the swaps at once on your My Account page?  Separating them into their different statuses keeps things clear.

    Note that the different tabs "hide" behind the tab that is in front. The front tab is the one holding the most urgent action for you to tend to.  So wish list offers (that expire after 48 hours) are in front of book requests that you need to accept (you have 5 days to accept those), and so on. Books I've Mailed is the tab behind all of the others - because you do not have to do anything to those (your part of the sending process is complete, once you have mailed and marked mailed).

    • Click each tab to see the transactions there.  *Scroll down if necessary to see all of the transactions on a tab*. 

      To get directly to the Books I've Mailed tab click the link below:

      http://www.paperbackswap.com/members/index.php#t=books_i_mailed

If you do not find the book request on the Books I've Mailed, Requested From Me, or Books to Mail tab, then the request is no longer active.  You can find no-longer-active transactions in your Transaction Archive, linked from the top of your My Account main page.  Read on for the possible explanations of what happened.

  • If the requestor canceled:
    • You will have been sent an email notifying you of the cancellation.
    • You will not have an email if this was a Wish List book that was requested and then canceled.
      • Instead you will see a new Pending Wish List offer on your account page.
    • There will be a canceled transaction for the book in your Transaction Archive; if you mouse over the icon with the X to the left of the transaction, a box saying "Canceled by requestor" will pop up.
  • If you canceled by mistake:
    • There will be a canceled transaction for the book in your Transaction Archive; if you mouse over the icon with the X to the left of the transaction, a box saying "Canceled by sender" will pop up.
    • You are not sent an email for a cancellation you performed yourself.
  • If the system canceled:
    • This is because the book request was not responded to within 5 days or because the book was not marked mailed before the deadline
    • You will have been sent an email notifying you of the cancellation.
    • There will be a canceled transaction for the book in your Transaction Archive; if you mouse over the icon with the X to the left of the transaction, a box saying "No response from sender" will pop up.
  • If your book was declared Lost in the Mail:
    • This would have happened on the 26th day after you marked the book mailed, if the requestor never marked the book received.
    • You will have been sent an email from PBS notifying you that your book was declared Lost in the Mail.
    • There will be a Lost in Mail transaction for the book in your Transaction Archive; if you mouse over the icon with the ? to the left of the transaction, a box saying "Lost in Mail" will pop up.
    • You can read the Help items about Lost transactions for more information.
  • If your book was marked received by the requestor:
    • You will have been sent an email from PBS notifying you that a book you sent was marked received, and that you had received credit for sending it (if you used PBS-DC, you would usually have gotten your credit earlier, in the form of QuickCredit).
    • There will be a Successfully Completed transaction for the book in your Transaction Archive; if you mouse over the icon with the green checkmark to the left of the transaction, a box saying "Completed Successfully" will pop up.
  • If you declined the request by clicking My Book Does Not Meet These Conditions
    • You will not have been sent an email telling you that you did this
    • You will not find this transaction in your transaction archive
    • The book will either have been offered to the next person on the Wish List (if there is a Wish List for this book) OR will be on your bookshelf, awaiting the next request.

Related links:

I canceled/declined a book request and now I want to send the book!
The request I made for a book disappeared from my account page!
My request was canceled but I already mailed the book!
Swapping Deadlines
A book I sent has been called 'lost in the mail'!
Why are there canceled/lost books in my Transaction Archive that I know were sent/received?
I sent my lost book with tracking and the email says I didn't!
If a book you sent hasn't been marked received yet...