I had to rant...............

I just got a PBS email about a book I had on auto request that came up today.

the OP declined my request because of a condition I have on my profile.

This is part of what my profile says.........'I am not willing to accept hardback books without their dustjackets.  I dont know why, I just like dustjackets : )"

They declined the request because the book in question doesn't have a dustjacket and then goes on to say it was not manufactured with one and since I require it on hardcover books she had to decline.  She said it nicely.

my issue with this transaction is......... if a book is not manufactured with a dustjacket, obviously I cant have a dustjacket. 

I have requested 10 books from this series, they are all hardcovers w/o dustjackets and noone else has ever declined. 

I cant beleive I have to re-word my conditions to clear this up.

On top of this I lost the book and I had been waiting for ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for letting me rant......

well that sucks, maybe they didn't know that you knew there wasn't a dust jacket so they thought better safe than sorry?

wonder if they can post it to your WL or were there more people behind you?

I would change your conditions to 'I am not willing to accept hardback books without their dustjackets if they're supposed to have one... or something like that.  I am sure you could think of better wording, but you see what I mean.  Of course, if the poster got it in a swap, they may not know if it had one originally..

Wow!!  That's amazing.  Really amazing.  How on earth would one infer that you want a dj with a book that doesn't have one?  *shaking head*   

I know how you feel, I missed out on a book because I had a "no book-crossing books" condition and the person didn't know what it was. Sigh. I gave up on having conditions, it wound up not seeming worth it.

Thanks for the support.  I felt better just telling all y'all about it.!!!!

Beleive it or not, the same title book came up again this evening.  I immediately emailed the poster to let them know I know about this book not having a dustjacket. 

It's funny tho, becasue I have had this book WL for so long and been first in line for it, with 40 poeple after me and 2 of them show up today????

I am happy!!!!!

I don't know... your dust jacket condition sounds pretty emphatic to me the way you currently have it worded--NO hardbacks without dust jackets!  Frankly, I would turn down the 2nd suggestion as well (if it is "supposed to have a dust jacket"), because many books I pick up at thrift shops or etc. and how the heck am I supposed to know if it is "supposed to" have a dust jacket?!?!?  This came up in another thread awhile ago, and I think perhaps the best way might be to state that you do not want hardcovers with plain solid-color covers and no dust jackets... since most books that are not sold with dust jackets have artwork all over the hard cover.  Kwim?  Of course I have some where the art was on both cover and dust jacket, and frankly I throw the DJs away in cases like that because, what's the point then?  :)-  Either that or toggle the RQ off for special exceptions like this one you mention...

Just my 2c  :)

I have added this to my conditions.....maybe it will clear it up.  

"tho, if the book was not manufactured with a dustjacket, then it doe not need a dustjacket with it."

Thanks for all the advice

I am in the middle of reading a series and discovered I didn't have the next in line.  I went to the library and got it and am just as satisfied as if I had received it from PBS.  But then, I'm not a keeper.

I think the point the OP was trying to make was that this person knew the book was not manufactured with a dj, and still declined.  It would be one thing to not know that, and decline, but to say, I know this book was not manufactured with a dj, but I'll decline anyway, is, I think, what the OP is bothered by. 

I'm a newbie to PBS...what  are "book-crossing books"? 

Sam, they are books registered at bookcrossing.com.

I understand your rant. I myself get nervous when I see conditions. I'd hate to mess up and send the book only to know I didn't read the conditions properly. So I will take the time to write the person to make sure my book is ok with them. I'll even try to go over each one through email. lol Just to be on the safe side.

So if it was me I would have written you letting you know I didn't have the dust jacket, I didn't get the book with a dust jacket and then ask if you still wanted the book.

It make no sense to me someone canceling a request without contacting the person first. That's the proper thing to do.

Ashley

my issue with this transaction is......... if a book is not manufactured with a dustjacket, obviously I cant have a dustjacket.

But the sender could not and should not assume that you as the requestor would know that this book did not come with a dust jacket when published and did the proper thing by declining based on the stated RC's. No pm'ing necessary.

I agree as they were worded your conditions left no room for interpretation. I wouldnt have accepted it because there would be no way for me to know that you know that series doesnt come with dust jackets. I would decline rather than risk the loss of a book and a credit. Not that you would deny the credit but there would be no way for me to know if you would or wouldnt either. Technically sending the book would be violating your conditions so I totally see why they declined. Now that you have added the line about books that were manufactured without them its a different story.

Well, I for one would have turned it down, too. Conditions make me antsy cause I thought I've met them and then I've had the person give me grief over it.  I would have no way of knowing you didn't know the book didn't have a dust jacket. I don't have credits to throw away, so I'd have canceled it, too. Sorry.

Yep, I would have turned it down also.  I really don't like sending books with "conditions" unless it is like the one I have and that is that the book does not currently come from a smoking environment.  There have been some that ask you to sniff the book and see if it has a smell or has ever been in a smoking environment, etc.  Even had a request one time and the requester had like 10 conditions, hey I'm not even going to attempt to mail a book to someone with that many conditions.

oh well, that's my 2 cents!!

I would've declined it also, rather than having to sort out a (potential) RECEIVED WITH A PROBLEM situation later.

As for PM'ing the person ... many of my books have a neatly placed Bookcrossing plate on the inside front cover, and are in otherwise very good condition. It is possible such a requestor is trying to avoid heavy markings, and really wished to obtain the book, but I'm not going to go back and forth about it. I have one book taht has 1 person WL'ing it that I consider fair condition, but really don't want to go back and forth about it, so will likely not list it. 

Another option would be to add a line like "If this is a book from XXXXX series it was not manufactured with a dustjacket so this condition does not apply to them." That way theres no confusion about the books you really want.