AbeBooks gives you the opportunity to add a free "Want" when you are unable find an item you are searching for. Our Wants system is an easy and effective automated matching process for finding books. You can also add a Want to the AbeBooks system if you do a search, but find that the results do not meet your requirements. There is no limited period for the storage of a Want and you can store up to 500 Wants in your AbeBooks.co.uk account.
To add a want from the Search:
1. Complete a search for the book you are looking for:
2. Click [Create a Want] in the column on the right hand side of the page:
3. Type the details of your Want in the appropriate fields and click [Add Want]
To add a want from your account:
1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.co.uk account
2. Click [List and Maintain My Wants]
3. Then click [Add new Wants to your want inventory]
4. Enter your search criteria and click [Add Want]
Overview of the Wants system
You will receive an email as soon as a matching copy is listed for sale on AbeBooks. The email will contain a link to the listing. Thousands of fresh books are uploaded to our site each day so Wants can be very useful.
If you would prefer to view recent matches online as opposed to via email notification, you can do so in your Abebooks.co.uk account:
1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.co.uk account
2. Click [My Recently Matched Wants]
* If you would like to only view your Want matches through your account as opposed to receiving the email notifications, simply contact our Customer Service.
To update a Want from your account:
1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.co.uk account
2. Click [List and Maintain My Wants]
3. Then locate the Want and click [Update this Want]
4. Make the desires changes
5. Click the [Update Want] button
To delete a Want from your account:
1. [Sign On] to your AbeBooks.co.uk account
2. Click [List and Maintain My Wants]
3. Then locate the Want and click [Delete this Want]
In the event that a Want match item has already been sold by the time you click on the link contained in the email notification, a "Want match not found" will be displayed. If you decide to purchase a Want match item please follow the instruction above to delete the Want.
To set email preferences:
When adding a new Want or editing an existing one, you will see an option in the lower right-hand corner with the text “Receive email notifications when items matching this Want become available.”
By removing the checkmark and clicking [Update Want], you will no longer be emailed matches for this Want. Instead, you can review your Want Matches by clicking My Recently Matched Wants in the Member Menu.
A Guide to Creating Wants
The Wants system is very specific. It matches exactly to your criteria so it is important to carefully enter what you need. Use distinct terms and do not add too much detail. Your Want is not viewed by a human so so please do not enter instructions such as reading copies only or any title. Do not enter N/A.
If you enter Thomas into the author field then it will match to any book that has Thomas somewhere in the author's name. If you enter Thomas Hardy then it will match to instances where the words Thomas and Hardy are used, including Hardy, Thomas.
Double-check your spelling - a single incorrect letter could mean your request is never matched.
If you are unsure about the title or the author's name, do not guess. Use the AbeBooks' BookSleuth service to find the exact details.
Capitalisation does not affect matching.
There is no need to use punctuation (commas, colons, question marks etc) with the exception of apostrophes and quotation marks where specificity is required. If you use quotation marks around your search term such as "Thomas Hardy" the system will match to exactly Thomas Hardy and not Hardy, Thomas or even T. Hardy.
If you know the book's ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and you just require a reading copy (and not signed copies or first editions) then enter only the ISBN. Books published since 1970 have ISBNs and it is a 10 or 13 digit number.
Avoid entering too much information - use clear, distinct terms especially if you use the keyword field to find books of a particular genre or about a certain subject. If a book has an exceptionally long title, select some key terms from the title.
Avoid using initials - for william T. Vollmann use Vollmann - and try to avoid using a book's sub-title. For instance to find The Gourmet Gardener: Growing Choice Fruits and Vegetables With Spectacular Results by E. Annie Proulx, enter Gourmet Gardener into the title field and Proulx into the author field. That will be sufficient for an accurate match.
If you do not wish to receive matches for print on demand (P.O.D) books, use
the Boolean search. Turn on Boolean, use the keyword field and use NOT to exclude PODs. For instance, enter Gourmet Gardener Proulx NOT print on demand NOT printed on demand.
For examples see below:
Avoid using just a single field unless you have a very distinct term. It could generate too many matches. For instance, inserting a common word like biology into the title field will generate multiple matches on a daily basis.
Be careful with publisher names. For Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd, just use Thomas Nelson or even just Nelson. For University of Washington Press, just use Washington. Do use NOT terms like Press or Publishing if possible.
Avoid title like Rev or Sir in the author field. Also avoid jr or Jnr.
Watch our video tutorial:
Related questions:
How can I get more information about a book?
How can I pay and what payment methods do you accept?
