Someone requested one of my books. I printed the label and included the DC. Now the requestor contacts me that she has changed her mind and wants to cancel this transaction. We aren't sure the best way to do this. I know I can cancel from my end, but I don't really want to do that because I'm not the one cancelling. Can the requestor cancel this?

And what about my .27? I guess I'm just out that. No, it isn't the money itself. Just the principle.

After the label has been printed, the requestor is not supposed to cancel.  If you decide to cancel the book, then you will be out the DC charge and lose your place in the FIFO line.

So you have two choices:

1)Mail the book and tell the sender they will have to repost it since you have already printed the label with DC,

or

2)Cancel it on your end and lose the DC money and your place in the FIFO line.

It's just up to you.  This is why I think it's rude for people to ask the sender to cancel when that option does not exist for them anymore.

The requester cannot cancel after the label is printed.  Since you are sending the book with PBS-DC, I would just mail the book because you will get  your credit when the book is scanned (or instantly if you used PBS postage), and notify the member the book has been mailed. 

My response would have been to drop it in the mailbox, then simply reply with "Sorry, the book's already in the mail."   I just don't think there's any reason why you should lose your money and place in line because of someone else's impulsive ordering.  It would be different if you wouldn't have printed.  The help center is clear on no cancellations by requester after printing.

Was there something about the book that did not meet their conditions or PBS conditions?

I noticed once that I should PM the person because it didn't have a dust jacket...they said NO WAY I want it and though it's not rules, I didn't want anyone unhappy. They were so happy...but I blew my postage. I look at it as being happy versus arguing.

Has to ask...

Carly, unless the person has requestor conditions that pop up at the time of ordering that say they won't accept books without dustjackets, then you can send the book and they have to accept it.  You don't have to pm anyone beforehand about books as long as they meet the posting conditions unless it's a textbook that has writing in it or a cookbook that has some stains on it.  If that person didn't have conditions on their account and pm'd you after the fact, then they should have taken the book.  I'm sorry that happened to you.

I noticed once that I should PM the person because it didn't have a dust jacket...

Carly;  You do not have to PM the requester if a hardcover book does not have a dust jacket!  The rules clearly state that hardcovers do not have to have a dust jacket, except, if it is in the requesters conditions.

Thanks for all the responses.

Carly, there were no conditions, and, even if there were, this is a non-smelly, clean, great condition book.

I'm very much leaning toward just sending the book, especially since the requestor is not responding to my PMs about our options. How much trouble can she make if this makes her mad, though? Can she mark the book "received with problems" and that sort of thing?

I  think she PM'd me that she no longer wanted it and expected that to be the end of it. Poof. Problem all gone.

arrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhh

I have better things to worry about today.

Sharon

Thank you for all the support about my non- mandatory resolve to that issue to everyone.

I understand that it's not the official rules for the dust jacket but I was fortunate my person Pm'd me back somewhat soon "gasping it was for a private collection" .

In my situation, I have one idea in mind in life in general, and it's to keep peace around me.Making someone noticable unhappy is not something I would be comfortable with.  I know I have eaten bad books on occasion to not make confrontational issues and because I remember being even a newer newbie than I am and "just not knowing". I am sure everyone in this forum with great and vast experience has done the same thing gracefully as Sharon's trying to do. I am still a newbie but I try to listen and learn from all of you.

In Sharon's case it appears someone is just "ignoring" her requests which is really a rough issue to deal with.  I have someone wanting a cookbook on wishlist now for 3 days I have waited and waited and waited after I told them there is a small stain on it and I need to make sure you know. It's so frustrating.

Sharon, if this person won't answer under PBS everyone's right just send the book but then again they could say "not received" or something to damage your precious reputation.   I think I'd cancel it for "my" peace of mind and perhaps in their heart if you send a sweet PM, they will give you a few points to make up for the loss.   It might take them awhile to respond but you could kindly say i just blew X-amount on that but if this is really what you want, I am going to make sure it's done.

I have however, been known to be too soft (to a point). I have faith you will do what is right for you Sharon.

Regards,

Carly

Sharon, if it were me, I would just go ahead and send it.  They should have cancelled sooner.  If they don't want it, they can repost it.  You shouldn't have to lose money and your place in line.  If they mark it RWP, just drop R&R a line and let them know what happened.  I would just mail it and forget about it.

I guess I'm the odd person out here.   I wouldn't send it - not even if I didn't get another PM from her.    I just don't want to send a book someone doesn't really want.          I KNOW I'd be under no obligation to cancel, but good book vibes never hurt.  It's not going to break or make me to be out a few cents and go to the back of the FIFO line.       

Again I realize I would have NO obligation to do this - it's just the way I'd handle it.

PBS will have a record of the fact that she sent you the PM to cancel after you printed the label and paid for DC. So if she marks it received with a problem or lets it go "lost" you will still get your credit. You would just have to PM R&R and let them know the situation. I would have done what someone else suggested when I got the PM: mailed it asap and sent it off, then PM'd them that I'd already mailed the book.  Of course I use PBS postage so for me, I would be out the DC and postage for the book. If you hadn't paid for DC then it would just be a matter of going back to the end of the FIFO line.  Then I would have based my decision on how many copies were in the system.  PBS won't put you back on the top of the line if you choose to cancel the request. 

My two cents:  I'm with the majority here.  She waited too long to cancel, so just mail out the book.  She can always repost it and recoup her credit that way.  So, neither one of you would be the loser.

If you cancel, you lose postage and FIFO place.  That would be the worse decision IMHO, since there is loss with this option.  Other option, no loss to either party.

It's really your choice, but if it happened to me, I would pop the book in the mail and say, "Sorry I already mailed it -- just hadnt gotten back here to mark it mailed yet."

If you want to consider the 27 cents lost to "goodwill" that's entirely your choice -- but I'm having a feeling that if the shoe were on the other foot, things would be different.

You deserve your credit for this transaction, and I really think that's the end of the story.  If she wants to repost the book she can do so.

May I remind everyone (not that all you smart women need reminding), but the requestor already had an hour of buyers remorse.  That's what it's there for, to avoid just this problem.  It's unfair to be asked to break the rules.  Drop it in the mail and have a good day!

Did the person indicate why they wanted to cancel? I know it shouldn't make a difference, but for me it would. If the system reordered a book they requested in a deal that got cancelled, I would feel bad forcing the book on them.  I would try to accomodate the person as much as I could as long as they were polite about the situation. I once ordered a book that was listed in giftable condition in the BB, only to have the person cancel the order and my request got passed on to the next person who accepted, printed and marked as mailed all within 3 minutes so the order couldn't be cancelled. No real buyers remorse time in that situation. As Cozy said, I like to keep my book deals as bad-vibe-free as possible. I always try to put myself in the other person's shoes.

If it really bothers you to have printed the DC and then have them cancel, then by all means, exercise your right to mail the book.

I'm with Cozi--I've cancelled before at the requestor's request (boy, that looks funny!) and although I lost the DC money, I figure that that's postage money I saved by not sending a book to someone who clearly no longer wants it.  And if you're a believer in karma, what goes around, comes around :)  Better good karma for me, then ;)

I use DC through Endicia.com and can get a refund for unused postage I print.  If you are using DC through PBS to be sure your book gets marked as received automatically, then I suppose you may end up losing money from time to time if you can't get a refund.  Are you guaranteed your point using PBS DC even if the receiver is unhappy with the transaction?  The only issue I have personally seen so far is where the sender canceled a BOB after she printed postage and then got upset with me for the postage she lost as a result of her own actions.  I got negative feedback even though I was not the one to cause her to lose her money (she still blames me, though) and I left her negative feedback since she was so rude.  It seems highly likely you will end up with "received with problems" feedback if you send this book and that probably is not worth the money you will lose if you go ahead and cancel.  I prefer to avoid conflict with people so I have had to take some personal losses in order to have peace in my life. 

It doesn't surprise me that many people would mail the box anyway and they certainly have every right to do so.      It does surprise me how many people said they'd lie about it and say they had already mailed it.         Why bother?  You can just deny her request without lying about it. 

I don't think it's unfair to ask!      I don't think anyone has any obligation to cancel the book but what is the harm in someone asking for a favor?     Am I missing something here?   Most of the people I've met on here would be willing to LISTEN to a request for a favor even if they had to say NO. 

I think it's unfair to ask because PBS has it set up so that there is a window of opportunity to cancel, and that window had already passed and that member knew it.  In this case, the sender had already spent money on the requester.  For all we know, the requester wants to order something different or sell credits in the BB instead.  I just don't think it's polite to try and go around the system and ask for special favors at the expense of others.  There are some books that I have had on my shelf for over a year, and I would be not be happy to be put in the back of the line again because someone else did not think that they needed to follow the system's guidelines.  Once that window passes, you're not just asking someone to cancel a book request, you're asking them to eat postage money and give up their spot in line.  I think that's a lot to ask just because you changed your mind.

Okay, you guys have really had me thinking this over. Good points all around. My main irritation was that the requestor wanted to cancel and then left it all in my hands without regard for what it would cost me (in money, place in line, general angst over wanting to do the right thing). Small things really, but just as I don't know what is going on her life to make her want to cancel this, she doesn't know what I am dealing with in my personal life. And I really did want to handle this in the best possible way for both of us.  I realize that I would have been within my rights to go ahead and send the book, but I don't know if that would have been liveable for me knowing that the requestor didn't want it.

So, I decided to cancel this transaction from my end. I feel freer already.

Thank you all!

That's the important thing, that you did whatever worked out best for you.

When you contact her to let her know that you cancelled it, you may want to let her know, in a nice way of course, that you had already paid for the DC charge, and that in the future, she should be sure and cancel on her end before the sender has printed the label and loses their place in line.

I have been reading posts to understand the inter workings of  PBS.  And I was wondering what this FIFO line is?

Amanda   "your place in the FIFO line."

Daniella    "place in line "

Sharon I would do what feels right to you. You are the one who has to live with you. JMO

Can't say it enough Merry Christmas. And I'm loving it here at PBS.

I've had this happen after I printed the label.  I mailed it off anyways and told them that if they don't want it they can repost it.  The system is set up so the requestor has plenty of time to change their minds before the label has been printed. 

FIFO means First In, First Out.  Let's say you post a book that already has 100 copies in the sytem.  That means you are number 101.  So those other 100 people have to have their copy requested before yours gets requested (unless someone directly requests the copy from your shelf).  Let's say that book is......Nora Roberts Blue Dahlia.  So anybody that searches for Blue Dahlia and just clicks on the Order Now button will be using the FIFO system. 

Now.  If someone orders from you and then cancels the request, you will go back into the #1 space in line, meaning the next person to order Blue Dahlia will be ordering it from you.  However, if YOU cancel the order, you now have to go to the back of the line again.  So now there might be 29 people in line that have copies of Blue Dahlia or 200, but you will have to wait your turn again.  This may not be a big deal if the book is really popular and gets lots of requests.  But if it's been sitting on your shelf for a really long time, and people rarely order it, and now you are going to have to start all over again, well, you can see where that might be frustrating.

But the FIFO system is really great, because it's fair, and you can only post one copy of a book at a time, so one person can't post 10 copies of the same book and take up 10 slots.  It gives everybody a chance to get their copies requested, in the order that they listed them in the system.

Hope that made sense!