My RC goes like this:

For hardcovers only, I am requesting that if the book was published with a dust jacket that it be included please.

I've had 2 recent refusals. One because the book didn't have a dust jacket, but it wasn't published with one. When I PMed the member saying it was ok, it met my RCs because it wasn't published with a dust jacket, he said his wife wanted to keep it anyways. The other refusal I got today was this: "I am confused. Does the requestor want only hardcovers? I have a paperback."

Does anyone have any advice on phrasing this RC in a way that doesn't cause confusion?

maybe start off something like:

the following RC is for hardback books only.  If I have requested a paperback please disregard and thank you!

then put in your line above.  just make sure you leave a space so it doesn't run together

Anita,

You can turn your RCs on and off.  I suggest that you turn them on only for hardcover books that were published with a dust jacket.  The fact that you have the RC on all the time even when not appropriate might be the source of the confusion.  Senders might be thinking: "If she doesn't know if this book needs a dust jacket or not, I'm not going to risk being marked RWAP."

Karen

the only "problem" with Karen's request is that you cannot have any of your books on Auto-accept.  not sure if you do or not, but that would be the only issue with turning them on and off before accepting a book being offered to you

I do have some on auto request. I'll have to check my wish list and maybe turn the auto request off on everything but the hardcovers with dustjackets. And I'll have to clarify my "for hardcovers only" to what you suggested Leslie. I just didn't want to sound too picky, because, except for the dustjacket, "postable" covers it for me. I'm also seeing that some people refuse for any RC, so I'll have to remember to turn my RC off if it just doesn't matter. Thanks everyone!

I have an RC that I use to try to avoid the extra PM for cookbooks, so mine are worded like this:

For cookbooks only: (condition)

For all other books: All I'm looking for is PBS posting guideline quality.

I added the all other books to reassure the poster that this RC is one I use for all transactions. I use AR for all my WL books, and I've not had anyone decline because of them yet, as far as I can tell.

This is what my RC says:

"If the book I am requesting from you is a hardcover and it originally came with a dust jacket, I would like the book to come with the dust jacket in good condition (for my Keeper shelf.)"

I think the "If the book I'm requesting from you is a hardcover..." is the kicker. Mind you, I still occasionally get the confused PM or refusal. It's bound to happen - not everyone who is part of a book swap website is a good reader unfortunately. :)  Good luck!!

How would the person sending the book know for sure it was published with a dust jacket?  I think that's where you'll also find people refusing the transaction.  If the sender was not the person who originally purchased the book they might not know and, since it's not a PBS requirement, don't want to take the time & energy to find out.  (Not all books have dust jacket images in Amazon, etc.) 

How about this?

If your book is paperback, I'd love your book, please just accept the request!

This condition is for HARDCOVERS only:  I would only like to receive books that have a dustjacket.  If the book was not published with one (example: cookbooks), this condition does not apply to you, please accept the request.

No matter what, I guarantee you will confuse someone. 

That's a good point, Ange. I have been selling children's books for years, and I still don't always know how to tell if a book was published with a dust jacket or not. If I saw that RC, and had a hardcover book without a dustjacket, I'd have to refuse the request to be on the safe side. (I mean, who wants to pay for shipping a heavy hardcover book when it might get rejected for RC's?)

I also have an RC for dustjackets on hard cover books, but just for one specific author, as I am trying to collect the complete set. When it is turned on for paperback books, they gets rejected for the craziest reasons. It doesn't matter how I word it. I think some people just don't read the RC's and/or don't support the right to use RC's, so they reject anything with RC's that comes thru.

Your safest bet is to do the research yourself regarding dustjackets on hardcover books, and only use that RC when it is worth the risk of having the request rejected . . .

I agree with you Ange. That will be my biggest problem, so for those I'll have to be diligent in turning off the RCs before I request them. I'm wondering if I should even remove the "if the book was published with a dustjacket" because I have received a book that was published with a dustjacket and was accepted because the member got it without the dustjacket and didn't know it was published with one. In that case, I would rather have been refused, since it didn't meet my requirements. The thing is that I only make this request for books that are special to me and I want on my keeper shelf, (thanks Jen O., I'll add that part, too) so I guess I just have to check my auto requests and be sure I turn off my RC if it doesn't apply.

I really appreciate everyone's help and I changed my RC to this:

For hardcovers only:  If the book I am requesting from you is a hardcover and it originally came with a dust jacket, I would like the book to come with the dust jacket in postable condition please because it's for my keeper shelf.

For all other requests:  PBS postable guidelines are good enough for me. Thanks!

But, I requested a paperback and I still got this response last night: "Not a hardcover". I am just scratching my head here...

I like the new one--good job!!  :)

Thanks, but I just really can't understand why I still got that last refusal, so I went ahead and changed it to this:

If the book I am requesting from you is a hardcover: I am requesting that hardcovers have their dustjackets, 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 figured that maybe the less wordy the better and with everything spelled out.  I could turn the RC off if I am requesting a book I know doesn't have a dustjacket, but can I do that individually when I am requesting a bunch of books from different members?

There's only so much help you can give people who can't be bothered to READ what you wrote LOL!!  I'm scratching my head too!!  :-0