I was wondering what do others think when they receive a request with such strict request conditions attached to them.

I completely understand the smoking, and pet’s request. But what I don’t understand is if there is a lack of a dust jacket for hard covers. Why no library books? And what about yellowing pages? If it’s an old book it is probably going to yellow? Or at least that has been my experience with a couple on my shelves. And no it has nothing to do with smoking here.

I wouldn’t think twice about this if someone just come out and said. I am going to gift said book. Is there any of such problems with it? Even give me a list.

Do they ebay these select books, sell them in a book store? Building a library?  Or what?

 I am just curious. I mean to each there on, do whatever you wish with your book.  Which I gotta say I think the library thing would be pretty cool..

Amanda who currently is suffering from curiosity

Some people don't like the 'nakedness' of books without dust jackets.  Some people think that library books are pretty much on their way to the book 'graveyard' by the time the library is ready to get rid of them - I can say that sometimes the pbs are, but hardcovers quite often are in great condition.  I get a lot of ex-library books at the FOL that I post here. Don't know about yellowing pages.  HTH - Pat

Well, I fulfill all requests for RCs, when my books meet the conditions. I don't really care why people want what they want, I just check to see if my books meet the conditions or not.

As far as wanting dustjackets, I have a RC for that. Imagine that all paperbacks had black covers and the titles in white. And absolutely no other information about the book on them. Pretty boring, right? That's why I like dustjackets. First of all, then I can tell my books apart. Second of all, the art is part of the aesthetic of enjoying a book to me. (I realize that some poeple don't care about the cover, but it makes a big difference to me).

I won't even take free books without dustjackets.

As far as no ex-library books, sometimes these books can be really really beat up and still be "postable".  So, that's why some people request not to receive them.

As far as yellowing, I think some people just prefer not to have yellowed books. Sometimes when books are old enoug to yellow, the paper and the binding are also more brittle and the book can start to fall apart as you read it.

As far as selling books ... sites like eBay and Amazon charge a fairly significant fee for selling a book. If you look at used book prices for most in-print paperbacks, you can see that many times they start at 1 cent, and go up from there.  The only "people" who can make a profit from selling a book for a penny are the used book businesses that sell on Amazon, that have a very high volume. A casual seller at Amazon is not going to see a profit on a penny book. Even most hardcovers decline in value once paperback editions are out. There are many hardcovers that also sell for 1 penny.

Sure, some books hold more value as used books, usually nonfiction of various types, and very specialized genres like erotica, that are harder to find in general.

But, in general, it would be very hard to request books from PBS in order to support a bookselling business. Each book costs about $2.50 to obtain from PBS in the first place, so you would have to be able to turn around and sell them for much more than a starting price of $2.50. There have been a few people who have been booted off the site for attempting to do that, but I sincerely doubt its common.

There are many places where books are much cheaper to obtain than PBS. 

I have an RC for dust jackets on hardcovers because they are usually for one of 2 purposes.  I either plan to keep them, and want them to look nice, or I plan to give them to the school library where I volunteer & intern.  Kids will not check out a book without being able to see the artwork, so unless the book has a picture printed cover, I want the dust jacket.

I also usually request no former library books on the books I plan on donating to the school library.  Since the barcodes and stickers can be a pain to remove, and the books often have stamps, etc inside as well, it's just easier to start with a fresh book if I want to add it to the collection, rather than having to cover or remove someone else's stickers first.

I must agree with some here, though--I buy books from our FOL sale and some of them (even with library markings) look brand new, and I have no qualms about offering them here.  If someone has an RC for "no former library books", then I just decline and move on.

There are many reasons someone may have an RC.  The important part is to not stress over them.  Meet the ones you can, and decline the ones you can't.

You can ask for ANYTHING in an RC and you can decline  and move on. I understand no smoking-we don't....no cat/dogs/pets. I would decline if they said cats but we have two dogs. I undertand the dust cover need. It isn't a big thing for me but if the book has a cover, I'd send it.

I had an RC on my profile for several years regarding dust jackets. I finally had to remove it because of all of the declined replies I received from people who did not read the condition more than to say that the book was a paperback so they couldn't send it.  Very frustrated when I had worded my condition to state that IF the book is a hardcover book, then I ask that it has a dust jacket with it.  So many people would decline my request stating that their book was paperback and didn't have a dust jacket.  So frustrating!

Claudia, you need to have a line about what to do if you are ordering a paperback in your RC. I used to get messages like you are talking about BEFORE I added the last line to my RC. Don't listen to anyone who says you shouldn't need it. You do, otherwise people seem to get confused. This is mine (and I hardly get any turndowns with it):

If the book is hardcover, I would like it to have the dustjacket.

If the book is a hardcover and has an illustrated cover but not a dustjacket, this is OK.

If the book is paperback, I have no special conditions.

Thanks very much!

I seldom request hardcovers on PBS but when I do, I like them to have dust jackets. I feel the same about having the artwork with CDs and DVDs. I feel like they're not complete without it. I got some free paperback books from a publisher with blank covers. I haven't read them yet because the books just don't look appealing without any artwork. So, I'd rather wait for a hardcover with a dust jacket than get one sooner without one.

Basically, I read the RC and if my book meets their RC, I send it.  If not, I deny the request.  Easy.  I do not care what they do with the book, if they sell it or whatever, or if they want DJs;  it's a book and I posted it to have someone request it.

Thank you, Sara! I will try that. I just found it so tiresome after a while and a bit funny to think that this is a website dedicated to the trade of reading materials and yet (sometimes not always though) people didn't read. :-) Very random!

Hi all,

Just wanted to say thank you for the replies. I was just wanted to understand why ppl seemed so strict. It helps me be more understanding and selective in my yard sale book cruising missions. It doesn't bother me. If I want to read a book, I don't care. I will read it. But I want to be considerate of others views too.

Though I understand about the book treatment too. It reminds me of my school days. Our librarian told us the folding and bending hurts the books. So It drives me nuts when I find books like that, but I will unfold the corners and go on.

Again thank you for the feedback,

Amanda