I just got turned down because of my RC. Not usually a big deal to me, but this one had me perplexed and a bit angry that they're probably planning on sending this to the next person in line. Here's my RC:

Unfortunately, that's what it sounds like to me. Or just maybe, you got someone to read the guidelines for the first time.

Well, since you put it that way...

Anythingthat gets the newbies to actually read the guidelines that they agreed to abide by when they signed up is okay by me. Just doing my duty. 

Frightening

Lisa,

I know what you mean, but..... long time members can send out bad/questionable books also.

(comment not constructive)edited

I'm sure the folks like you that post in the forums are not gonna do that-

I have received 220 books since joining , so that's a fairly good sample.

Most in great condition, bad ones no need to dwell on and be negative, but a few.

I've asked for help a few times here and everyone in the forums is terrific. Gray areas have been clarified and I thank you all.

Some of the nicest and best wrapped books I've received were from fellow newbies.

I love PBS and want to be a good citizen.  LOVE you all!  Books and shoes (that's my job, shoe sales) are my life.

Previous post is not a whine! I know I have a lot to learn and should read the Help Docs before just taking the easy route and asking you all questions....

The new kids are always pesky!

edited to say: I have read the Help Docs and asked that PBS Librarian a thousand questions (she/he is probably tired of me clicking away)

Yes, they probably would have sent the book if it wasn't for your RC! But having that in your RC is unnecessary-all books offered need to be postable. I'd remove it, and just RWAP and ask for credit returned for problem books-it's the only way to teach them.  Also the first line about paperbacks is also unnecessary, and the second about hardcovers is somewhat oddly phrased, maybe you should simply say "Hardcovers must include dustjackets in good condition". I've noticed that people often reject complicated RC's to avoid "picky" persons.

Melissa: Everything in my RC is definitely necessary. It's been tailor-edited over the years to deal with the mass confusion that is caused in some people when you don't spell things out for them. The paperback clause is now there because if it wasn't, people with paperbacks often assume that I'm trying to order hardcover and turn me down. The phrase "If the book is a hardcover..." is apparently just beyond a whole lot of people. I've gotten "this book is a paperback!!!" so many times that I had to add it.  And I don't tell anyone they "must" do anything. I'm not their mother. 

Margaret: Yes, my momma taught me to be polite. Flies with honey, ya know.

Actually, the content of my RC hasn't been changed in quite a while because it works so well. Nobody has ever had a personal gripe about it. I've (so far) only been turned down because the didn't have the dust jacket. My point was that I added the last line in hopes of educating the unaware. I didn't think it was helping, and was considering removing it until now, since it seems to have worked in at least this one case.

Lisa, I would report the member to the PBS Team. I did this once in the past because I was turned down for the same reason--known water damage. This way you can prevent someone from having to deal with the person, too, and save them from probably not getting their credit back in an RWAP situation.

Lisa- I agree with Jennifer- You should report this member to the PBS team so that someone else doesn't have to receive a book that is unpostable.

Lisa- I agree with Jennifer- You should report this member to the PBS team so that someone else doesn't have to receive a book that is unpostable.

But does she know that the person reposted the book?   Is the same book back on her shelf?  I don't know about reporting the person, because you don't know for sure that she has done anything wrong.   True, she almost posted it to the OP, but it;'s not clear if she is going to repost this book or just remove it from her shelf. 

The only ones that know the answer to those questions would be the team.  They would be able to check if the book was removed from her bookshelf.  If the book was actually reposted to someone else, they would be able to check for any PMs that the requestor is aware of the damage and OK with it.  Therefore, I think it should actually be reported to the team.  They would be the ones to decide if further action is warranted or not.

Melissa -- Also the first line about paperbacks is also unnecessary.  Yes, it is, as someone who has almost an identical RC.  If you don't put the line about paperbacks, there are meny less intelligent people who will decline a request for a paperback because "it's not a hardcover" or "iot doesn't have a dust jacket".  Yes, as mean as it sounds -- there are some really dumb people here, because as a subset of the US, there's a lot of really dumb people in the whole country.

Oh, yeah, I agree, you definitely need the line about paperbacks. (I have a RC that also pertains to just hardcovers, and I started out without the "paperback" line, and I would get declines because "the book is paperback").

There are a lot of people out there who do not understand all the nuances of the site, it really is better to spell out exactly what you mean, even when you think it ought to be obvious.

No, I didn't report the person. They are obviously now aware (if they weren't before) that the book is not postable. I figue that if this person wants to ignore the guidelines and send the book to the next person in line, they are going to have a very brief and unhappy experience here. I have no idea if they are planning on ignoring the rules, and nothing reportable has actually happened, so I see no reason to report them. I'm not going to send in an email asking for this person to be reprimanded because I get the feeling that they just might send an unpostable book. The site's methods of weeding out  problem children are effective and I'm not going to add to anyone's workload by sending in a complaint that they probably can do nothing about.

And yes, I'll state again that the first line of my RC is absolutely essential to clarify the second line. Ever since I added it, I have not had a single turn-down because "the book you ordered is a paperback, not a hard cover!" Before I added it, my hard cover requests were being turned down about 50% of the time. I found it extremely frustrating (and a little scary) that so many people were unable to understand the meaning of a simple sentence.