Hi, I was wondering, if I post a book, and someone requests it, do I have the right to refuse to send it? Thanks...

Not unless it is for a reason such a declining their Requestor Conditions.  Per the PBS Terms of Use:

"By posting or listing an item for exchange with the Site, you agree to ship the item when requested. The posting or listing of items without the intention of exchanging them when requested is expressly prohibited and may constitute wire or mail fraud in violation of U.S. and state law. The listing or posting of items for exchange that you do not have in your physical possession is expressly prohibited."

Why would you post it if you don't want to send it?

Is there a reason you don't want to send the book?

If you looked at it and discovered it was actually unpostable, then you should definitely cancel it. If you know without a doubt that you can't make it to the Post Office for whatever reason, then you should cancel it. I've had to cancel a requested book or two because I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it to the Post Office to send them and then reposted the books afterwards. If you know you'll be gone for a while, you need to put your account on a vacation hold but if, like me, it's just gonna be a busy week, then you should cancel it and not leave the requestor hanging.

Really, if you post a book, then you should prepare to send it out the moment it's requested. If you cancel too many requests, it will show a pattern of bad habits on your account and you could get shut down.

It will help your account if you explain why you are canceling the book.

You always have the right to turn down a RC.  Even if the reason is just that it sounds to picky.

Well, I would say...yes, you DO have that right. Even if you posted the book in good faith, intending to mail it, you have the right to change your mind. People do it all the time for a variety of reasons. Yes, the PBS terms of service say that you should only post books you're ready to send, but they also say you should only wishlist books you're prepared to accept when they are posted....and look how many people decline wishlisted books for a variety of reasons...."oops! I bought that, forgot to take it off the list!" or "I decided I don't like that series anymore," or "my friend gave it to me, don't need it." And nobody thinks anything of it. And that's not even counting those who just don't respond at all--which is the same as declining or cancelling.

So you CAN decline...whether it's because of RC's, if you've had a problem transaction with the person ordering it before, or you've decided the book is too heavy and costs too much to mail, you CAN just cancel the order and it will be removed from your shelf. I would think though that if you do that too often you'll probably get an e-mail from PBS alerting you that your account is being watched because you cancel too many orders.

Cheryl

I agree with everybody!  The book is yours until you mail it out, so you have the right to cancel it and/or remove it from your bookshelf but you stated when you joined the site that you would send out posted books when requested, and if you display a "habit" of refusing to send out requested books, the site administrators will take action and you would be jeopardizing your account.  An occasional refusal to send, especially with a good explanation attached, should not overtly harm your membership standing.

The one problem with cancelling a book once it has been requested is that you will lose your place in the FIFO line if you cancel the transaction.  I believe they even take the book off your shelf.

There is no reason you can't cancel an order.  Lots of people do for a lot of different reasons.  Some have a list of people they consider "problem swappers" and refuse to accept an order from them.  No problem if you aren't doing this with a lot of orders.

I've had to cancel once when I couldn't find the book anywhere - still haven't found it.  Another time I posted a book by mistake. Felt really bad about having to cancel though. Sometimes you find that even though you checked the book before posting that something happened to it and it doesn't meet PBS specifications and you have to cancel for that reason.

 Pat

"I have only had to cancel a few books. I had to cancel one last week though because I couldn't find it."

"I've had to cancel once when I couldn't find the book anywhere - still haven't found it."

I'm so glad to read that I am not alone in this!  I had to cancel an order recently because a book I'd posted when I first joined had disappeared. I searched high and low & I don't even have the excuse that I moved!  When I declined the request, I just sheepishly explained the reason in the box. So, Michael, it seems that many of us have had to cancel a request for one reason or another. 

I had to cancel one recently for not being able to find it.  I looked for 3 days and I swear I touched every book I own.  I found it the other day when I was unpacking books after a move.  So obviously it was with all my books since it made it into a box of only books. 

I had to cancel a WL book one time because I got brownie badder on it.  It must have gotten on me somehow because the book was never in the kitchen. 

I had to cancel a book once because when I grabbed it from my bookshelf to wrap it I realized I had posted a library book that I had forgotten to take back! I didn't want the requester to know that I was such an idiot so I said that I couldn't find the book. Plus, when I brought the book back to the library I owed them $7.75 in overdue fines.

I had to cancel because when I took the book off the shelf I noticed that the bind had come loose from the spine.  It was a mass market paperback which doesn't tend to hold up very well with age. 

Just happened to me last week.  Person requested a book and I looked Hi & Low for the damn thing with no luck.  I just PMd them, explained the situation and offered a "bonus" book for the inconvenience.

No problem.

-RD

One time I had a book on my coffee table to wrap.  My brother was over, and asked if he could borrow the book.  He reads so few books (he does audio books instead) that I couldn't find it in my heart to say no.  I PMd the requestor, canceled, and then posted it directly to her wish list a couple of weeks later.  She was very nice about it.