I Have been reading the Forums and have heard people mention about "Dog Ears" Are these books not allowed? I know that some books that are given to me are just like brand new but the person has folded the pages over. Can you still use this???

And what if the cover has the corners turned up a little. Are these still good if the pages and front and back cover are still intact??

I also would like to know how everyone sends their books! I don't want to pay to have the papers printed out from my computer all ready to go from this website.. What do you use to send your books?!?!

Thanks for any help, I really appreciate it!!!

(I still need to add my books to my list but after reading the Forums and people complaining on how their books were sent to them, I am kind of scared to post mine now.. lol)

Trisha

I have a large stack of tissue paper, pre-cut to wrap once around a paperback book and tuck in at the ends.  I wrap that around my books, and then wrap them either in a layer of shrink wrap, or put them in a generic bread or freezer bag, which I fold & secure with packing tape.  If I'm shipping multiples, I put those either in a poly bubble mailer or a small shipping carton, and tape the daylights out of them.  If it's single books, I use the PBS wrapper, and for thick books that the wrapper doesn't fit all the way around, I use a sheet of plastic coated freezer paper, and wrap the PBS wrapper around that.  This also works well for two books, although I often add extra layers of shrink wrap around both & extra tape to the outside, to make sure everything is secure.  I've never had any complaints.  Most of my feedback on BOB swaps contain positive comments on my packaging, so I feel reasonably certain my books are getting to their destinations in the same condition I sent them out in.

Folded pages are fine at PBS. 

You can wrap you books in whatever materials you have that are sturdy enough for the trip.  A layer of plastic to protect the book from moisture is always a good idea.  Food storage bags, plastic wrap (not press and seal), bread bags, grocery bags etc all work.  Printer paper, paper grocery bags, thick gift wrap and bubble mailers all all good to mail books.  I recycle \ reuse most packing materials.  Just use plenty of wide clear packing tape.  Gift wrap tape will not surrive the post office.

Hi, Trisha, and welcome to PBS! I promise you, you will become addicted to the site and swapping your books in no time! Please, don't let the forums scare you. Learn from some of the mistakes discussed, but don't think that it is really a strict and horrible place.

You need to realize that the posts you are seeing in the forums are actually the exceptions, not the rule. Considering that we have over 33,000 members (and that's only counting those that have made a profile), with stats like the following (found in the Pulse of PBS link up in the gray bar under the COMMUNITY tab), you are GOING to have a few complaints here and there. But the site can't possibly be as successful as it is, with the complaints being the majority rule.

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• Unique Titles Available: 388,854

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• Books Mailed All-Time: 2,496,463
• Books Mailed in last 7 days: 34,897
• Books Mailed Today: 2,407

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Sometime you are going to ship a book that gets damaged in route. You are going to miss catching a broken spine, torn page, writing or highlighting, or whatever other unpostable flaw in a book. You are going to have one sent to you with one also. Or a book go lost. It's just going to happen!

So, you give back the credit you rightfully earned, you don't ask for one you should have. You go on, and you get more books and you enjoy them. You learn from your mistakes and those that others make, and you get better at wrapping, at examining books, etc.

Be sure to read the Help Center whenever you have a question first. It really does answer about 98% of questions. But, don't be afraid to ask your TG or here on the forums if you can't find the answer or don't understand what you found.

I personally always recommend new members read AT MINIMUM the articles under the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th topics on the left side of the BROWSE HELP DOCS found in the Help Center tab above. Also, be sure to take the tour on the Home Page. I hope this and the other answers you receive here will set your mind at ease and help you enjoy your stay at Hotel PBS. You can check out, but you can never leave! ;)

Oh! And DH wraps my books snuggly in plastic wrap (cheap saran type, and NEVER press-n-seal) then in some sturdy paper or double layers of printer paper, again, snuggly (like they were a gift, you want them nice and pretty with no flappy corners). Then tape all seams, edges, and corners with 2" clear packing tape (NEVER cellophane/office/desk type tape)

I bought some bubble mailers at Officemax when they had a BOGO sale on them.  A little more expensive than using the wrapper but less time consuming. I hate wrapping books.

Just read through the PBS guidelines about what's postable.  Most people don't expect a brand new book.  If there's some dog-eared pages and a fold in the cover like you described that should be ok. Now if every page is mangled and the cover is really beat up-you may not want to post that.  But it's expected that the book will look likes it's been read a few times.  If you get a request with conditions that seem to picky to you, like someone asking for only like-new books: feel free to decline the request if you're worried about getting your credit.

And like Sherry said: people post about the bad transactions.  You usually don't see people come on and say: " I just had a completely smooth transaction".  They mostly post the "I got a bad book" or "my book was not bad".  Basically the vents.

Sherry

You said everything so nicely - you are a gem. 

Frances

I mail my books in poly mailers which I get cheaply from a vendor recommended to me by another PBSer: http://valuemailers.com/  I usually get a small size for mass markets and a larger for trade paper and hardcover.

You do not, of course, have to spend extra money on special packaging materials, but I like to protect against water damage with the least amt of effort so I use these.  300+ books sent, 0 "RWP" reports. :-)

And, of course, lots of tape helps too.

Cheers,

Catt

Whatever you wrap with, make sure the books are snug and can't move around during mailing.  They can wear a hole if they are rubbing against the wrapper.  Also, make sure you tape the corners and the edges to make sure the wrapping stays intact.