Someone requested a paper back book from me, but has in the special request section hard cover with dust jacket only.  Are these generic requests that show up each time this person orders a book, or is it specific to this order?  I don't see any way to find the person's info w/out saying that yes, I can meet requirements and ship book.  How do you handle this?

What you are talking about are RC's, which are requestor conditions that some members have that are beyond PBS requirements. I have an RC that asks for hardcovers to have their dustjackets. But, like me she only means if her request is a hardcover book and not a paperback book. If her request is a paperback book, then her RC doesn't pertain to it. So, you would send the paperback book to her.

Yes, it could be a generic request meant only to apply to HC requests, but please make sure that the listing in PBS for the book says paperback. Sometimes the ISBNs are the same on both. If the listing says hardcover you'd need to accept the RC, then cancel the request and repost the book through the book without an ISBN process.

Yes, it specifically says mass market paperback.  I assumed that was the case, but didn't want to send someone a book they didn't want, and didn't want to cancel a request that they did want.

What Connie said, you should be fine if the book is listed as MMPB and the binding of your book is MMPB.  If you wanted to be super-sure, you can accept the request then pm to confirm the requester understands they've requested the paperback edition...but it's totally optional. 

I had a similar situation today that I didn't know how to handle.  The requestor had a special request about books that come from a smoking home (which mine is not).  She wanted me to PM her before agreeing to send the book so she could be sure it meets her standards.  As I see it, there was no way to PM her unless I agreed to send the book.  Her id wasn't available so I could PM her until I declined.  Since I've recently been burned by another requestor, I declined and cancelled the transaction.  Was there another way to handle her request?

This has recently become much more complicated than it used to be. 

Stacy I would not have accepted that either. I personally don't PM on any RCS. If it isn't worded clearly then I decline and explain why. If the person with the RC is undecided as to which books they want the RC to apply to-then IMHO they need to get rid of hte RC.  Either way I am not PMing them to discuss if they want my book or not.  It's not like we're negotiating a sale on an expensive, rare, antique book. 

I also would have denied the request.  Maybe the requestor only wants hard covers and didn't realize she accidently requested a paperback.  When asked for a reason for denying the request, I'd just put in that the book wasn't a hardcover.

I have a dust jacket RC, but I state in my RC that it does not apply to paperback orders.  (I clarified this when someone declined my request for a paperback--due to the fact it didn't have a dust jacket.)

Martina, it would depend (for me) on how it was worded. If it says something like, "For hardcover requests only, dust jackets must be present. If this is a paperback request, please send, the requestor condition doesn't apply" then I would send it. If it's worded unclearly where you're not sure if she thinks she's ordered a hardcover or whatever, I'd probably decline.

Stacy, I would also have declined that request with an RC. I never PM about RCs and if the RC isn't clear, decline. If they DO ask you to PM them first and your are amenable to doing so, there isn't a way to do that without first accepting the request.

Cheryl

Yes, a Requestor Condition should be clear enough that you don't have to PM to clarify.  If the requestor really wants someone to PM before requesting, then by including her PBS Nickname in the RC, it enables the sender to find her in the membership directory (under the "community menu") so that the sender doesn't have to accept the request in order to access the PM button.

"...Was there another way to handle her request?"  No Stacy, if the other member has no contact information listed in the RC, there is no way for you to initiate contact without accepting the transaction first.  Decline and fill in the 'reason' box.

When I first had my dust jacket RC, a lot of people canceled my requests, saying their book was a paperback. I hated that. I came on here and several people gave me suggestions to improve it.  So, then I wrote that if it is a paperback book, please send.