Most (but not all) of the books I order end up being keepers, so I really prefer them not having someone else's name written in them, and I do not want books with gift inscriptions written to someone else.  I used to have an RC to this effect.  Recently a sender said they could not mail book due to my requester conditions.  They wrote "This book has no dust jacket".  I had no RC about dust jackets.  Fortunately I did pretty quickly receive this book from another member.

I recently had an RC for one particular series only.  For that series I wanted the trade paper back size, not the mass market size.  This was the usual reason that people specify this.  I was collecting the series and preferred that they match.  In case people didn't know the difference I gave the dimensions of the trade size.  So today I find a PBS note that the sender couldn't mail the book due to my requester conditions.  They said the book was only 7-1/2 inches.  It was very clearly stated in the RC that the size preferrence was for just that one series.  The book I was ordering from them was a completely different book.

I wonder if people don't read RCs carefully, or they just don't want to send to someone with an RC.  It's not a huge deal.  Every time I've been turned down on a WL book due to an RC, I've pretty quickly been offered the same book by someone else since I'm still #1 on the list.

I'm thinking about having no RCs for a while.  At present I have just a no gifts inscription (unless its by the author) RC.  I was being turned down too much when I had asked for no names to be written in the book.

Some people turn down and and all RCS without even reading them. They just dont' want to be bothered with them.

I would only turn the RCS on when ordering the specific book that they apply to and leave them off the rest of the time.

A lot of people are gun shy about RCS because they've gotten dinged on a perfectly postable book. 

As others have said, it's probably best if you turn on RCs only for the books they apply to. You would likely need to have your wishlist OFF auto-request so that you can turn on the RC for a book that might apply. For example, even if most books you get are keepers, there may be some that are simply MMPs that you want to read and pass on. You wouldn't want the sender declining an RC for a book that it doesn't even apply to!

And I do agree that keeping them as simple and clear as possible is best. I don't mind people having RCs and generally take each as they come, but I won't wade through a whole page of various requirements nor will I try to decipher just what a requestor might mean by some subjective wording.

Cheryl

I  agree about only turning them on where they apply and keeping them simple.  For example I got an RC this morning that was a page long and read as very condescending.  Among many other things, it asked for very minimal wear only.  I declined, even though I had a never read book, because it does have minimal shelf wear.  I'm 98% positive it would have been fine, but paying postage for a hardcover and then being out a credit and a book was not a risk I wanted to take.  This may be the case for people who are declining yours.  They are pretty sure but don't want to chance it.

Yes, you are correct in your timing. Edit the RC and then turn it on before accepting that WL offer. Just remember to turn it off once it is in the mail. I would also add something like, For the book "TITLE" I have the following RC- so that there is no question.

I agree, I've had more WL book offers this month than I've ever had. Yahoo!!

You don't have to wait until the book is in the mail. Turn on your RCs, request the book (or accept the wish list offer), turn them off. Once the request is submitted, the conditions are shown on the sender's My Account page and there's no way for you to retract them.

Valerie, I can't add to the great advice you have received so I'll just echo others recommending the "on/off" method of using RCs to order.  I used to have an RC for an audiobook.  I was clear about the title and everything, but still people would tell me "this isn't the book you want" or "this isn't an audiobook".   I finally just got rid of my RC (and I did eventually get that audiobook, lol) but I know more now, too, and would now use the on/off method myself if I really wanted and RC in place.

Thank you all.  I am loving this site, but I do find it complicated.

I do think there is a problem with members not reading RCs.  I recently had a request turned down because the book was an ex-library book.  I have no RC about library books at all.  When I PM'd the member to ask why, the response I got back was that she misread the RCs.  It makes me wonder just how well some members actually read the books themselves.  Then again, that would explain some of the reviews I've read on here...  :)

I would figure I probably don't want books from someone who misreads RCs anyway.  They probably misread the posting guidelines as well and send out stuff that shouldn't be posted.

I don't use the Auto-request feature for this reason.I leave my RCs  off and only turn it on for particular books. I don't get books very frequently, so I can even tailor make them per book, i.e. one's a hardcover where I want a dust jacket. one's a keeper, when I want one in better condition.

I had even written to PBS a couple weeks ago and asked bout specific RCs. I ordered one book with one set of RCs and was waiting for the Sender to respond. A WL book came in during the same time, and I wanted to change the RC for that second book. I asked, if the Sender passed on the first book and it got bumped to the next person in line, would that same RC continue with that book? Or once I changed the RC, would the new one override the old RC and attach to the book?

PBS said that once an RC is requested for a specific book, it will continue with that book. So I could make different RCs if 3 books came in and there wouldn't be a problem. :-)

Now, I even insert the title of the book into the RC so people know I am specifically talking about that book I am requesting from them.

This has been very helpful.

Bernhard, how did you PM the member who turned down your request due to mis-reading the RC.  The notice I got came from PBS.  I didn't see any way to contact the member.  I don't know who the member is.

Can't you look in the transaction archive?  I know that was the RC, the details, and the PM.  The question is if it has the turned down books or not.  Whoops.  Looks like it doesn't as last week's denial isn't there.

Emily, has your whole transaction finished? It only goes to the archive if it is. If anything is still pending on the transaction it doesn't go there yet. I WLed a book with very particular conditions as it was going to be a keeper. There are over 100 in the system. As I expected it was turned down a few times until the 4th person accepted & sent it. Those other 3 refusals show up in my Transaction Archives along with the completed transaction.

It was in my transaction archive Valerie.