I had a book on my wish list (Shadows) that was just ordered for me using the auto-request feature. I have been waiting for this book for ages!  The person I requested it from just declined my request saying that she couldn't meet my requesting conditions.

I currently have a requestor condition about a book named The House WIth A Clock in Its Walls, saying I will only accept the illustrated version. It says in my condition, very plainly, that the condition applies only to the House... book. She declined my request because she apparently thought I was requesting that the Shadows book have illustrations.

According to the automatic reply email I got, it says: "Please note that you will not be able to request THIS copy of the book from this sender, even if you change your Requestor Conditions. You will need to wait until another copy of the book becomes available."

But it's not MY mistake!! What can I do??

Check your transaction archive and pm the person who has the book ask if she'll send it to you if youbuddy her a credit.

Some people will just decline anyone with RC regardless of what they are. Really stinks when it is obviously not about the book you requested from them. You will go back on the WL first in line and hopefully the next person will actually look at the RC before declining.

There really isn't anything you can do. Unless you were the only person in line for the book, the book has already been offered to the next person in line.  So, she can't send it to you even if she wants to.  It stinks to miss out on books because some people decline ALL requests with conditions, even those that don't apply to their book.  It's not right; it totally stinks, but it happens, and you may miss out on other books because of it.  I think that this is one of those situations where you have to weigh your choices.  If you have the illustrated version of the book (the one that the condition is for) on your wishlist, is it really that important to put a condition on your account?  If someone posting it follows the guidelines, then they will use the ISBN # to post the book & it will be illustrated.  If they don't then they're probably not going to pay any more attention to your condition than they did to the rules. 

Kind of ironic that certain people can't READ here, huh? 

Couldn't this be solved by having only the specific ISBN for the illustrated "Clock" book on your wishlist?

Also, to follow up on Danielle's response, you can always PM the person with the Clock book being offered (when it's offered to you) to make sure it is the one you want before they mail it to you.  That way you can remove the conditions from your settings and you won't get declined so many books.

Put the Clock book(s) on your wish list, but do not set auto-request to yes. Remove your conditions. When you get an email saying the Clock book was posted, add back the conditions then accept the offer. Remove them again once the request is accepted.

I'll admit it - if it is a highly wishlisted book & requestor conditions pop up - I will decline the conditions, barely reading them.   I figure there are plenty of other folks waiting for the book, I'd rather avoid the conditions scenario.    No, it is probably not fair, but I don't spend a lot of time on conditions that way. 

I just declined a request with conditions. It requested a book with no smokey or musty smells etc. etc. I got the book frm the library booksale so couldn't guarantee it was never exposed to smoke. It smelled perfectly fine to me but I know some people are hyper sensitive to certain smells and when it said I would not get a credit if her conditions were not met I didn't want to take that chance.

It takes two seconds to read conditions and see that it doesn't apply in this case.  Honestly, I don't see why people act so uppity about conditions. 

Jennifer,

I PM'ed you.

This is how I think it will work: If there are other people wishing for the book, it will be sent to the next person and you'll go back to your place in the WL line.  Once they are finished and re-post it, you'll be next in line for the book.  Then, maybe THEY will read your conditions properly!

Deb

I have the specific illustrated book ISBN on my wishlist. I keep getting auto-notifications about people listing the book, but not the edition I had wishlisted. I did some research, but couldn't tell if the post I kept getting offered was the same as the book I had wishlisted. So I made it a condition and took a chance on ordering one of them, in the hopes that the sender would verify that their copy did have the illustrations before sending it to me.

I wrote to the guys who run PBS and they told me I could buddy the Shadows sender a credit and he could manually send me the book, so we will see how that goes. Thanks for all the replies!

We have had many people say they refuse all conditions and don't even read them.

I had something similar happen to me. I have a requestor condition about 'no smoky smell' and I got turned down for a book today with the explanation "the book smells a little like perfume".  what??? I don't say anything about perfume smells.  I really wish people would take the time out to read the conditions and read them correctly. 

The posts you get about other books similer are all about books with different ISBNs, not the same one as you had wishlisted, so I would definately suggest that if you can't get the book from the one who declined it, then just take the condition off.  You are going to get the right one because that is the one you have wishlisted, not the others.

Those emails are just in case you don't care about which copy you get.  Just delete them and wait for the right one to be posted.  That one will show up on your home page and not just as an email.

I try to honor requests when I can, especially if I consider them clear and reasonable.  But I'll admit that if I'm in a hurry, it's easier sometimes to just skip it.   And, I'm afraid I  have little patience for the ones that basically demand only just-like-new-books. Depending on the tone, I pretty much refuse all those on principle.  PBS members have the right to list any conditions they want. Likewise, PBS members have the right to decide whether or not to accept those conditions - for whatever reason.

As far as the "smell like smoke" one, that can be dicey.  I don't have a strong sense of smell myself.  If I didn't buy the book new, I might not accept that one, just to be on the safe side.  Just because it doesn't bother ME, doesn't mean someone who's sensitive to smoke will be okay with it.

Hi, I'm new here but for what it's worth I agree with acewarriormom.  :)  My mother is extremely allergic to cigarette smoke and there are times she can smell it  on things or across a crowded room and start showing symptoms of her allergy when the rest of us are completely oblivious!!  I wouldn't send anyone a book with the non-smoking condition unless it was a book I had originally purchased NEW and never loaned to anyone who smoked.

Patricia, my request is a currently non smoking environment.  I don't have an allergy, just don't like the way it smells.  I think it all comes down to the way the RC is worded.  for some they don't care about the history of the book, just where it is now.

I went back and forth about whether to send the book with the no smoke, musty smells etc. conditions. For example I love "old book smell." Not nasty, damp basement mold smell, but that unique smell that libraries, museums, old books etc. have. Somebody else might consider that a bad smell and I'm out a book, shipping and a credit because I sent them a book that is supposedly not up to their standards. I buy alot of my books by the bagful at the library booksale. Most of them are not ex-library books, just donated books. I have no idea where they have been or what allergens they may have been exposed to. I just don't want to take that chance. Some restrictions are easy like no ex-library or no highlighting. But when it comes to smells I will almost always decline. Everybody smells things differently and while I think I have a good sense of smell somebody else might be be far more sensitive especially if they have allergies to a specific scent.

Why would someone turn down a request just because it has certain conditions?  I don't find anything wrong with people that ask for a book in with conditions.  It only takes a few minutes to read it and make sure your book is what they wish. 

I just declined sending a wishlisted book b/c I felt the persons conditions were to rigid- which made me think that if I felt my book meet or exceeded those expectations & did send it- there was a good chance the person would be overly critical & not be happy with it anyways. Not worth the chance.

To me- if you are getting a wishlisted book- and it's in good/great condition you should be happy with that without being overly nitpicky. If you want a perfect edition- there are new bookstores for that.

Just my two cents worth.