Hi, so I received a book that didn't meet my requestor conditions. Here are my conditions: 

"I only would like books that are in excellent to like new condition. If the book is more than a few years old, please make sure it is not musty/smelly/dusty or has very yellowed pages before accepting my request. I don't want books that are really worn in the binding either. Thanks a lot!!"

The book I received was the only one in the system at the time I ordered it. It's a paperback. The pages are yellowed, and the book is musty and the binding is "floppy". I marked it as not received in requestor conditions and PBS recommends contacting the person who sent it, but I just don't know what exactly I should say. I don't want to be mean, but I don't feel it's fair because I'm going to have to swap this away. I only want books in excellent condition because I get books to keep them for the most part and I don't like the feeling and smell of dirty pages when I'm reading ;)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Hi, Since you marked the book received with a problem, now you have to PM the sender and politely ask for your credit back.  Just say that the book did not meet your Requester Conditions which were stated before she accepted your request and to please return your credit.  After this is resolved either satisfactorily or not, you should submit Feedback in  your Transaction Archive so PBS has a record of the transaction.

First - Check to make sure you did have your RCs turned on when you requested the book. I am surprised that you would receive many books at all, but especially a well worn one.

Second - Your whole RC is completely subjective. What you think is 'excellent to like new", " musty/smelly/dusty ", "very yellowed pages" or "really worn in the binding " might be different than what another member sees or smells. You really need to rewrite that so that when someone reads it, they are reading conditions that can be answered yes/no diffinitively. If a condition can be answered "not to me" then it is subjective and should be reworded until the answer would no to anyone.

So, you've marked it RWAP and send a request for your credit back? I am a little confused because you say that you marked it RWAP, yet you don't know what to say, but you should have put all that in the message that you send in the process of marking it received. I would recommend keeping it short and simple. Tell them the book did not meet your requester conditions that asked for the book to be in like new condition and not be yellowed and the binding to not be worn. The book is yellowed and worn therefore it doesn't meet the conditions and you'd like your credit back (or not thats up to you). I would NOT go into the fact that you wanted to keep it and now you have to swap it instead because most people believe that swapability is the goal of books and it might just tick them off.

If you ask for something and the member does not answer you at all, then mark followup in 5 days that they didn't respond. If they still don't respond, send in Feedback after a couple more days. If they say they aren't going to return the credit, then mark it as unresolved and move on. If you don't ask the sender to do anything, then mark it resolved right away. I would prepare yourself for a bit of hostility, many members do not like people looking for prestine copies and this member has already ignored the RC. If they get nasty, let the Team know though the Contact Us link.

What's a floppy binding?

If I am reading your post correctly, you did NOT say you marked the book RWAP.  You say you marked the book as not received.  If that is how you marked the book, your credit should have been returned to you. I am confused.  You are not allowed to mark a book not received if you did get it, even if it was in bad condition.

You also said you were going to swap the book.  If it does not meet PBS conditions, you are not allowed to swap it even if you did get it here.

Barbara, I think she RWAPed it because it didn't conform to her requestor conditions. I agree with Melanie on how to deal with this.

I would do what Melanie says. However, I wouldn't expect to get my credit back. Like Melanie also said, your conditions are very subjective. Perhaps they didn't smell the musty part and didn't think the yellowing of the pages was too severe. I'm not sure what a floppy binding is so I can't comment on that. 

I don't think saying you want books in like new condition is too subjective and that would be the only thing I would say you would leave in if you want. I've sent books to people with the like new RC without any problems. The excellent condition part is something you might want to change. I wouldn't even send a like new book because I would be worried that it wouldn't pass your excellent condition clause. Otherwise you might try to make the condition more concrete, like no yellowing of pages instead of very yellowed.

I would also offer the advice to possibly change your RC a little bit to make it more clear. I can see how it could easily be interpreted in a way that is not to your liking.

"very yellowed" is subjective. What might be very yellow to you may be to someone else. I woul just say that you don't want yellowing pages at all.

You should also make some attempt to describe what you mean by "very worn in the binding". I don't think that anybody could guess what that means. Do you accept "some" degree of wear in the binding? If so, how much?

If you only want books in "like-new" condition, then I think you should just say that. You make it sound like you will also accept books with "some" yellowing (however much that is) and "some" wear in the binding (however much that is).

How old is the book you are asking for? If its an old book its going to have yellow pages.

Also, the beginning of your RCs are the worst subjective statement. You say "I only would like books..." this means to me (or some people) that if it isn't like new, and all the rest, that it's not a problem, but you'd rather have had them with the conditions you listed. That part definitely needs to be removed. State that "You will not accept books..." and all the rest.

This thread just shows how impossible it is to please everyone with the wording of an RC.  I had to laugh, Sherry, when I read your post because I feel exactly the opposite from you.  I feel the OP's wording of "I only would like" is just a more polite way for her to frame her request, not that it makes her request optional.  I feel she's using *like* in the same way I sometimes do when I order lunch ("I'd like the turkey & avocado sandwich, please.").  I personally dislike the "I will not accept..." phrasing & find it offputting.  See?  Opposite.    But, hey, vive la difference!

Leslie and Sherry,

Does "please do not send" work for both of you? I'm still trying to figure out this RC thing (not that I have an RC, myself).

"Leslie and Sherry...Does 'please do not send' work for both of you?"

Elizabeth, yes, it sounds fine to me.  I've read some phrased like that: "If you have a smoker in your home, please do not send..."  To my mind, this sounds clear, unsubjective and courteous.  IMO an RC is a request for something either over-and-above the norm (no yellowed or dog-earred pages, no spine creases, *like new*) or for some special consideration (plastic wrap, pet/smoke-free environment), and requests should be politely worded.  :-)

I think "please do not send" works much better than "I will not accept."

Elizabeth, I have had an RC for the past two years, "Please do not send books that smell strongly of cigarette smoke."  I have not ever been turned down for it, nor have any books arrived since I instituted the RC which have smelled of smoke.  Some folks have said that they feel this RC is too subjective, but it's worked for me.