--- title: "Out-of-Area Requests: What Happens Next | Help Center" url: https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/out-of-area-what-happens-next description: "The full timeline after you send an Out-of-Area request: your confirmation, when Pick-Up Partners see it, the check-ins at day 3 and after, your options, and why timing varies." lang: en --- # Out-of-Area Requests: What Happens Next 6 min read · Updated October 29, 2026 The full timeline after you send an Out-of-Area request: your confirmation, when Pick-Up Partners see it, the check-ins at day 3 and after, your options, and why timing varies. An Out-of-Area request is part of our Out-of-Area system. It means no Pick-Up Partner could book you a date right away, so we sent your request out to the Pick-Up Partners near you instead. Nothing is scheduled yet. This page walks through every step, every email you'll get and when, and what you can do along the way. Please read it all the way through so you know what to expect. ## In-Area and Out-of-Area Pick-Ups# There are two ways your books get picked up on the Network. Which one you get depends on whether a Pick-Up Partner can give you a date right now. **In-Area pick-up: you book a date on the spot.** - A Pick-Up Partner covers your ZIP code and has an open day in the next 120 days. - You choose the day yourself on your Partner's calendar, and it's booked right away. - You get a confirmation, then reminders before your day (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/reminders-and-pick-up-day), and your Partner comes that day. **Out-of-Area pick-up: you send a request, and a Partner takes it.** - No Partner can give you a date right now. Maybe no one covers your ZIP code yet, the local Partner is full, or their next open day is more than 120 days away. - Nothing is scheduled yet. Your request goes out to every Pick-Up Partner near you, up to 100 miles away. - When one of them takes it, we email you, and you pick a day from their calendar. From then on it's a regular pick-up. - Until then, we keep you posted: a confirmation right away, a note on day 3, and a check-in each week. See the timeline. It can be quick, or it can take a while. See Why it can be quick, or take a while. ### Why We Keep Your Request Open# The Network covers 10,155 cities in 46 states, but there are still gaps between Pick-Up Partners. An Out-of-Area request is how we close them. - **New Partners see it.** When a new Pick-Up Partner joins near you, they see the open requests around them, including yours, even if it was sent weeks ago. - **Partners' plans change.** A Partner who was full last week may have room this week, or may be driving past your street. - **It shows where Clients are waiting.** Open requests show us where Pick-Up Partners are needed, and that's where the Network grows next. That's why we ask each week if you'd like us to keep looking. Every week your request stays open, another Partner has a chance to say yes. ## Why Your Request Became an Out-of-Area Request# Most Clients book a date on the spot (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/book-a-pick-up) with a Pick-Up Partner who covers their ZIP code. Your request comes here instead when one of these is true: - **No Pick-Up Partner covers your ZIP code yet.** The Network is still growing, and some areas don't have a Partner of their own. - **The Partner for your area is full** on the days you need, or has reached the number of pick-ups they can take for now. - **Your local Partner's next open day is more than 120 days away.** We only book dates up to 120 days ahead, so you can check back closer to that date, or send a request now. - **Your pick-up is smaller than your local Partner's minimum.** Each Partner sets the smallest pick-up that's worth the drive for them. - **You have fewer than 25 books.** That's the Network minimum for a scheduled pick-up. See Small pick-ups. - **You asked us to find someone sooner (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/book-a-pick-up#find-someone-sooner)** than the first date your local Partner had open. In every case, the same thing happens next: your request goes out to the Pick-Up Partners near you, and the first one who can fit it in takes it. ## The Timeline at a Glance# Here's what a typical Out-of-Area request looks like, day by day. Your request can be taken at any point along the way, and when it is, you skip straight to When a Pick-Up Partner takes your request. - **Right away:** you see your OA reference number on screen, and we email you a confirmation. Save both. - **Within minutes:** your request goes out to the Pick-Up Partners near you. You don't need to do anything. - **Day 3:** if no one has taken it yet, we email to say we're still looking. - **About a week later, then every week:** we check that you still want your books picked up. Tap **Yes, Keep Looking**, or cancel. - **2 days before it ends:** we remind you that your request is about to close, so you can keep it open. - **Day 30:** if no one has taken it and you haven't kept it open, the request closes. You can send a new one whenever you like. If you told us a date you need your books gone by, your request follows that date instead. See If you gave us a deadline. ## Step 1: You Get a Confirmation# As soon as you send your request, you'll see a confirmation screen with your OA reference number. A moment later we email you the same details, with the subject **Pickup Request Submitted** and your reference number. The confirmation screen shows a pick-up date of **To Be Determined**, because there isn't one yet. A Pick-Up Partner has to take your request before a date can be set. ## Step 2: Your Request Goes Out to Pick-Up Partners# Within minutes, your request goes out to the Pick-Up Partners near you. Every active Partner whose travel area reaches you hears about it, as far as 100 miles away. Partners see your town, your ZIP code and the size of your pick-up. Your name and contact details go only to the Partner who takes it. The first Partner who can fit your pick-up in takes it. Some Partners hear about new requests right away, and others get a summary once a day, so it can take a little while for everyone to see it. If you sent your request through a Pick-Up Partner's own website or link, that Partner gets the first chance to take it. If they can't, it goes out to the rest of the Network the same way. ## Step 3: Day 3, We're Still Looking# If no Partner has taken your request after 3 days, we email you with the subject **We're Still Looking for a Partner**. It's a check-in, not bad news. Many requests are taken after this point, as Partners plan their routes and as new Partners join the Network. You don't need to do anything. If you no longer need a pick-up, the email has a **Cancel My Request** button. ## Step 4: Weekly Check-Ins and Your Options# About a week after the day 3 email, and then every week while your request is open, we email you with the subject **Still Want Your Books Picked Up?** These check-ins make sure Partners only see requests from people who still need them. Each check-in gives you two buttons: - **Yes, Keep Looking** keeps your request open for another 30 days from the day you tap it. Your request stays where it is, so Partners can still take it. - **Cancel My Request** closes it for good. You have other options too, any time your request is open: - **Fix your details.** If your address or your box, bag or book count is wrong, change your details. An accurate count helps a Partner decide to take it. - **Wait it out.** Requests are often taken in week two or three, once a Partner plans a route near you. - **Take your books somewhere yourself.** If you're short on time, a library, thrift store or donation bin near you may take them. You can cancel your request first so no one makes the trip. ## Step 5: If No One Takes Your Request# Two days before your request ends, we email you with the subject **Your Request Expires in 2 Days**. Tap **Renew for 30 More Days** to keep it open, or change your details or cancel from the same email. If you don't keep it open, the request closes on day 30 and we email you to let you know. Nothing else happens, and you're welcome to send a new request whenever you like. Sometimes a Partner who couldn't take it last month can take it now. ## When a Pick-Up Partner Takes Your Request# When a Partner takes your request, we email you with the subject **Schedule Your Free Book Pickup** and your reference number. The email names your Pick-Up Partner and shows the days they pick up near you. 1. Tap **Schedule Your Free Pickup Now** in the email. 2. Pick a day from your Partner's calendar. 3. You'll get a regular pick-up confirmation, and the reminders that come with it. From here on it works like any other pick-up, with reminders before your day (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/reminders-and-pick-up-day). Get your books ready the same way too: see Get ready for pick-up day (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/get-ready-for-pick-up-day). You can reschedule, change your details or cancel from your confirmation email. ### If the Dates Have Passed# If the days your Partner offered are already in the past when you open the link, tap the button on that page to ask for new dates. We'll let your Partner know. ### If Your Partner Can't Make It After All# Once in a while, a Partner who took a request can't do it after all. If that happens, we email you with the subject **Update on Your Book Donation Pickup Request**, and your request goes back out to the other Partners near you. You don't need to do anything. ## If You Gave Us a Deadline# If you told us a date you need your books gone by, your request stays open until that date instead of for 30 days. We email you 3 days before your deadline and again on the day itself. If you still need a pick-up, you can keep your request open 7 more days at a time. ## Why It Can Be Quick, or Take a While# Some requests are taken within hours. Others take a few weeks, and some aren't taken at all. It's not first come, first served. It depends on a few things: - **How big your pick-up is.** A large pick-up is worth a longer drive, so it's usually taken sooner. A few bags may wait until a Partner is already nearby. - **How close the nearest Partners are.** A Partner 10 miles away can fit you in more easily than one 80 miles away. - **Where Partners are already going.** Partners often take Out-of-Area requests that sit along a route they're already driving. A pick-up on that route gets taken fast. - **How busy Partners are.** In a busy week, Partners may have no room for extra pick-ups. Next week may be different. - **New Partners joining.** When a new Partner starts near you, they may take your request even if no one could before. We can't promise a Partner will take your request, or by when. What we can promise is that every Partner near you will see it, and that we'll keep you posted the whole way. ## Small Pick-Ups# If you have fewer than 25 books (the Network minimum, see How many books? (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/what-we-take#how-many)), your request becomes an Out-of-Area request so Partners near you can choose to take it. With fuel and drive time, a Partner usually takes a small pick-up when they're already coming by for a bigger one. That means small pick-ups often take longer, and some aren't taken. If you have a deadline, a library, thrift store or donation bin near you may be the quickest choice. If a neighbor or friend also has books to give, combining them into one bigger pick-up makes it much more likely a Partner will come. ## Help a Partner Say Yes# - **Give an accurate count** of boxes, bags and books. Partners decide based on it. - **Keep your address and phone number up to date**, so the Partner who takes it can reach you. - **Answer the weekly check-ins.** Tap **Yes, Keep Looking** if you still need a pick-up, so your request stays open. - **Pick a day quickly** once a Partner takes your request. - **Watch your inbox,** including spam, for emails from Give My Books Network. ## Check, Change or Cancel Your Request# You can do all of these yourself, any time your request is open. Every email we send about your request has buttons for them, or start from the find my request page (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/my-request): enter your OA reference number and email, or just your email and we'll send you links to every open request. - **Change your details,** like a wrong address or a box, bag or book count. Moving to a different ZIP code? Cancel and send a new request instead, so it reaches the right Partners. - **Keep it open** from any weekly check-in or reminder email. - **Cancel** if you no longer need a pick-up, so no Partner makes the trip. More on this in Change, reschedule or cancel (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/change-reschedule-cancel). Still stuck? Reply to any of our emails, or contact us (https://givemybooksnetwork.com/contact). ## Related Articles Reminders and Pick-Up Day Every email and text from booking to after your pick-up, what happens on the day, and what to do if your Partner didn't come. https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/reminders-and-pick-up-day Book a Pick-Up Each step of the booking form, choosing a Pick-Up Partner and a day, and what to do if the first open day is too far away. https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/book-a-pick-up Get Ready for Pick-Up Day The pick-up guidelines: box or bag everything, set it out by 8 AM, protect it from the weather, and reschedule if you're not ready. https://givemybooksnetwork.com/help/get-ready-for-pick-up-day ## Still Need Help? Our team is happy to walk you through it. 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