...............that is the question.

I just lost a wishlisted book I'd been awaiting for some time because the sender cancelled the request saying her book didn't meet my conditions; her explanation was that her book was a paperback, not a hardback.  (I know; I didn't lose my place in the wishlist line, but I'll just have to wait some more as this one seems to be slow-moving.)

My condition reads:

My condition pertains only to HARDCOVER BOOKS. 

I prefer hard cover books WITH their dustcovers.  Thanks!

 And recently, when I ordered an audio book on CD's, the sender marked the "doesn't meet requestor conditions" with the explanation that hers was an audio book on CD, not a hardback book. 

How can I write my Requestor Conditions any more clearly?  At this site for avid readers, why aren't the senders actually "reading" my condition?  I added this condition only recently after receiving a recently-published popular hardback book without its dustcover.   I suppose that all I can do is remove the condition.

When you use the phrase, "I prefer..." maybe they are reading your RCs too quickly and think that is all you want. 

What about, "If this is a hardcover book, I request that it have the dust jacket.  If this is not a hardcover book, please disregard my requestor conditions.  Thank you."

I know I received a request once where the person had RCs for hardcovers only. They started with something like this:

If this is a paperback or audio book, please send it. I have no conditions.

And then the next part was their condition for hardcovers.

You also have the option of keeping your RCs turned off and then turning them on when you request a hardcover.

I've had the exact same problem. Twice I requested paperbacks and was denied because of my RC which was very similar to yours. I thought it was pretty clear, but apparently not. I got some help here on the discussion board and this is what I ended up with:

If the book I am requesting from you is a hardcover: I am requesting that hardcovers have their dust jackets, please.

If the book I am requesting from you is a paperback, cookbook or textbook:  PBS postable guidelines are good enough for me. Thanks!

I no longer have any of my wishlisted books on autorequest and I turn my RC off or pm the member if I don't care about the dust jacket or if the book wasn't published with one.

Thanks for all the input!

So if I do not put my hardback wishlisted books on auto-request, then when I'm offered a hardback, I can then change from "No" to "Yes" on the toggle button on my Requestor Conditions and the RC will appear on the sender's screen?

Thanks,

Jan

You know I've been seeing this complaint more often lately.  My opinion is not that these people can't read, I think that this is the way certain folks justfiy declining any RC.  We all know there are those folks out there that refuse them just because they exist.  It seems to me that any reasonable person would understand that condition applies only to hardcover books, not cd's or paperbacks.

It's sad really, because I do believe there are some RC that are very justified and frankly I want the requestor of any of my books to enjoy it, not simply get their credit.

Wow Terri! Thankfully I have never had an RC like that!!

Jan, I have to agree that unfortunately there are members who will decline an RC just because it is there.  I think you should definitely keep your RC since it is your credit and you should be able to enjoy your book.  Turning the RCs on and off is a great way to help prevent people from turning down your RC if it doesn't apply!  Don't get discouraged by having them though...

This site allows conditions - ALL conditions - so I have no problem with them.   They also allow to CANCEL if you want - I have no problem with that.

   I don't care if your conditions says you want a new, never read book - that is YOUR right to put that in a condition.   I also have the complete right to say NO. 

    The only thing I will NEVER do is PM someone about the condition of a book.  You condition statement should be clear enough you don't need a PM.    I read conditions - I send the books that fit - cancel the ones that don't and don't lose a minute's sleep over either.

The only condition I will almost automatically decline (unless I purchased the book new) are the "no smells" RCs. I don't smoke but a lot of the books on my bookshelf came to me by way of a swap so I don't know their history. I will give them the sniff test, but I suffer from seasonal allergies and I'm usually so stuffed up I couldn't smell a mackeral if you waved it under my nose.

On the lighter side, I mail all my books from work so I keep most of them in a big box under my desk. I can't tell you how many times my boss has wandered by and caught me with my face stuffed into the pages of a book snuffling away like a bloodhound. The funny thing is, he has never once asked me what the heck I was doing.

I have been here almost from the beginining and have never felt the need to have a requestor condition on ny books.  I have gotten about 99.9% of the books I have gotten are in really good condition and some have been in really, really good condition..and couple have been less then good, but they were ok. I generally will accept a RC...not a problem for me.  I I usually decline anything that says PM me first.....

Sue, I, too, have been here almost from the beginning (7-24-2005) and never felt the need for a requestor condition until.......UNTIL I received that newly-published popular hardback book without a dustcover.  I was SO disappointed because I had the first two books in this series, and it never occured to me that someone would send such a new hardcover book without its dustcover.  That is what prompted me to recently add this particular requestor condition.

I have, at the suggestion of some of the other posters, changed the wording of my requestor condition, and I hope that the wording of it now will be read and understood.  If I continue to lose books due to the condition, then I will delete it entirely.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Jan

My suggestion is to word your RC with something like "I order hardcover, paperback, and audio books from this site.  If I've ordered a hardcover from you, then I want the dustjacket with it.  If I've ordered a paperback or audiobook from you then there are no conditions, just send it on."

I turn down all never been exposed to smoke conditions because while I don't smoke I don't know where all my books have been. Now I'll accept ones that say something like "from a nonsmoking home."

I also turn down all requests with "subjective" conditions (book must be in very good condition), all conditions I can't figure out (no remainder copies), and conditions that seem argumentative (absolutely no markings of any kind).  How do I know what your definition of very good is?  Or what about remainder copies you are trying to avoid, a black mark on the edge, a sticker or what?  And while, I try to make sure that all my books meet PBS conditions, I don't want to swap with someone who will get upset about a stray pen mark I never noticed when reading the book.

Honestly, I think no matter how you word the conditions, some people will be confused because they didn't really read closely enough.

I had a book requested from me with conditions, and the first line read  "My conditions apply ONLY to hardcover books." Then she went on to say she didn't want ex-library books. I sent her a paperback ex-library book (after some hesitation), but I've read so many times in here "Don't people read my conditions?" so I sent it.  Then she marked it  "did not meet conditions" because it was an ex-library book!!!  If you think I'm taking that chance again, you're wrong!  I know how to READ the conditions, but apparently she did not know how to WRITE the conditions. She also never responded to my follow up pm's.

And that is why I will never send a book with conditions again. I hope that doesn't sound harsh, because I love Paperbackswap.com! I've told so many people about it that my DD jokes about it, "You mean my mom hasn't told you three times about Paperbackswap.com?!"

I accept RCs that are clear and not onerous, but never one that requires a PM.  I would accept the OP's condition if I had a paperback.  BUT ... remember that the sender has to put SOMETHING in the line when they deny an RC, so I wouldn't put too much stock into the reasons they give when they do decline.  And when you have RCs, you risk a decline for any reason or no reason at all.

I am not in the habit of swapping with someone  who has  conditions.  A few of the  RCs I have received were so  picayune it was hard to tell if my book met the conditions.  I have no way of knowing if the book was in a previous smoking household.  One request was so trifle I wondered if the person was a collector or looking for a book that was "just so"  for gift giving. Thanks

About turning them on and off, here's some info from the Help Center:

After you have done this, you can "toggle" Requestor Conditions on and off:

• Use the "Yes/No" option above the text box in that area of your Account Settings to do this
• Click Update Request Settings each time to apply the change
• Choosing No will preserve your text but not show your conditions on any requests you make while the option "No" is chosen.
• When you toggle back to Yes and click to Update settings again, your Requestor Conditions will again be shown on all subsequent requests.
• This is useful if you are requesting books for someone else who does not have the same requirements  (ie, for a friend who is NOT allergic to dogs, while your requestor conditions say that you can't receive books from a household with a dog).
• This is also useful if your Requestor Conditions apply only to specific books (or specific categories of books).
  • Please note that any book you have set to auto-request on your Wish List will be submitted automatically with the Requestor Conditions you have active on your account.  If your Requestor Conditions are not active when an auto-requested Wish List book becomes available, the request will go through without conditions on it.

When your Requestor Conditions are active ("Yes" is chosen above the text box and Update Request Settings has been clicked), the text will show on every request you make.