I received a BOB request for four books - two are paperbacks that I don't mind trading for just about anything that even mildly interests me.  The other two books are what I consider "major" books (a hardcover cookbook originally costing $29.95 and a quality paperback textbook which orginally cost $49.99).  I don't want to trade them except for credit or for a wish list book. 

After looking at the requester's books, I found two books that are of enough interest to me that I would swap for the two paperbacks but not for the cookbook and textbook.  Is it ok to request them and then delete the two books that I don't want to swap from the requesters list? 

I would do it that way. they are your books, you can do what you want with them.

Yep, I agree with Michelle.  You never have to trade if you don't want to, so remove the ones you don't wish to trade and offer a box on the 2 you will swap.  They may or may not still want to trade, but that's ok, too.

Agreed.  You get to choose the ones you want to delete.  :)

Phooey on the button working both ways

I totally disagree with everybody else here. If you were to decide which books were to be deleted from a box trade I was doing with you, you would find yourself without a trade at all. You say you found two books on her shelf you want, well, if you want them, then she should get to decide which of your books she wants in return for them, not you. That is just rude in my opinion.

To me, it's the same as the HC for 1 or 2 pts, a book is a book on here, and if you don't want to trade it, don't post it. If you don't want to box for specific books off your shelf, don't join boxing. I realize there's nothing in the rules that say you HAVE to trade a specific book in a box, but if you start picking which books you will or will not box for, you really shouldn't be bothering with BOB in the first place, in my opinion.

It all works out in the end, just like the HC for PBs you will sometimes get a better book for your trade, sometimes they do.

hmmm, this makes ya think......  on one hand I can see where sherry is coming from but also see the others'  viewpoint.  IMO  tho' I think sherry is right...all books that you put on your shelf should be availabe for trade if you are a boxer.  I don't think you should  tell the other person which books they can (or cannot)  get from you.  if there are books on your shelf that you don't want to trade book for book then put your boxing on hold for a while and just leave your shelf open for regular credit trades until they are gone.

Oh, I disagree. 

While I understand where Sherry is coming from, it is more expensive to fill a box with large HC books and send it than it is to fill a small envelope with 2 paperbacks.  It's an uneven trade, which is allowed (but not required) in BOB.  Each boxer always gets to decide if a trade is acceptable -- it's not automatic that you must accept just because someone proposes a trade. 

What the OP could do is PM the proposed trader and state something to the effect of what she said here (but I'd omit the part about the "value" of the 2 "big" books.)  Ask the other trader which two books are most important, and then accept or decline the trade as next proposed.  Maybe you could go back and forth a few times with PMs.  But you are not obligated to accept just because someone proposes a trade.

Think of it this way:  the OP has two books she'd like from the proposed trader, not four.  She isn't obligated to accept a trade for any of her books if she can't find any she'd like on the other boxer's shelf, is she?  Of course not.  So, you could say (for the sake of discussion) that she's obligated, at most, to trade two of her books, possibly fewer if she doesn't want to trade the two proposed from her own shelf. 

From the Help Center on BOB (italics added):

• You can also make Box offers to other Boxers
  • search all Boxers' books from the Box-O-Books area to find books you want, then choose a Boxer who has those books
  • or choose a specific Boxer's bookshelf to browse
  • create your box by "shopping" on that bookshelf and then make your offer
  • Box swaps are normally "even" (e.g., 4 books for 4 books), but they do not have to be. If you want to send out 6 books in exchange for 4, that is fine.  Each audiobook is generally swapped for two bound books, but this is not required
  • Requestor Conditions can be applied to Box-O-Books swaps
  • You can decline any Box offer at any point up until the time you have clicked to accept it
  • You are not obligated to accept a Box offer if you would prefer to get a credit for a particular book (or books) on your bookshelf.

sure an un-even trade is fine...if you want to pm the person your offer and let them make the decision.   but the original poster said that she was only willing to trade those 2 books for credits or a wishlisted book.   I think the last statement in the rules is pretty self-explanatory......

Sorry, I agree with the the first couple of posters.  One thing I take into considertion is weight in mailing.  I found a book I wanted to b-o-b and it's so small (I have other books by this author and they are very thin) it would have cost less than $2 for her to ship...in exchange she wanted two harcover books.  Don't think so.  I canceled the whole shebang. 

I don't think what the poster wants to do is rude in the least bit and MANY people who box do this.

I've been at the other end. I have had boxers request pb childrens books. I usually don't ask for the same amount in adult fiction. If they request six I might ask for 3 or maybe 4 and then I pm them and let them know that what I have chosen is ok for the 6 or however many they requested.  Sometimes I do that with other requests too. If someone wants to trade, I will find something on their shelf I want. It may not be 3 for 3 but part of why I wanted to box was to be able to get rid of books not necessarily get more. LOL

 I realize there's nothing in the rules that say you HAVE to trade a specific book in a box

Sherry, as has already been posted....the rules/guidelines specifically state you *do not* have to BoB specific books if you'd rather get credits for them.   What the OP proposes to do is perfectly acceptable and within the guidelines of BoB.

If you were to decide which books were to be deleted from a box trade I was doing with you, you would find yourself without a trade at all.

This is also perfectly legitimate.  I've done that myself.  I don't know if the person didn't want to trade some of the books, or if they went into another box (thereby removed from mine), but I have canceled in a couple of those situations.  I'm usually a little bummed (I admit it, lol), but it's not a big deal. 

It's one of those "to each his/her own" situations.  As long as what you decide is within the guidelines, then it's not wrong.