I have been having problems receiving books that have been posted under the wrong ISBNs.  I have been requesting older books (Nero Wolfe, John D. McDonald etc.), but I don't want books  published in the 60s or 70s, so I have been careful to request the ISBNs for the editions published in the 90s.  Well, I have received three that were published in the 60s or the 70s and they were clearly listed under the wrong ISBNs.

I listed the first two as RWAP and requested the credit back because they weren't the books I asked for.  There really wasn't anything wrong with them, they just were not what I wanted and not what I asked for.  I felt bad about it because I feel like I'm being too picky, but I also felt disappointed because I requested a particular book and the ones I got weren't even close. 

I got the third one today and I'm really getting annoyed and wanted to know if this is a problem other people have had a lot.  I feel silly because it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I requested the book I wanted and I feel like people are dumping their older books off on unsuspecting people.  I want to keep these books and I don't want the older ones.  Am I being too picky or is it okay to be disappointed by not getting what you asked for?

The proper amount of pickiness is a matter of opinion and doesn't really matter.  Your requested a book based on the ISBN, you should have gotten a book with that number.  When someone posts a book, they don't have the right to disregard the ISBN and just say, "close enough". 

That's how I got a hardback when I generally prefer paperbacks.  I know that's odd, most folks like it that other way, but hardbacks are too heavy to read in the bathroom. 

I don't think you're too picky at all.  You want a certain book, and you should be getting that book.  Sometimes, however, (and I've had it happen to me), I posted a book - the ISBN on the book I had came up and I posted it.  The requester marked it RWAP because she wanted a HB and I sent a PB, but the ISBN was the right one.  I just hadn't noticed that PBS had it marked as a HB and not a PB although the ISBN was right.  I'm more careful now, and make sure that the book types match.  I've caught a couple of books before I posted them that way.  This could have happened to you, but I would be suspect when it happened three times.  Once I could see.  Good luck.  Pat

I'd definitely check both ISBNs.  The older 10 digit might match.  The older books don't have the new 13 digit one.  And you can post by either one.

I agree - you aren't being picky.   One reason they post by ISBN...some members want certain books with a particular ISBN.  How is that picky. 

Do the books you received, have an ISBN on them at all? On older books, the ISBN might be on the spine of the book or on the front cover.

Publishers often reuse ISBNs from older editions of a book for a newer edition.

I would double check to make sure that the books you have are actually wrong.

Don't worry too much about being picky if this is your only concern.  Books here do need to be posted by ISBN, but the binding must match as well.  If the ISBN is there but the binding doesn't match the one PBS has listed under that ISBN then the book should have been manually posted getting a specific PBS number.  So basically, binding trumps ISBN.  But sometimes people don't check.  Sometimes people don't read the rules and will post a book with the right titie under whatever ISBN they find first or even has the longest WL!!  Any book you get needs to be rechecked by you upon receipt to be sure that the binding is correct and then that the ISBN is correct.  Ideally, this should be checked each time it is posted, each timne it is sent out, and each time it is marked received.  A book that has been received and isn't the right book binding under the PBS ISBN should be marked RWAP.  Keeping things in order isn't always easy!

Ruth

Welcome Donna, and no you are not being picky.  Books are to be posted by the proper ISBN, so if the books you are receiving have a different ISBN the are wrong and should be marked RWAP.  Rumor says occassionally HB & pb are both published under the same ISBN.   Although I don't always think to check the binding when posting books, there IS a pop up screen that asks members to double check and confirm book information including ISBN.

I'm curious how members are posting all these books incorrectly.  Are they attempting to use the title, or deliberatly posting incorrectly to move their books?  Many members have a binding preference, and sending the incorrect book isn't acceptable.

Something I've noticed happening more and more lately (and it's similar to your problem) authors are re-releasing and old book with basically just a new cover and maybe some other minor updates. Yet, even though you type in the ISBN attached to the new re-release, it shows the 'old' cover/book in the system.

I've uploaded book covers for at least 4 books that way in the past couple months. And they are supposed to have a different ISBN. So where the error fi - it is indeed an error - is coming from is anyone's guess.

But to your original question, no you are not being to picky. Wish list is just that: what you WISH to get!

Cheers! =)

Revision:

OK, well I was told by a coordinator that actually authors do NOT have to use a different ISBN for a re-relase. To save $, they can use the same ISBN. I hadn't ever heard that before and it seems ridiculous that the industry would allow it but there you have it.

So yes, the "Requestor Condition" or if you really don't want to do an RQ like one or two people have indicated, just PM the sender when you get a book offer, to inquire which cover it is, size, etc., to make sure you're getting what you want. Sorry!  I hope that helps!  =)

Cheers! And Happy Reading! =)

Ditto...not too picky, This is one that is easy to answer, unlike some RWAP questions on book condition....it's simple...it's black and white--either the number matches or it does not. If it does not, IT IS THE WRONG BOOK! If people would only list their books by ISBN and then verify title, author, and format, things would be a lot simpler. Keep nailing those folks, no matter how often it happens!

Cheryl

I am having the exact same problem with the outlander series. I only want the trade size paperback. I only wish list that specific book in the series. I have received the mass market paperback several times. Now, I send a pm immediately when I get my wish. So far, on Drums of Autumn, it has been canceled by 4, count them, 4 listers because they  had not idea there was a difference or that there was such a thing as a trade size and the ISBN was correct, it was just the wrong size and I still don't have my book. It has been very frustrating and has taken 7 months just to get the first 3 books correctly in the series.

Rebecca - you indicate the MMP and the Trade size have the same ISBN, if that is the case you really need to add an RC on the book asking for only the Trade size. I would be really miffed if someone let me accept the request and them PMed me to cancel the transaction on my end because they had an additional condition on the book. If you put in an RC, they can decline your RC and move on to the next person looking for the book who is just wishing for that ISBN, not a specific size of it.

Donna - I would also suggest an RC for you on those books. Asking that the member confirm the ISBN and the pub date on the copy they have and if their copy does not match those, they should deny the RC. You shouldn't really have to, but it saves the headache of getting a bunch of books you don't want and fighting for the credits back.

Sorry, They don't actually have the same ISBN, the listers always SAY the isbn is right, but they cancel the book when I ask them to double check the size and ISBN before mailing to me.

They don't actually have the same ISBN, the listers always SAY the isbn is right, but they cancel the book when I ask them to double check the size and ISBN before mailing to me. Are you certain of this? Because if its happening that much, I would begin to believe that the ISBN is issued in both versions (which happens a lot). They could be cancelling, not because its posted wrong, but just because it is not the size you are looking for.

Yes, I actually received 3 mass market paperback of the 3 of the first books and the ISBN's were different. When I contacted those listers, they said they didn't even look at the ISBN's and didn't notice, they just looked that they were paperbacks and clicked on that one to list.

PS: I have looked this series of books up on Amazon and several other book sellers to confirm all ISBN's and what size and binding type each ISBN is since there was so much confusion. I even can tell you which ones are the European published ones and which ones are US. It is very confusing especially with this series. There are 6 books so far and about 6 versions of each book.

Rebecca, I had the same exact problem with the Outlander series myself.  Does it help to know that I eventually did get all the books?  I ended up putting on a  RC that I would turn on each time one of the books was posted to my WL.  Many, many were cancelled due to actually being mmpbs.  One person declared that I was being WAY too picky, but so what- I didn't want  her book anyway.  You might want to try a RC instead of PMing people when they post the books, because then you have recourse if they send a mmpb anyway.

Someone above asked why/how this happens so often (and it does- it is a VERY frequent problem).  Here's how: they post by the correct ISBN, but during the posting process a screen comes up listing alternate versions of the book, asking something like "Is this your book?"  Some people get confused when their cover does not match the one in the PBS system, so they click on one of the alternate versions that does have a cover that matches theirs, not realizing that it is a completely different version.  It may be that some are posting incorrectly (searching on the title and posting the first one that comes up, etc) but I would bet that the majority of the time, they're just clicking on those alternate versions.  After receiving about a half dozen of the wrong version books, I started to suspect this, because everyone was saying "I don't understand how this happened, I posted it by the correct ISBN", so I started asking them about clicking on the different covers.  That's what they all said happened.  I don't know how PBS could make it any clearer, except to just remove those alternate versions altogether- it seems to be a case of people just not paying close attention and reading the directions.

So the RC was the best solution for me- I had to get through a lot of cancelled orders before I got all the books, but I eventually did.  In the meantime, I made a game of betting how many cancelled mmpbs I'd get before finally getting the trade version posted.  I won't tell you how many it was, because I don't want to discourage you, lol.  Just be patient, and eventually you will get them.  The RC will save you a lot of time and effort, so I would really recommend that.  Mine said something like "Hi, and thank you for checking out my conditions!  My only request is that the ISBN of your book matches the one I have WLed.  I am collecting this series in the trade paperback size, which is approximately 6" by 9", NOT the smaller mass-market paperback books, so it is very important to me to receive the correct book version.  Please feel free to PM me with any questions.  Thanks again!"

Good luck to you- I try to keep my eye out for these books when I go to yard sales and thrift stores, because I know how hard it is to get them, so if I run into any, I'll be sure to keep you in mind.

So, How do I put an RC on a specific book? I have 190 wish listed books and I certainly don't want to put it on all the books. I don't know how to put it on just those books. Thanks

Just write out the RC in your settings but keep it turned off.  Take the Outlander books OFF autorequest, and that way, you will get notification when one of the books is posted to you.  Then just go and turn on the RC before accepting the offer.  You can turn it off after that, so it won't affect any of your other books (unless you place other orders or other WL books get posted to you at the same time).  There is no way to put a RC on a specific book, so this is the only way I know of to do it.  It works fine unless you have other RCs that you want to keep- then you might just have to keep retyping your RCs when going back and forth between them.

Yes, I have a non-smoking RC since I have allergies, but I could add that before accepting, that makes sense now. Thanks for the help. I am just getting so frustrated. I just keep getting the little books that I frankly cannot read because the type is so tiny. Do you really have a free unpostable of Drums of Autumn? So do I. I got the actual trade size a few weeks ago, but it had water damage and the spine was broken.

My unpostable is a mmpb, and yes, was one of the ones I got during the wrong ISBN storm.  The fact that it was also water damaged only added insult to injury, lol.  At least I got my credit back.

Rebecca, I just sent you a buddy request, so that if I find any of the books you're looking for I can find you and post them to you.  Which books are you still in need of?

I added this revision to my above post and am also putting it in a new post so it will be visible more easily.

OK, well I was told by a coordinator that actually authors do NOT have to use a different ISBN for a re-relase. To save $, they can use the same ISBN. I hadn't ever heard that before and it seems ridiculous that the industry would allow it but there you have it.

So yes, the "Requestor Condition" or if you really don't want to do an RQ like one or two people have indicated, just PM the sender when you get a book offer, to inquire which cover it is, size, etc., to make sure you're getting what you want. Sorry!  I hope that helps!  =)

Cheers! And Happy Reading! =)

if you really don't want to do an RQ like one or two people have indicated, just PM the sender when you get a book offer, to inquire which cover it is, size, etc., to make sure you're getting what you want. Sorry!  - Please do not go this route. Use a Requester Condition if you have a condition above and beyond site requirements. It is not fair to the sender to get a request that they can meet and then get additional conditions sent to them after they have accepted it. Many also accept, print, and mail within minutes and you may not be able to intercept the transaction in time.

Cali - it is actually very common for ISBNs to be reused on different bindings within the same publisher and re-releases with minor changes like cover art are usually under the same ISBN as the original.

Donna, It's not too picky to expect that the rules of the site are followed.  I went through a spell where people kept sending me MMP instead of trade size which is the size I had wishlisted.  Finally, after getting the wrong size 3x in a row for the same book, I added an RC asking to make sure that the binding and ISBN match.  After collecting that series (Outlander) in trade size, I didn't have any further problems so I've removed that RC.