No, for some of us, condition is way up there as a priority. I wish there was a site for especially nice books in great condition, with excellent dust jackets. It would speed things along without inquiry as to condition.

In collecting children's books , which is my focus, all of the above is very important.

Does anyone else have similar views?

Virginia

It seems counter-intuitive to demand collector-grade copies on a site devoted to books that are used reading copies. Children are especially tough on books, and to expect "excellent" dust-jackets on anything older than a few months old is futile. I'm sure the parents searching for copies for their children to read won't be expecting such either.

Besides being a voracious reader, I'm also collecting certain authors. Many times I'm gunning for a certain 1970s paperback edition for the striking cover artwork. I'm always happy to find one with a clean cover with only minor blemishes. I would never expect mint condition on a 40-year old book. Better/rarer copies can sometimes be traded for with other collectors, but yet again, not for a BM point.

But with children's books, I think that the only way you'll find them in excellent shape is by buying them new.

But I shouldn't have to dig up their bio to know if they're picky and if I should accept or reject their mooch because they didn't even bother to look at the condition notes.

I would like to ask if anyone else feels strongly about writing condition notes? For example, I am interested in mooching a copy of The World According to Garp. None of the copies listed indicate the condition of the book. I don't expect the condition to be great since this is an old book, but I would like some indication of what I'd be getting. I could write the owner (and have done - never got an answer) but that seems like such an unnecessary step if the info was included in the listing.

Do you think condition notes should be included?

Thanks
-Puzzled

As I wrote above, I don't think anyone should expect a new book or even one that is in good condition, but I DO think that since the condition does matter to some people it should be mentioned so you don't end up with a discontented moocher and negative feedback as you describe above.

-Ingrid

If you don't want to do that, or don't have the point to spare, then if they do leave negative feedback you can add a comment to the transaction as well explaining that you are new and didn't understand that some people are very concerned with condition and you will be more vigilant about condition notes in the future. Some people have a generic statement in their status message saying that their books are used and not in perfect condition and if moochers want more details they should email with questions.

I realize that it seems it should be cavaet emptor and that this is a book trading site so people shouldn't be upset when they get a used book that has been well-read. However, the Bookmooch etiquette is that when you post a book you should put anything in the condition notes that the moocher might want to know.

Also, before someone else jumps in;) Many moochers take offense at the notion that the books here are "free". They cost the original price of the book, the packaging and the postage.

I hope you can work this out with the moocher, Cara

Personally, I consider it a plus when I mooch a book and it arrives in excellent condition.

I am also the moochmaster for my kid's school library. We are looking for copies that are nice enough to place in heavy rotation at an elementary school library. I am typically looking for hardback copies of Harry Potter in ideally very good condition.

Some people get around doing condition notes by putting a statement in their status message indicating that all their books are used and if anyone wants more details about the condition of an individual book to please email.

I'm new, but I include condition notes on all my books. They're all used, but some are in pretty close to new condition and have just shelf-wear. When I mooch, I'm usually looking to add to my collection. I prefer to choose a book that has a condition note that is about the specific book and not just the "books are used, message me for specifics" note. When I mooched my first book, I picked the one listed by the person who had logged in fairly recently and who had listed the condition. One day, I may go buy this book in hardcover, but for now I just want a copy that will last me several years so that I can reread it without worries that it will fall to pieces on me. For that matter, the book matches (almost exactly) the condition of the other books by that same author. :-D

The way I see it, if you enter the condition, you have a better chance of someone requesting the book from you because you obviously care enough to enter details about your copy of the book. If you care enough to do that, you've probably taken good care of the book while it was in your hands.

Eh, just my two cents. :-)

For me personally: I just want a readable book. I don't care if it comes with a broken spine, no dust jacket or every page dog-earred. Although I would complain if a book had nasty stains or a bunch of loose pages. There comes a point when I book is just not readable anymore.

When mooching, I find it preferable to mooch a copy with condition notes stating that it's in less than perfect shape than take my chances with someone who doesn't care enough to put any condition notes at all. I have also purposefully mooched copies in poor condition to take with me on vacation.

Some books I don't care about their condition, some I mooch to add to my own collection and am willing to wait for a good copy.

And if your copy has BookCrossing stamps on it, or is a book club edition, please, please say so!

One woman recently mooched a 20 year old mass market paperback (for which I had accurately described the condition) and left the comment, " ... book smells old ... " I wanted to say, "Woman! It's a 20 year old paperback book - it IS old!" lol.

I would prefer it if condition notes were compulsory on all books, or a note for those uploading complete inventories to say "please contact for condition notes". Otherwise, it's impossible to leave accurate feedback.

This is a site for used books. If you want a new book, Borders, B&N, and every other god damn book store sells them.

I personally prefer used books that have the old book smell, the cracked spine, the soft cover. It saves me the trouble of breaking them in

When I receive a book in near pristine condition I view it as a very welcome bonus, otherwise I do expect copies that have been round the block a time or two.

Odours, stains and underlining should be mentioned (I did get a book where there was underlining on nearly every page, but it was in the notes so I had prepared myself for it) but otherwise a few dog ears, a cracked spine and yellowing pages are all pretty much par for the course with used books.

If the time factor of people adding condition notes reduces how frequently they add books, I would rather just have them add books without notes to give us all more books to choose from.

When problems were reported, the most common complaint was misrepresented books: hardcovers that turned out to be softcovers, the wrong dust jacket, the 2nd edition instead of the 3rd, and so on. Especially egregious was not including sufficient details about the physical condition of a book, such as highlighting, underlining, marginalia, torn covers, bent spines, mold, and smoke smells. An inaccurate or misleading book description significantly increases the chance of getting negative feedback. Moreover, we found that experienced BookMoochers often check member profiles before mooching a book. They avoid mooching books from people with too much negative feedback, even if it's a book they want. For the seasoned BookMoocher, having a "clean" profile is often as important as getting points. To describe your books accurately, start from the correct ISBN and seek out the matching cover. If you cannot find the correct cover, take a picture of your book and post that image in your inventory. Lastly, be sure to describe any physical problems with the book, such as highlighting, marginalia, torn pages, library markings, missing dust jackets, bent spines, and smoke or water damage.

I think that makes it very clear, don't you?

I have also listed a book as having "an extremely artistic but fragile cover designed by long defunct silverfish larvae (bookworms)" - which received a very nice piece of positive feedback!

They're getting away with it on PaperBackSwap too lately (which is 1 reason I'm joining this site & thinking about leaving PBS altogether). PBS has strict rules about which books are postable & lots of PBS members in the last few years are not following the rules, sending books which are not re-postable; so you're stuck with a book that you can't re-post & if you report it, you get flamed with snotty messages for being too picky. And while I personally don't mind some damage to a book as long as it's still readable, I don't like getting stuck with a book I won't be able to re-post & it irks me that more & more PBS members feel like the rules don't apply to them.

So I'm hoping this site will be a better fit for me, just because the rules are more relaxed; won't have to worry about unre-postable books.