I just got this RC.  What do people here think?

Generally, like everyone else, I prefer books that are in "Like New" condition. It depends upon whether I am acquiring a book for myself or for a family member or friend. Personally, I'm not so particular, and the PBS guidelines suit me fine (good condition, no marks or highlighting, etc.).  The majority of the books I request are for my own library. But when the book is to go to someone else, I would appreciate hearing from the sender if the book is less than Like New, because some of my friends are more picky than I. As it is, I end up turning down maybe 1 book out of every 50 that I request on account of condition. Not bad. So please don't take offense;  accept my request, then PM me with the description, and let's talk. If the book does not sound satisfactory for my purposes, then I will simply thank you and cancel the request. Thank you.

I'm usually happy to work with RCs, but this person really needs to decide what her conditions are.  So that one can work with them. 

I really have no interest in getting into a back and forth via PM.  YMMV.  But it would make me batty.

I would cancel because while I don't mind RC I am lazy and I am not gonna do much work beyond reading the initial RC. I generally won't accept a pm me RC anyway because then if they never respond to the pm you are left canceling or having the system cancel it and you lose your place in line.

An RC should NOT ask you to PM them about the book condition.  The only exceptions are for cookbooks and textbooks and you need to PM the requestor if there's highlighting or stained pages.

I would decline and tell them their RC is much too vague, if they want certain books to be in "like new" condition then they need to put those titles in their RC.

I wouldn't accept that. I'm not a used book seller. I don't negotiate.  Either my book meets RCS as written or it doesn't. 

I decline most RCs since they are usually subject to opinion, but.. this one... I'd reject it without blinking an eye.

I'm willing to work with many RCs but that one I'd decline.  I think she would probably be better off turning on and off conditions based on the books she is ordering or post in the bazzar and ask for books in a certain condition.

Decline. You don't even want to bother with one who wants you to PM her and sounds like she wants to negotiate somewhere along the way.

If she's looking for one for a gift, she can be specific for that one book in her RC.

This person seems confused about how RCs work.

I would definitely decline, but also add a note stating why that RC is confusing and unacceptable, suggest they change it, and try again.

Well, personally, it would not bother me to PM back and forth with someone who sounds reasonable (which I think she does, her RC is perfectly understandable, IMO). If my book was like new or close to it, I would probably accept, if my book was not close to being like new, I would probably just decline and not bother.

I don't think it is confusing in the least. If your book is like new, it should be fine. If it is not like new, but perhaps close to it, she would like you to PM her. If your book is postable but not close to like new ... then probably just best to decline.

Sure, it is a little more work .... like maybe a minute or 2 to compose a message? And, then I guess you could just double the time to 4 minutes so that you could read her replies.

The PBS rules say that it is OK to ask people to contact you ... (yes, they recommend that you should write an RC clear enough so that you don't need that .... but still, it is not against the rules to do so.)

I log in every day, just about, anyway, so it doesn't bother me to need to wait for a reply. And, since I only mail out on Sunday, the requestor would just have to work around that if she wanted the transaction. It doesn't bother me how fast or slow people answer messages ... either they do it by Sunday, or they don't, in which case, they wait for their book a week longer.

I'm sorry.  But if you want to ask for a PM in your RC, then you need to 1) include your screen name so I can PM you before accepting and 2) Be sure to answer any PMs right away.  Be on line at least every day.  I'm still more likely to decline that RC. 

Decline.  TPTB have been clear that FIFO has been designed to work with minimal member interaction or administrative interference.  If the member has different needs for each book, that is a responsibility she needs to address on her end with more specific RCs.  IMO this RC dumps extra work on the sender instead of where it belongs (in her lap). 

If this member is lonely and wants company, she should check out Live Chat or the discussion threads.  Most senders just want to accept, print, and mail in a timely manner.  Although my schedule is somewhat flexible, some members are not so lucky...which makes additional/unnecessary pm'ing rather rude.

Here's an RC I received at one point.  Although the book I posted was in pristine condition I almost declined because the first part appeared picky, but was laughing by the time I got to the specific publishers.  My book was on the list of publishers lol.

            PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE PASSAGE BEFORE DECLINING MY REQUEST

Please do not send books that show a lot of wear (creasing) along the spine of the book, a line or two is okay.  Please do not send hard back books that are missing their dust jackets.

Also please do not accept my request if you have several cats or if the book comes from a smoking environment.  However, if the book is one of the publisher's listed below PLEASE send the book no matter the condition or environment from which it came. Thank you :)   

followed by a list of 20 ''smut' publishers

Bottom line, the only reason I sent the book was because the RC was easy to understand and I found it amusing after reading the entire message. 

If the requester had asked me to exchange pm's so she chould 'vet' individual books on her wishlist, I'd have declined immediately.  PBS was NOT designed to work that way, and I've no patience for playing the 'pm waiting game' . . . transactions could drag on forever, and become more confusing each day it's not completed.

I agree that declining seems to be the sensible thing to do. Whenever I have entered into a "Please PM me about condition" it has always turned into a long, frustrating waiting game, often never hearing back from the requestor who asked me to PM and I am left wondering whether to just mail the book or cancel the transaction. I am willing to work with RCs but when someone wants to "talk about" the condition, I have learned that it is best to let that request go to someone else, and just decline.

There is a point where the amount of effort required by some RCs is not worth the credit when the next person to request that book from me will most likely have no RCs and I can just mail it out.

I would decline and direct them to the Help Center on using Requester Conditions. It is perfectly fine to have an RC and ask for a PM if it is unclear to the sender. An RC should not require a PM to chat about whether they'd accept the book or not, that is spelled out in the Help Center. This member needs to re-read the Help Center on RCs and then write the RC as it is applicable to the book before submitting the request.

Instant decline. This is the only instance where I do so.

While I agree with Sara P. it might not be too much time or work to compose a PM describing the condition of the book, I think the attitude behind the request is inherently self-centered. 

The following is a sarcastic rendering of what could be going through the sender's mind; I'm aware that not every person with a similar  RC thinks along these lines. Just the possibility of dealing with someone gives this impression is unappealing.

"No, I don't need to think carefully about what conditions I am willing to accept ahead of time, or tailor my RCs to the title I'm requesting. Just have the sender tell me what about the book's condition and I can have him or her wait on me while I cherry-pick with this additional  information."

I'd decline and give the reason of not knowing if my book was meant as a gift or not because I don't PM about RCs. She needs to either turn her RC on or off for those, or list them in the RC. If she'd given a list, I'd accept if my book met the conditions of whichever part of her RC the book qualified.

I'm okay with RCs in general, but this one I'd decline without a second thought.

Thanks for all the feedback!  You are all confirming what I was thinking anyway.  I will be declining.

<<But when the book is to go to someone else, I would appreciate hearing from the sender if the book is less than Like New, because some of my friends are more picky than I.>>

And she also wants you to guess if the book she is requesting is for her personal library or going to a picky friend.  <sigh>

Smells like trouble!  If it were me, I'd deny the request.

If I'm picky enough to want a like-new book, I'll buy it a bookstore!

Mary in KY

Big LOL....I stopped reading it.  I'd just deny their request...I'm not even gonna try to make that person happy!  Its not worth the headache.

I'm guessing the word Brevity is not in that member's vocabulary.

Wow...I'd decline it without a second thought.  I'm all for working with RCs as long as it's clear what the requestor is expecting.  Ie. Non smoking or pet free home.  Hers is much too vague and if she wants books in better condition than what TPTB have stated is acceptable, she needs to take her butt to a bookstore.