Oy... It seems that ever since I've been active in the forums, I'm getting more book requests with RCs. I never really gave them much thought, but since there seems to be differing opinions on the topic, I thought I'd check here and see what you all think.

Today I posted a MMP that I received through PBS, but didn't actually read. It was on my TBR shelf, and I lucked into a copy of the hardcover. I don't think that this book has been read more than 2-3 times, but since it is a MMP, it's starting to show some wear. (That said, if it's treated roughly, it probably doesn't have many more reads before it won't be postable under PBS rules.) However, right now, it fits the PBS definition, so I posted it.

Anyway, the following RC was attached to the request for this book, (sorry for the formatting, but I decided to post it as-is):

Please do NOT  send me any books that cannot be

reposted  after I read them........which means ones that are in

VERY bad condition or damaged in any way!!!     I seem to be receiving

torn books occasionally or badly waterdamaged ones and this is

against PBS rules of listing them if they are not in good readable

condition.   Thanks so much for understanding that I want

to be able to pass along good books to make sure I

retain good relations with those people I share my books

with on this site.............Also when I say DAMAGED I am talking about

books that really should not be posted and not ones with maybe a tiny

little mark on the pages or a few little normal wear/tear things on pages!!!

NO books with water-damaged/warped  pages!   Thank you !!!

As I said, this book meets all of the requirements for a book to be posted. And, if there hadn't been an RC, I wouldn't think twice about it. So, what would you do?

To me the RC is so subjective...I personally would pass on it if I had other than a close-to-like-new book. Keep in mind that if you have received this request, that means your book is in the #1 position so you can turn it down and the next request for the book will come to you, hopefully without a subjective RC.

I'd decline it so fast it'd make your head spin.  In fact, I would have quit reading about 3 lines into it.  Subjective RCs like that are a RWAP waiting to happen. 

That RC is very easy. She doesn't want torn books or water damaged books or extra worn books.

Since neither of those things are postable anyway ... you should be just fine sending a normal postable book. (I wouldn't send ones with "iffy" grey areas to this RC, but a normal postable book? Sure.)

I've never has a single problem mailing books to RCs. And, I accept them all, no matter how fussy they are (well, if my book matches the RC, that is).

I'm like Sara.  If my book meets the RC, I send it.  I don't mind sending to RCs at all.  I've never once had an RWAP.

Many people believe that RC people are more likely to give a RWAP, but I've not found that to be true at all.

This person's RC is probably much longer than it needs to be, and could probably stand rewording to make it clearer, but if your book is truly postable and not on its last legs, then it should be fine.

I'd pass on the request.

Please do NOT  send me any books that cannot be

reposted  after I read them.

What if she reads it and it becomes upostable while reading it?  You can NOT guarantee that the book will be postable AFTER she reads it, only when she receives it.

I'd pass on this one.

I'm with Cozette.  I wouldn't send it unless it was very close to new.

I have no trouble with "no smoking home," "wrap in plastic," "please include dustcover" and the like, but anything that requires me to pass judgement on the condition of the book and its future postability is a big red flag.  

And it's too darn long.

Sounds like your book exceeds the condition this person wants, so sending it should be safe. But if the RC makes you uncomfortable, just decline it and send the book to someone else. No sense agonizing over an something that you don't even have to deal with at all.

I rarely pass on RC's but would definitely pass on that one.  Too subjective.  On the bright side, you'll be returned to the #1 spot in the FIFO line, so your book will most likely be requested again very soon.

I am another one who has no problem with RCs, so do read them and I make a judgement based on what the RC says.  However, on this on, I'd pass like others above have said - too subjective for me. 

The only RC I really pass on is 'books never having been in a smoking environment."  We don't smoke, but as I get a lot of my books used I can't guarantee that a book has 'never been in a smoking environment', so I pass on those, and say that if the word 'current' had been inserted I wouldn't have had a problem sending the book.  Pat

I'm actually picky about the RCS I accept but I think I might accept that one.  Now the rules of PBS don't say that a book has to be postable after the person finishes reading it only when it arrives.  Which is why I don't mark some borderline books RWP.  Members should expect to be the last one to pay a credit for some of the books they receive.   So that part of the RC would worry me a little. But I'm at the point now in my PBS career that I only post stuff in basically new condition at this point.  I have a ton of books, plenty of credits and just purge anything that isn't practically new looking.  So what I posted would fit the RC. 

(I'm not saying I used to post bad books, just ones that were postable but with some obvious wear on them, now I only post those if its rare, otherwise it goes into the Goodwill box). 

at least that particular RC-er was polite nad upbeat about her request.

This person is simply re-stating PBS rules.

S/he didn't word it well, and the whole thing is redundant, but it's not complicated. 

Personally I reject all RCs. My response is  always "This book may or may not meet requestor's conditions." If there is a questionable issue with a book I'm sending I always let the requestor know before I send it. I understand people get tired of getting books that don't meet conditions, but I'm not going to smell my books for mustiness and I have no clue if it came from a smoking or non-smoking home. If someone wants a brand new book, they can go to the store to get it.

Marissa: The one piece of the RC that has me a bit concerned is where she says, "Please do NOT send me any books that cannot be reposted  after I read them..."  While this is implied in PBS rules, it's not a hard-and-fast requirement. As we all know, MMPs tend to have a shorter lifecycle than other bindings. On at least one occasion, I've had an MMP go from new-off-the-shelf to pretty-much-unpostable in one vacation read.

That said, I took another hard look at the book's condition and decided to risk it. Only time will tell if this was a good decision or not... 

Ed, posting a postable book is absolutely a hard and fast requirement.  The person worded their RC poorly.  You are not responsible for what they do to the book, and by the time they've read the book you already have your credit so it's a non-issue.

Please do NOT send me any books that cannot be reposted  after I read them..."  While this is implied in PBS rules, it's not a hard-and-fast requirement.

Ed, posting a postable book is absolutely a hard and fast requirement

Marissa, Yes, It is a hard and fast requirement that a book be sent in postable condition. However, it is NOT a requirement that the book be in postable condition AFTER the receiver has read the book - which is what this particular RC requires. 

Well, no.  The requestor worded that sentence very badly.  If you read the entire RC, you can gather from context clues that the requestor is talking about books that are so damaged they should not have been posted to begin with.  

Besides, how in the world would the requestor enforce this?  Think about it:  a book needs to be marked as received or RWAP upon arrival of the book.  The receiver then reads the book.  If the book is not postable at that point, there is absolutely nothing the receiver can do about it.  I really don't understand the hand-wringing here. 

f you read the entire RC, you can gather from context clues that the requestor is talking about books that are so damaged they should not have been posted to begin with.

That's part of the problem - it shouldn't be necessary to gather clues from the contect to understand an RC LOL.

I do agree that that's "probably" what the requester meant, but, it is not what they actally wrote.So, it's not so much hand-wringing, but, if we can't agree on what the wording is on discussion in the forums between people who have no 'dog in the fight" so as to speak, how much more confusing for the actual member receiving his RC

Yes, it was poorly worded.  But nothing bad is going to happen.  It's just an RC.  If your book is postable, which is should be anyway, send it.  Seriously, what is the worst thing that can happen? 

          I think the part that really bothers me and would make me tend to decline is "I seem to be receiving

torn books occasionally or badly waterdamaged ones".

  Now I have had hundreds of trades and only once I got one badly worn and once water damaged, none torn.   I didn't RWAP because I think once in awhile you might get a book at the end of its lifetime and they were readable.  I just don't think PBS people tend to send out badly worn books. Most I receive are very good or better.   If she is receiving a significant amount of them that she seems to need conditions I wonder how critical she is or if she is just unlucky.

I rarely decline books for conditions but I recently did because sender said she didn't want any book in "poor" condition.  Well this was an old MMP with 3 creases in the spine, no marks, light browning.  It definitely was in what the book seller sites would define as good condition.  But did she know that?  There were more copies in the system so I thought it best to let her move to the next copy.

I just don't think PBS people tend to send out badly worn books. Most I receive are very good or better.

Well ....... I tend to agree that most books are postable, and most of those are well above postable.

But I don't doubt that other people have different results.

One thing is that people's perception of the issue is going to be different depending on their book ordering volume. If you only order 10 books a year, and one arrives damaged ... that's a 10% damage rate. If you order 50 books a year and one arrives damaged ... that's a 2% damage rate. KWIM? I order hundreds of books a year. I do get a handful each year that are damaged. More than 1 or 2, for sure. Probably less than 10, though. I don't consider it a very high rate compared to the volume of books that I order.

Also something I've noticed is that different book genres get different results. If you order a lot of kids books, they seem to have more issues overall than adult books. I don't order all that many, but they do tend to come with rips and scribbles and mystery stains and stuff like that (more than regular books). If you order teen books ... those are more cheaply made than "adult" books and almost always have spine damage after one reading.

If an RC is as long as or longer than a brief description of the book, than I tend to turn em down.  Sort of like those drug commercials where the disclaimer is almost as long as the commercial itself.

Run....Run Away....Run Away Fast!

-RD

Okay, this is just ridiculous... Of 9 requests I have waiting for my acceptance, 7 of them have RCs!!!! What in the world is going on?

Although one or two are mildly subjective, none are unusual - just the quantity.