Hi.  I've been a member for a while now and from time to time I offer deals on the book bazaar (when I'm low on credits or what not).

I am not currently running a deal, but received a PM requesting I do a deal for several books on my shelf.  It's a great deal for the requestor, but not for me.  I don't even really want to negotiate a deal of this type (if I did I'd do BoB!)

Is it bad form for me to just say, no thank you?

Thanks for any thoughts or comments.

Cassandra

I've said no many times. They're your books, so you do what you want with them.

I find it really rude when people PM asking for excessive deals. Feel free to turn them down.

Well if you don't feel right about turning it down outright you can always counter-offer. I've done that numerous times.

If there isn't anything in your profile or footer that says you are open to deals... a 3/1 PM seems a little greedy.

If I could coin a standard etiquette for out of the blue deal requests... it would be a 3/2... definitely not a 2/1 or 3/1. 

I did have an author and I wanted 5 books and found a boxer that had all 5.  I sent a PM asking for a 5/3 but left it open ended to see if they had an alternate suggestion. 

If I had received the PM you did... I would counteroffer and say you can _________ for two credits. 

I get a lot more "generous" when there are two credits involved :  )  or kids books :  )

I've heard of members doing this from time to time.  While I'd never do it, I am not sure I agree that it is terribly tacky.  Some people are open to deal propositions and these members know that - they are the "there's no harm in asking" types.  Or, maybe it was a member who has done a deal with you in the past? 

You are well within your rights to say no.

I get them all the time/.Smetimes I deal and sometimes I don't. It depends on what they want and how much the books weigh.

I have a few WL books that are alternate ISBNs. I have one person who keeps nagging me about them for an unfair to me deal. I just say no.

I hate it when people ask for deals where I am going to get less in credits than it is going to cost me to mail them!

I also like to keep a wide variety on my shelf.

And I loved terrie's comment, "this is not a yard sale!"

Thank you all.  This really helps. 

Those kind of PMs bug me too. If I wanted to give my books away for less than a credit each, I would HAVE a deal in place or I'd be a boxer! Love that "this is not a garage sale!" line. Perfect.

Cheryl

Sometimes I think people get carried away by the idea of "free books"  on PBS. It's costing me a lot to mail out as many books as I do. If I just wanted to dump them, I could donate them somewhere. My USBs think I have such good books that I get 70% on my store credit because I don't just have common mass markets.

In most instances I don't mind getting a proposal (like in making a deal).  When I new on here I got a PM about doing a deal for 7 books.  They just happened to be 7 of the latest books in a series by the author.  I declined because I knew as a newbie that I wasn't familiar with how things worked, so I took a long time just to watch, read the forums and try doing normal swaps.  It paid off because within 2 months all of those books were requested for 1 credit each.  I would have been really mad if I'd done it and learned later (as I have) what books in my genre go for and what is wanted.  So I've just sat back and learned.  I've tried doing the (on the BB) a deal for a WL unpostable.  No takers yet!  But I'll read an offer if they want to send one.  I may not do it, but it depends on what books they are.

Ruth

I've only been asked a couple of times, both times it was for a 2 for 1 deal which was fine.  I'm not inclined to do better than that unless I am offering an unpostable.  I wouldn't feel a bit bad about declining a deal.

I wouldn't mind someone asking for a deal.   I also wouldn't hesitate to say no if it wasn't to my benefit.    I figure what's the harm in asking?   

there have been a time or two that i have seen multiple books on someones shelf and asked if they would be interested in working a deal. but i always tell them that if they dont want to, that its not a problem. both times the members offered me a better deal than i expected.

as long as its a reasonable deal, if someone asks i usually say yes. saves me postage money and gets more books out of my house

I got a unsolicited request for a deal just 5 days after I joined PBS. The requestor happened to be a boxer, wanted a 3-for-1 deal and then said she normally just does 4-for-1 or better but she'd "go easy on me.teehee" because I was a newbie. I politely declined saying I wanted to do things one book at a time. I'm basically on here to trade things I have read and get new things to read. It's a great way to try out new cozy mystery authors, since I read those so quickly and they're expensive to buy new, especially since none of them are "keepers."  In retrospect, her offer now strikes me as presumptuous and a tad opportunistic, kind of like she wanted to take advantage of someone who didn't really know the ropes. I may have mass market paperbacks on my bookshelf, but most are from relatively popular mystery series and I get good turnaround as readers work their way through the books and want more from the same author. I personally would turn it down, but I'm new and want to maximize my credits as much as possible.

I am pretty open to offers. I think asking for a two for one deal is OK, and sometimes it might pay off for both parties. However, I think it is a bit much to ask for something rediculous like a 5 for 1 if it's not offered.

Nothing wrong with just asking someone out of the blue if they're willing to make deals, IMO.  But just that.  "Do you ever?", or "are you willing?".  Not I'd like to get these 3 for 1, or 5 for 1, and certainly not "I'll go easy on you this time" and offer to take 3 books off your hands for 1 credit:P  If I got one of those, I'm not sure I could stop laughing long enough to respond:P  People who ask me for deals generally do so because they've dealt with me before and know I'm open to it, or because there's almost always some sort of deal in my signature, and even if they haven't ordered from me before, I post often enough that they're accustomed to seeing it.  If I never ran deals however, or I was new, etc. yeah, I might get a little irritated at someone just up and asking for a 3 or 5 for 1, or something like that.  Then again, I get irritated when people try to bargain me down to practially giving away my yard sale stuff too.  I don't overprice to begin with:P  Again though, just asking if you're willing to deal is perfectly fine, IMO.  You can always say no, and if you are willing to deal, you're in the position to state right off the bat what's acceptable to you.

I really wouldn't mind someone PM'ing me about a deal on my shelf as long as it was reasonable. It never hurts to ask right?

sometimes I'll ask for a deal but nothing better than 2 for 1 and on smaller books that would be less than 1lb.  It doesn't hurt to ask and they can always say no.

I occationally will ask someone if I ordered from them if they'll do a 2 for 1. Not very often though.

For people I've never ordered from before, I say "Please PM me if you are open for any sort of deal".  I DO NOT suggest certain deal myself.  I answer any requests for deals based on the individual PM.  Some I work with, some I don't.

I don't like those intrusive requests and have no problem responding with "Sorry, not doing deals at this time"

I think it's best for you to do what you want.  If anything it's kind of rude for the requestor to ask for a deal.   Just politely decline.