I just received a book request     member  only accepts books in  excellent condition.   I'm thinking I should  skip this one.  I don't want to go through every page of the books to check for spots.    I bought this book new so I would say  VERY  good condition but   if  I send the books and reader finds a spot  on a page or  two does that mean it is not excellent condition?     what would you do?

"Excellent" sounds like they want books that are in "like new" or "new" condition. 

I'd skip it for being both vague and unrealistic.  If you want books only in a certain condition that exceeds PBS standards, spell it out. 

What's 'excellent' to me might be 'unacceptable' to you.  This is one RC I'd decline.  Good luck. Pat

Too subjective. I'd pass, too.

Yep, pass. Even if you just bought it, it could get dinged in the mail and then you lose when in most cases you wouldn't. The risk is way too high.

Yep, with the others, I tend to err on the side of caution, especially with subjective wording.  A credit is not worth the aggravation of possibly having to deal with someone that feels wronged.

Decline. 

I'd decline too - let the next person inline deal with that potential problem.

This means your copy is at the top of the FIFO queue and will be requested again fairly quickly anyway (or, somwehere near the top if others ahead of you have also declined that RC.

I'd decline too!  I bet they don't get many books if they keep that RC up!

If you're uncomfortable with the RC, go ahead and decline. It won't count against you. They'll eventually get the book from someone else.

If the requestor has not made her expectations crystal clear, it's difficult for you to comply...I agree, decline.

When you decline her request, you'll be given an opportunity to say why, which the other member can see.  That would be the place to politely say that her "excellent" RC isn't specific enough.

You talk about not wanting to look for spots -- you should be doing this anyway before posting, since stains are not allowed, so they would be unpostable anyway, regardless of anyone's RCs.

Yes, but let's say there are ink spots that came with the book...does that mean the book is not in 'excellent' condition?

I'm with all of you. Decline and move on.

Thanks everyone,    I do quickly flip through the pages of books I post.  As I said  this is a book I purchased new but I did read it  and sometimes the book is in my purse, sometimes I eat when I read.... I just thought this person  might be extra picky. 

I once accepted an RC for that stated the book should be in "very good or like new" condition. To me the book was clearly in very good condition so I sent it and received a very nasty PM about not abiding by RCs and how she collects books and had never received a book in such horrid condition, yada, yada, yada. I refunded her credit just to make her go away but learned never again to accept a subjective RC.

I would pass on it.

I never accept an RC that states "excellent" or "like new".  My idea of these may not be the same as the receiver.  And considering many of the books I've gotten at used book stores are in better condition than what I see on the shelves at retailers, it's hard to judge, unless they state specifically what they mean by these terms.

There is no better condition than "like new". I would consider excellent to be like new. So, if I felt my book was like new, I would have no problem mailing it to this person.

I also don't feel that like new is particularly subjective. I've bought hundreds of brand new books at the bookstore, I know what a like new book looks like. I am really not sure why people perceive that as a subjective requirement. It either looks like new or it doesn't. I know that I have put brand new books back on the shelf at the bookstore that look like someone read them. They don't look like new anymore, and if I am paying full price for a book, I expect it to look like new. But, whether or not a book looks like new .... I don't find that confusing at all.

I mail to any RC that I can accept. I've never had a problem doing this. If I was to ever have a problem, I have absolutely no issue with politely declining to refund the credit in any case where I feel the book met the RC.

I have sent a couple of books that members requested them to be in excellent condition in the last couple of weeks, with no problems.

I recently sent out a late 1980's trad Regency to a member with no RC. The inside covers were age  yellowed. The book looked like new, it had never been read.

I would bet a week's pay that with the RC under discussion here the requester would have gone up like a rocket and complained.

The member who received the book I sent was over the moon with the condition of the book. Sbe PM'ed me and said the book was like new. I doubt the member with the RC would have been happy. New is in the eye of the beholder.  I respect a member's right to be picky, but I'd rather spend my time reading rather than having a discussion with another member about the condition of a book I've sent, especially since all the books on my shelf *are* like new or in excellent condition.

Bruce, I got a request from that person.  I have a book that I purchased new.  When I read the condition, I decided to decline b/c the person was a collector and to my mind, picky.  After reading your post, I am glad I did.

On the subject of collectors, if I was a collector, I would not use paperbackswap as a means to build my collection.  Mostly b/c we are book lovers who often read, use, and love our books.  I have an expectatioin that a book from this site will be not be perfect.  After all, I expect to get what I pay for - free.  I pay the basic cost $3-$5 and hope I get it back from another member. 

To find perfect, I would scour places that allow me to look for books in a condition I find acceptable.

My ramblings and know others may or may not agree. 

I send alot of TS books I buy new and read once.  I try to mail them to the first person FIFO whenever possible (or occassionally a Gold Key friend), and try to comply with RC's whenever possible. 

But if a member cares enough to use an RC, they are probably going to check carefully to see if incoming books comply.  Therefore, IMO the requestor with an RC needs to be very clear about what they are requesting.  I know I'm preaching to the choir here, b/c I've seen RC's for most of the active forum members and they tend to be the excellent ones lol.

There is no better condition than "like new".

Yes, there is. That would be 'new'. :)

I send books to almost any condition -  think I've turned down 2 or 3, a cat one, one that was just beyond snotty insulting people who didn't use bubble wrappers are were stupid enough to think paper was acceptable, and maybe a condition one that the book just didn't meet. I have never had a book marked as a problem nor had any irrate receivers.

If you don't want to accept an RC don't. If your book is not in excellent condition  (meaning NO signs of wear) don't accept the RC. Its not the end of the world. Someone else will.

and sometimes the book is in my purse, sometimes I eat when I read.... I just thought this person might be extra picky.

Picky or not, if you've gotten food in the book and the receiver finds it you will get a deserved RWAP.  A lack of RC does not mean a member is more likely to let unpostable issues go by.

I have  always  enjyed reading while I eat.  I have table manners  and I am not a cave man    but things "might" happen.  Most of the books I bought new  were read  way before I joined this group  .  so i did  not mark any book that might have  had any minimal contact with food.  As I said I do flip  through  the books  before I mail them.    I am certainly not  mailing out  books with globs of marinara on them   :)  .