My conditions state, among a couple of other things, that I do NOT want to receive Large Print editions (the large text annoys the heck out of me, don't ask me why). I got a turn down yesterday on a book I really wanted for my son, stating that the book didn't meet my conditions because it WASN'T a large print edition!

Come on people, we are all readers here, right? How do people so completely manage to misconstrue conditions that very clearly say I DON'T want them, not that I DO want them?! Makes me wonder if the person really read my conditions at all, or if they just skimmed them, saw the words "large print" and didn't bother to read the rest of the sentence...

Oh and now I can't re-order the book and PM the person about it, because of the rule about not being able to re-order a book that has previously been denied due to conditions. And it's the only copy in the system.

I know what you mean!  My conditions used to state that I didn't want any books that were currently in a smoking home (I can air out books as long as they don't trigger a migraine as soon as I open the package!), and get turned down all of the time because "it's a used book and I don't know where it's been".  I understand that!  Please read my condition, you could have sent the book!

Denise

Bren,

If you'd like, I'd be happy to request the book for you and have it sent to your home. Just pm me with your addy if you want to do this. I've had a bad book week too and would like to spread some good book vibes and maybe catch some too! LOL

could you turn off conditions for this one book and reorder or does the system know you tried to order and won't let you do it anyway?

sounds like your best suggestion might be from Valli

does the system know you tried to order and won't let you do it anyway?

If the sender declines by clicking that the book does not meet conditions This permanently declines this copy of the book to this requestor:

• the requestor will not be able to re-request this book from this sender, even if Requestor Conditions are then toggled to "No" in the Account Settings.
• The requestor will need to wait for another copy of the book if there aren't any others available at that time.

I got around this somehow once.  I know that I had to turn off my requester conditions.  I tried to re-order the book and it wouldn't let me, but it took me to bookshelf where the book was (it was the only copy) as though I was doing a bulk order.  At that point the system let me order it.  Hubby was VERY happy he got his book.

Mary

Bren-

You could try to send a PM to the member and try to explain your conditions to him/her (as nice as possible of course).  Since it's the only copy of the book in the system, you might be able to work out a deal with them where he/she mails it to you and then you buddy him/her a credit after you receive it.

UGH. Some people just don't read the conditions closely, no matter how clearly they are worded. The only condition I have is that the books don't smell of smoke, but I got turned down a few weeks ago b/c the sender has a dog. Ooookay. I have one too. I just let it go and wait for the next one. <shrug> But, I have a pile of books to read right now anyway. If I'd been really needing a new book I would have been pretty frustrated.

I got around it last week.  Luckily for me I was the only person WL'ing, so it went back to their shelf.  See, I accepted the book and promptly sent a PM saying to ignore my conditions that I wanted the book.  But they declined first, then read my PM.  Oops!  Anyway, the book went to their bookshelf.  I went there, requested it, it gave me the "can't order" message, but I also had the option to order more from members bookshelf.  I took that option, didn't order anything else of course, then processed my order.  It worked, they accepted, knowing I wanted them to ignore my conditions, and it's on it's way to me right now.

Whenever I get a request for conditions and it says they will not accept a book from a smoking household I always turn them down even though I do not smoke in my home. It is just to risky when I do smoke and handle the books. Smoke sticks to my clothes and stuff and could possibly get into the pages of the books and I just dont want to take the chance when someone wants a book from a non smoking household.

Suggestion for those with conditions: put your nickname in the conditions so that the person can PM you with questions before they answer the does or des not meet conditions question.  You may get turned down less frequently.   

I think that idea is a good one.  My nickname IS in my conditions, AND my conditions list is restated in my profile, and yet it does nothing to help with getting turned down.  Not one single person has PM'd me with questions or to see if I want the book, EVEN IF I have PM'd them to tell them I would like the book and to ignore my conditions.  They just turn it down and move on.

Now that is their option to do and I will just live with it because I fully know and understand that's the chance I take having conditions.  Just saying that so far it hasn't worked for me, but I do think it's a good idea to offer your nickname in your conditions and restate your conditions in your profile. 

Not complaining, just sharing my experience, that's all.

In defense of those who turn down requests with conditions stating that they're declining the request because they don't know where the book has been, there have been a few instances where I have sent used books and the receiver has complained about smoke odor where I could perceive none. I have a smoke-free and pet-free home but since I generally buy used books, I have no way of knowing if the book did at one time belong to a smoker. I do a sniff test when I buy used books, but everyone has different senses of smell. While I despise the smell of smoke, I'm far more offended by books that smell like cats - no offense to cat lovers intended. 

I don't like to turn down requests, but rather than risk unpleasantness later, I generally decline requests with smoke or odor conditions if I did not personally purchase the requested book new. I do decline politely, though, and explain my reason for not sending the book. 

As far as Bren's LP request, some people just automatically decline any request with any condition. If you've ever tried to read a LP book when you don't need LP, it's like having a story screamed at you. My issue is the opposite - I often request LP books for my MIL and there have been many instances where a regular print book was sent. I did have a condition set, sort of the opposite of Bren's, but I found that all my requests were getting turned down, not just those with LP requests. It was frustrating, so I removed the condition and now hope for the best when I order LP books.

I have decided that if someone has a no smoky book condition and I have a book with an unclear history, I accept the swap and then PM the member.  If they really don't want it, I will cancel the swap.  This has worked really well for me so far.

There are people in PBS who will deny any request that has conditions just because there are conditions.  Without even reading the conditions or taking them into consideration.  They just don't want to be bothered.

I personally do not appreciate that attitude, but it is perfectly within their rights as a club member to act in this manner.

A big Thank you to all of you who do read and evaluate conditions, when deciding if you can send out a book!  I truly appreciate it.

Ellyn, I have to say, I'm right there with you. Same thing happened to me, and I just won't risk it. I do feel for Bren, though. :(