I have an RC and I have been turned down for the last 4 hardback "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" posted in a row. Is the RC clear? I feel like it is...

"Harry Potter hardback books will have their dustcovers.

Books will be wrapped in plastic in addition to the PBS wrapper. Any plastic is fine new or used or reused or recycled!

Thanks and Happy Swapping."

The people who declined gave no notes, it's possible that they just didn't have the dust jackets. I just wanted to make sure they were worded correctly, not rude and easy to decipher. I know some people turn down ALL RCs, so I am not concerned about that. TIA!

I believe the phrasing you used comes off as a bit authoritative: "Harry Potter hardback books will have their dustcovers" sounds quite demanding.  I think you might be right that perhaps these copies simply didn't have their jackets, although it's hard to tell if the posters don't include reasons for declining.  I think you might have better luck with something like "I am not willing to accept this book without a dust jacket, nor am I willing to accept if the item is not wrapped in plastic." 

I tend to take RCs very literally, so I would decline because I don't use the PBS wrapper. I also don't wrap in plastic. I use the U-line poly-mailers, which are waterproof, but the way your RC is worded, I'd decline it.

There's also something 'off' about the tone of it...I think it's the "books WILL HAVE"...it sounds like a command. I'd be inclined to say, "no, they won't" and decline. But that's just because I hate people telling me what to do. LOL For whatever reason I have no issues when someone says (for example) "Harry Potter hardback books MUST HAVE their dustcover." The "will have" is just off-putting for some reason.::shrugs:: That's just me and my weird quirks.

Cheryl

I found the "Will Have" somewhat off putting as well.

I think the problem might be this line.

Books will be wrapped in plastic in addition to the PBS wrapper. Any plastic is fine new or used or reused or recycled!

It sounds like you are saying you send your books in plastic instead of making a request for the sender using plastic. I get a lot of requestor conditions that mention how they send their books that aren't really requestor conditions. I do send the books but always hesitate a litle.

I'd change the RC to this, "If I am requesting a Harry Potter Hardcover book, I require the dust jacket. Also, I request books sent to me be wrapped in plastic. It can be new, reused, or recycled. Thanks and Happy Swapping."

"Harry Potter hardback books will have their dustcovers."

I don't find the 'will' offputting per se but it seems to me as if you are declaring that all HP books have dustcovers instead of requesting that they ones sent to you do. :)

I would say 

 Please decline my request if there is no dustcover for ___ hardcover books.

Due to wet weather, I am requesting that all books be wrapped in plastic.

make it short, polite and to the point.

Thanks everyone. I had no idea my RC sounded rude!

I like Kathy's wording of

"Please decline my request if there is no dustcover for ___ hardcover books.

Due to wet weather, I am requesting that all books be wrapped in plastic."

Thanks!

"Harry Potter hardback books will have their dustcovers.

Books will be wrapped in plastic in addition to the PBS wrapper. Any plastic is fine new or used or reused or recycled!

Thanks and Happy Swapping."

I like your closing statement, but it's hard to be happy about swapping with a commando. LOL! I am teasing. Keep it simple. Keep it sweet. Make RCs easy on the eyes (bullet statments) and therefore easy to understand. No commanding tone necessary.

Example:

Hello Fellow PBS Member:

• Please send original dustjacket with the book
• Please wrap book in any type of plastic to protect from the soggy weather.

Thank you kindly your help, and happy swapping : )

Jessica, I think Kathy's phrasing & TT's, too, are perfect for your revision.  Sorry, JimmyJan, but I cannot stand the "I am not willing" wording!  Really gets my back up.  I'm a swapper that will send to anyone with RC's that I can meet, but will still teeter and may not if the RC comes off as rude or demanding.  

I don't have a lot of experience penning my own RC's, so I just went with the suggested wording provided by PBS.  I'll admit, it's not exactly how I'd go about it, myself, but for lack of a better suggestion (like so many offered by others) I just went with that.  I agree that "Please decline my request if..." sounds MUCH better.

The PBS wording is set up as a negative.  And I always feel that reading RCs that are positive phrasing are so much more inviting.   I'm a big believer that a RC is asking for a favor, not demanding one.  The demand set up feels like there is a greater chance of problems.

I agree that positive phrasing sounds much nicer, but does wording like "please ---" or "I am requesting ---" invite looser interpretation?  As in, 'it's just a preference, not a mandate'?  Personally if it's in an RC I consider it sacrosanct, but I used to have a condition that read "All books should ---" and after receiving a book that clearly violated that condition, I reconsidered and changed it to "All books must ---".  Might've just been that person, but maybe they interpreted "should" as "I'd prefer".

Anyone who's going to ignore an RC will likely do so regardless of wording, but do more imperative statements give more pause, or at least leave less room for quibbling and 'Ohh, I thought it was alright' later on?  And if so, what are some wordings people have that are both friendly and iron-clad?

What about "I request that  all Harry Potter books have their dustcovers" and the like.  "I request" does not seem to be a favor, like "I would appreciate" might be.

Just my 2 cents.  RCs can be very tricky things to write ;)

The "Harry Potter books will" line, even though it is a positive command will irk some people.  People don't like to feel like they are mandated to do something, and if they perceieve it as the slightest bit off-putting or rude, they will ignote the request and move on to the next person. 

Good luck with your new wording!  :)

I agree with the wording, " Due to weather conditions in my area, I request that my book order be wrapped in a layer of plastic under the mailing wrapper.  Please decline my request if the book I ordered does not have the dust jacket.  Thanks so much and happy trading!"

I think using the word please doesn't make it optional, but polite.  Unfortunately, no matter what you write in those RCs, you'll always have a few bone-headed traders who think the RCs don't apply to their book. 

ARG! I just got turned down for the 6th time! I kinda melded together the suggestions and my own original.

"Please decline my request if there is no dustcover for Harry Potter hardcover books.

Due to CRAZY Georgia weather, I am requesting that all books be wrapped in plastic. Any plastic is fine: new or used or reused or recycled!

Thanks and Happy Swapping."

*SIGHS* well, I will just keep accepting. I hope it isn't the plastic request that is turning people off.

It could just be that they don't have the dust jackets.  The HP books are popular with kids and most of the ones I see in thrift stores are all beat up, missing dust jackets and just not in good shape. 

I bet Mary is correct - I imagine the dustcover is the sticking point. I'm hope you get one soon!

I like your closing statement, but it's hard to be happy about swapping with a commando.

LOL.  I agree.  It comes across a bit like R. Lee Ermey from the History channel.  I would replace the Happy Swapping bit with "Now drop and give me 20!", and that should work:P

Oh, lol, just had to add this - I just looked at his web page and the little toon intro is hilarious... http://www.rleeermey.com/

hooray! I finally got a taker!