Sooo, I am pretty new here. I have been sending out books left and right, but have not yet recieved many, so I am not sure exactly what is expected of me.  I have a request for a pretty popular book....about 1000 wishing for it.  They have a RC for general condition, which I would say this book meets, but I am not sure how picky this person is.  The only 2 books I have recieved have been new or looked like they had not even been read, and my book looks like I read it.   The spine is not cracked, but the edges of  the cover are curled a little, so I am not sure if it is good enough for this person, and I do not want to lose my credit on this popular book.

I dont really know how it works. If I reject this person, am I dooming myself, or do I loose the chance to let someone else have the book?

Thanks.....

You're well within your right to decline an RC, as the person with the RC is well within their right to have it. If you decline because you're not sure if your book meets the requestor's RC's, your book will be offered to the next person in line.

If you click "does not meet conditions"

• you will have a chance to type an explanatory message to the requestor
  • this message will be included in an email from PBS telling her that the request has been declined.
  • This message is not for "negotiation" about the book request.
• If this book is on a Wish List, it will then be offered to the next Wisher
  • If there is no one else  Wishing for it, it will go back to your bookshelf to await another request

(edited to add help doc info)

If you're ever unsure or uncomfortable with someone's RC, just decline it. You will not be punished for it. Your book will just go to the next person waiting for it.

People with RCs are usually picky about the thing that their RC asks for ... but I have not found that they are more picky in general.

Having said that, you are free to decline any RC if you are not sure that your book meets the conditions. Better safe than sorry.

Thank you everyone!  I declined and let them know I am just a scardey cat newby.    I am sure I will feel better once I have received more.

If there are 1000 people wishing for it, I don't think you'll have any trouble sending it out in the next few days if you reject the rc...and if you're not sure it meets the rc, I'd reject it.

One of the features of RCs is that we can turn them down without it going against our record.  No guilt, no problems.  We are asked to explain.  But being scared or intimidated are a good reason.  The only time that turning down an RC would hurt yourself is when there are many copies of a book posted.  The person ordering does not know who turned down the RC.  They only know what we state as the reason.  That is sent to them by PBS from PBS's address.

"If you're ever unsure or uncomfortable with someone's RC, just decline it. You will not be punished for it. Your book will just go to the next person waiting for it."  +1  In the 'reason' box, you can put something like 'worn book', 'show's wear', etc.

ETA - Welcome to PBS Cheri!

I decline any that make me nervous, ask for a PM, are long or just generally over the top with no guilt. Especially if it's a WL book.  All the books I post meet the PBS posting guidelines. 

They have a RC for general condition, which I would say this book meets, but I am not sure how picky this person is.

Just what exactly was the RC for?

If it's just re-stating the site rules, then you should have had no problem sending the book, since it has to meet site rules anyway. That wouldn't have been a reason to refuse an RC.

And please don't fall for the "If they have an RC, they must be picky" mindframe. I don't think it's any more true than the "Don't order from new people because they don't know what they're doing" idea. Both ideas are painting a lot of people with the same brush, and it not fair.

I've sent out 905 books, and I don't know how many were RC's, but I have not received one RWAP from an RC book I sent out. And I've gotten the best 'Thank You's' from them for helping them out, because many were looking for something specific, or they'd gotten burned and wanted to make sure the sender had at least read the site rules on posting.

If your book meets site conditions it should be fine. If it meets the RC request, it should be fine. You might run into a Jackass once in a while, but believe me you'll do that just by trading books, no RC's involved.

So I wouldn't sweat it so much.

When I was new, I often passed on RCs, especially if they were even the slightest bit ambiguous. I wanted to establish a good track record with PBS, and as the books I list are postable, I was/am willing to wait for an order to ensure that both parties are satisfied. I think having a good record of sucessful trades helps when one faces a RWAP situation - whether due to a "picky" buyer or due to something I inadvertently overlooked when posting. It's possible for a mistake to happen, and personally, I'd prefer it to be 1 out 200 rather than 1 out of 20 (numbers pulled out of the hat!).   

I offered a book recently that, on second inspection, had writing inside. I notified the recipient, explaining the problem. I told her to either add another book or cancel the order.

She accepted the additional book.

I believe most issues can be worked out, but I am also shy about RCs.

I'm glad things worked out in the trade you described, Greg. However, for future reference if if you as the sender notice something  that renders your book unpostable, it is ultimately your responsibility to cancel the order, not asking the requestor/recipient to do so.

If you have already printed out the wrapper (or have just clicked on the button) the requestor/recipient would physically be unable to do so.

If the book is WL, asking the requestor/recipient to cancel on her end would cost that person her place at the head of the WL queue.  

On the other hand, the sender canceling would not cost him anything. It removes the book from its outbound FIFO location but since the book is unpostable anyway that is appropriate.

From the Help Docs:

Who Can Cancel a Request and When:

• The REQUESTOR can cancel a request up until the time the wrapper is printed by the sender.
  • In fact, there is approximately 1 hour's delay between the time a book is first ordered and the time that the request is submitted to the sender.
  • This allows for "buyer's remorse," so that the requestor can easily cancel if she changes her mind, without the sender ever knowing about the request.
  • If the requestor sends a Personal Message to the sender by clicking on the request, however, that 1-hr delay will be eliminated, and the book request will be submitted immediately at the time the PM is sent.
• The SENDER may cancel a request for a book up until the time is it marked mailed.
  • The reason for this is because sometimes "my dog ate my book just before I was going to drop it in the mail..." etc..
  • If the sender cancels and there is another copy of the book available in the system, the request will be passed along to another sender.
    • This will happen automatically, without email notification to the requestor.
  • If a sender cancels and there is not another copy of the book available in the system, the requestor will get her credit back and the book will go onto her Wish List.
    • In this case, the requestor will be notified by PBS auto-email.
• If you request a book you already have, and receive it, just mark it received and repost the extra copy that was sent to you in good faith.

I only post books that meet the guidelines.  When I get an RC that seems beyond reasonable, I always decline, I just don't want to deal with it.  I probably decline 25-50% of RCs.  My reason is that I can't guarantee that the used book as never been explosed to a fullmoon, or whatever it is.  I view this as a used book trading system and used books aren't always ***perfect***    Many of the books I have really are just "like new" but I don't think it is reasonable to expect that every time, and a few requestors seem to have very high expectations, way beyond the rules of PBS.  I know that the RCs were put in there because there are people who are highly allergic or otherwise have special concerns, which is fine, but I don't want to pay postage and then lose a credit due to it.

No torn or chewed/gnawed pages

yes, that does say "chewed/gnawed".  That means no pet-chewed (or human-chewed) books.

No loose or missing text pages

for travel guide books - maps if designed to be detachable may be detached, but must be included.

Cover not water damaged (there may be no water damage to any part of the book)

No writing or highlighting or underlining on text pages

a signature or note on the flyleaf or inside front or back cover is OKAY

an author's signature on the title page is OKAY

writing or highlighting or underlining on the text pages is NOT OKAY

Exception: if it is a textbook or workbook, these are expected to have highlighting/underlining/writing

if you post a textbook/workbook, the condition must be described to the requestor in a Personal Message

AND the described condition MUST BE AGREED TO in a reply PM before the book is sent

This is the one of the ONLY three cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent (the others are for travel guidebooks and cookbooks).

The Powers That Be describe a textbook as the following:

Actually, the way the system and rules are designed, it does not matter what the "objective definition" of a textbook is.  The club members decide this - as long as the rules in the Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS are followed.  See the explanation and examples below.

If a member considers her book a textbook she may Post it with underlining/highlighting/writing on text pages, according to the "textbook exception" in the Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS; BUT since the textbook exception in the Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS require her to contact the requestor and obtain PM consent to the book's condition, she won't be in the position of sending a "stealth textbook" to someone who doesn't expect to receive one.

Examples/further explanation:

Member A posts an Economics 101 textbook - something that most people would clearly consider a textbook.   

Following the Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS textbook exception rules, she sends a Personal Message to the requestor when she gets a request, describing the book's condition.

Chances are good that she will get PM consent from the requestor to send the book with highlighting/etc. 

Member B posts a novel (fiction) that she used in a class - something that most people would NOT consider a textbook.

Following the Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS textbook exception rules, she sends a Personal Message to the requestor when she gets a request, describing the book's condition. Chances are good that she will NOT get PM consent from the requestor to send the book with highlighting/etc.

If the requestor declines the book in its condition, Member B will have to cancel the request and repost her book.  It will go to the 'back of the line' for requests.  (If it is a Wish Listed book, it will be offered to the same wisher and the sender will again have to cancel.  She will have to wait for the wishing member to get a copy of this book from someone else before Member B can post her copy again.)

So, the farther the book is from a 'textbook' in common perception, the more likely it will be difficult to get consent to its condition.  Members in Member B's situation may encounter several declines, and will eventually realize that the book is not likely to be acceptable to the club in its condition.  Member B will stop trying to offer it as a "textbook"  and will consider it instead an unpostable/damaged book.

In this way, the club defines "textbook" on a case-by-case basis, and no one who is following the rules will be able to "surprise" another person with a highlighted/written-in/underlined book.

Thanks for the clarification.

I was referring to the situation Greg described, in which the recipient already declined the book with writing, so he needs to cancel.