I am getting more and more books sent to me that have a definite cigarette smell to them..........despite my RC that clearly says I don't want books from a smoking home or with smoke smell from a previous owner.

The last THREE times this has happened the sender was actually upset with me because "they sent the book anyhow cause it didn't smell that bad".  If they had even PM'd me first to see it this was something I would have wanted I would have said no thank you.

The other excuse I keep getting is "well the mailman must have been smoking and thats why the book smells."

I guess I am just venting cause I get so disappointed when books arrive like this and then I can't read them. Then I have to mark them RWAP and hope the sender will refund my credit.

This is why a lot of people don't accept smell RCS. The books probably smelled perfectly fine to the senders.

Are they saying that they have a smoking home and they sent them anyway? Or are they saying that they didn't smell to them? A smell RC is a hard one to enforce because some people have no sense of smell and they very well could be meeting your RCs, you are just more sensitive to the smell. The only case in which I would see your RC violated is if the member had a smoking household and sent it anyway. IMO there really isn't a way to enforce an RC for books that don't smell to you, it can only go by what it smells to the sender.

If it is a big problem for you, you may need to change your RC to include any used books where the sender doesn't know the history. I am super sensitive to smoke smell and I haven't had many that come to me smelling bad by having an RC for not in a current smoking household so maybe you've just hit a bad patch that will be over soon. 

Does your mailman smoke? 

When I get a request for a book that I am re-posting, I ask someone else in my household to smell the book to see if they can smell smoke.  No one in my house does so we are sensitive to the odor. 

Hopefully you RWAPed the books as they clearly violated your RC...Here's mine:

If the book smells like cigarette smoke to you, or is currently in a smoking home, please decline my request. I am happy to wait for the next copy available.

I have received ONE book in several hundred that violated this RC-and I know they did it intentionally because there was a dryer sheet inserted! The sender tried to lie about it but the INSIDE of the envelope and the book smelled like smoke, not the outside.

Anyone else who smokes has declined the request and I always end up getting the book eventually.

You can always try to air them out so that you can reread them. At least they are still postable, though, so even if they don't give you back your credit, you can post it again.

I agree with what others said. If you just mentioned smell in your RC then that could be what happened and they just didn't think it smelled. 

In the 60 some books I've received I have yet to get one that even slightly smells of smoke, and I don't have a smoking RC. 

This actually happened to me. I was mailing a book to a friend and the book happened to fall under the seat of the car and I forgot about it. A couple of days later I opened the car door to a strong odor of cigarettes. Now I don't smoke and I was wondering who got into my car and smoked cigarettes. I later found out that when some packing tape heats up it will emit a cigarette odor. So, since this is summer time, it might be that the books did come from a non-smoking household and it's the tape that is the offender.

Airing out the books as Amee suggests works for me.

I don't have a smoking RC and a couple months ago, two books I ordered (from the same sender) came with a VERY strong cigarette smoke smell.  I didn't do anything special, just set them in another room away from my other books.  Every once in a while, I'd fan them out when I walked by.  It's taken a couple months, but now I don't detect any smoke smell at all from the books.  I know other people have other methods that probably work more quickly (kitty litter, charcoal, and some others I've read about) but I have a giant TBR pile, so waiting a few months for these books to become readable wasn't a hardship.

This is precisely why I refuse subjective RCs that ask me to judge whether or not a book smells. I do not recall *ever* getting a book from PBS with a strong smoke odor to it, so it's entirely possible that my smeller isn't very good--although I have no problem smelling cigarette smoke on people's clothes and things.

But anyhoo, the only smoking RC I will accept orders for is one that says they want books "not currently in a smoking home." I can do that.

I have refused quite a few lately that mention "no smoke smell" or "hasn't ever been in a smoking home" (which I have no way of knowing for most of these used books) or other variations of same.

Cheryl

I understand that I risk losing my chance at book with the "cigarette smell" RC...but that is a chance I am more than willing to take and happy to wait patient for another book.  If you aren't a smoker even any "airing out/odorizing" systems still aren't fool proof. I honestly believe that when books are wrapped for shipping being in that closed package brings out the smell making it very obvious. I do believe that sometimes non-smokers pass along books they have gotten secondhand/swapped without realizing they smell from previous owners, but if they smell to me I honestly don't want them.

I always try to be polite...but as you can see from my conversation below.....its tough to get others to understand or compromise.

Request Dialogue Tammie F. (scubagirl13) - Greenwich, CT to xxxxxxxx. 7/12/2010 @ 8:53 PM ET The member to whom you shipped your book 'One Reckless Summer (Destiny, Bk 1)' has sent you this personal message. Book has a definite strong cigarette smell to it. Please refund my credit as this was noted in my RC as something I most certainly did not want. I am happy to return the book to you if you wish...just credit my account an additional credit to cover the postage back to you. Thanks!

 xxxx. to Tammie F. (scubagirl13) - Greenwich, CT 7/13/2010 @ 8:17 AM ET That is NOT true!!!! I do not smoke nor does ANYONE I know. You just want a free credit!!! I am a teacher and I cannot stand dishonesty!!!!

! Tammie F. (scubagirl13) - Greenwich, CT to xxxx. 7/13/2010 @ 8:28 AM ET I am making an honest statement............the book smells like smoke. I am a lifeguard, an EMT, and an Instructor so I guess that would make us have dishonesty in common. Please return my credit.

 xxxx. to Tammie F. (scubagirl13) - Greenwich, CT 7/13/2010 @ 9:59 PM ET I am sorry that you are unhappy with the book. It not only met all of the conditions and terms of the club, but your individual specifications as well. If you would like to return the book to me, please do so. Upon receiving it, I would be happy to return your credit. If not, I hope that you will enjoy the book despite it's perceived smokiness.

Tammie F. (scubagirl13) - Greenwich, CT to xxxx. 7/14/2010 @ 8:04 AM ET Not wishing to continue disagreeing with you nor argue, I can't understand how you can say the book met with my individual specifications as it has a very strong cigarette smell to it making it unreadable to me. As I stated in my first message I am happy to return the book to you immediately. As noted in PBS rules, you need to please return my original credit as the book does not meet my RC's and an additional credit for the return postage to you. If my credit is not refunded within the next three days, I will be fowarding this issue to PBS. The choice to refund the additional credit is up to you....if you do I will return the book ...if not I will donate it to the thrift store. Thank you.

Sorry.  I wouldn't return the credit either.  It's simply too subjective.  It sounds as if the person sent the book in good faith.  Hence (as others have said) the problem with smell related RCs.

Sometimes I get a book that vaguely smells of cigarette smoke...and I do let it go assuming the sender sent it in good faith/didn't pick up on the odor themselves.

however....this book reeks of smoke. It really would be impossible to not detect the smell.

If I didn't smell smoke on a book I wouldn't return your credit either.  But I would not have accepted a "smell" rc to begin with and bet this person won't accept them anymore either.  It would probably turn me off accepting any RC at all. 

She may have detected no smoke on that book adn then it beign wrapped up and in teh heat while in transit brought the smell out.  That's not her fault. 

I agree with the others, I would not return your credit. I don't think she should have called you dishonest, but I also don't think she thought it smelled of smoke.

You even say, I do believe that sometimes non-smokers pass along books they have gotten secondhand/swapped without realizing they smell from previous owners, but if they smell to me I honestly don't want them.

So you realize that it could have had no odor to her before sending to you. And with the higher temperatures of summer, any smoke smell that would come from being wrapped up would probably be stronger than if it had made its trip in winter.

this book reeks of smoke. It really would be impossible to not detect the smell

I had one like this not that long ago. I did mention it to the sender when I typed the thank you message and she came back saying that she'd been sick and received and re-sent the book in less than a week so she didn't catch it. That's the problem with subjective RCs like smell, you can be certain YOU would never miss it, but there is no way for you to know what the sender can or cannot smell. An no, I don't believe its reasonable to expect senders to go ask other people to smell books before they send them.

IMO you need to walk away from the transaction. You have a subjective RC and the sender clearly felt that it was met. That is the best you can expect a sender to do, they cannot know what you will smell. I am completely in your corner on smoke smelling books, I cannot read them. But I also believe that senders who send books in good faith should not be punished for something subjective and should not be badgered if they disagree with the subjective condition. Repost the book or donate it to get out of your house and move on.