I received a request for a book today that says "I am unwilling to receive a book that has ever been in a smoking household". 

I have a "no smoking" RC on my account and I got the book from another member.  I have a very sensitive nose and I detect no smoke smell on the book.  But, I can't guarantee the book has never been in a smoking household.  Unless someone buys a book new and is the only person to own the book, there is no way to know if a book has ever been in a smoking household.

My question is, would you PM the member and ask them if they want the book since I can't guarantee it has never been in a smoking environment?  Would you tell them that their RC is rather restrictive and is likely to get them rejected on a lot of books?  Would you send the book or reject the request because of the RC? 

Personally, I would reject the RC as there is no way to know for sure if it has been in a smoking environment unless I bought it brand new.

Personally, I would reject the RC as there is no way to know for sure if it has been in a smoking environment unless I bought it brand new.

+1

I would reject the request and let the requestor know that they might want to reword their RC because that is a pretty difficult request to accept with used books. 

Reject and move on -- not up to you to educate the requesting member about their wording, and who knows? Maybe they mean it -- they want to be only the second owner of a book never exposed to smoke.

Definitely let them know when you turn it down that their RCs says it can NEVER have been in a smoking home and there is no possible way to know that on a book received used.  If they truly mean that it thats fine, but if they don't then you've let them know the problem.

I would turn it down. I don't PM about RCS ever. If it's not clear enough and I can't tell by the RC, I decline. But I do fill in the reason.  I would just put "this book was acquired used and I have no idea if it was ever in a smoking household even though I don't detect a smoke smell".  I'd also suggest that if they are getting turned down a lot they might want to suggest rewording their RCS.

Maybe this is someone's indirect way of getting "newer" books.  Maybe they figure anyone with a book they got used will turn them down, thereby increasing the number of books they get that haven't been circulated much. 

I would accept if I had bought it new or received it from someone I knew that didn't smoke and had also bought it new.

If it was a used book that I have no way of knowing its history, I would decline and write something like, "Unfortunately this is a used book and I have no way of knowing where it's been in the past."

I would reject the RC, since you have no idea if the book was ever in a smoking environment.

I think even if I bought it new, I would reject that request. I stack all my books up in big stacks and who knows--maybe the book has been nestled up against a smokey, smelly used book for a while.  It's not worth worrying about. 

Decline, a potential problem waiting to happen. 

I really hate declining since it is a wish list book.  But, I think I agree that it's not worth taking a chance on.  Oh well, the next person on the wish list will be a happy camper!

I would deal with it just like I deal with other RCs...read it, consider the book and the RC and respond accordingly. If I had bought the book new myself and I knew it had not EVER been in a smoking environment, I would accept. If I got the book used, I would decline, since I would have no idea of the book's pedigree or history or where it had been so I could not in good faith accept. Simple.

Cheryl

"I am unwilling to receive a book that has ever been in a smoking household". 

Decline. Just for being foolish enough to put the word ever in the RC. How can you tell where it's been? You can't. Decline.

I too would decline the request, but use it as a teachable moment.  For the club to work the way that we all want it to, we should take the time to educate others.  :)  If they take your advice, great!  If they choose to ignore it, that's fine too.  It's their condition and they can ask for what they want.  :)

I won't pm back and forth about conditions, either the book I have matches their condition or it doesn't.  I do fill in the "Why I can't mail this book" box on the RC denial.  That's where the education piece should go. 

You are not supposed to accept an RC unless you know the book meets it.  You don't know, so yes, I'd say refuse.

I would just reject the book with a message along the lines of, "Sorry, I'm not the first owner of the book.  It's possible it was in a smoking environment at one time." 

I agree with the others:  decline.

I just had a similar one that said "won't accept any books that have ever been around cats."

I declined and explained that I had no way of knowing if this book which came to me from another PBS member had ever been around cats before.

Unless it was a book I bought brand new and had never loaned to any of my friends, I would have to decline the request. It's a WL'd book, so I would know sooner or later someone with less rigid RC's will want it.