It was wrapped according to PBS guidelines but the book was not in plastic. It is pouring rain here and the rain got blown into the mailbox. All my mail was soaked. One book arrived and was wrapped in plastic, so it was okay. The second book (from a different place) was not in plastic and the whole book is soggy wet. I will have to dry it out to read it. I had planned on this being a "keeper" book to work towards completing a series, but no way can this book be kept that way. The pages are literally dripping water. I want to put a RC asking for books to be put in plastic but I am afraid that it will cause people to turn down requests from me. 

I haven't gotten any turn downs for my plastic RC since I added it this winter. Well, not unless it was the real reason and they just said it was the smoking one, LOL!

I do not think that would be a bad RC. Maybe you could word it along the lines of the suggestion in the help section. I sent my first couple books without plastic because it did not occur to me to put it on. I now use it with all my shipments.

You can ask your main carrier to not leave any packages and pick them up if there is not a good place to leave them. Some people have a plastic container near their mailbox to place packages out of the weather. I used to deliver to one house that used a clean garbage can for package delivery.

I had the same thing happen a month or so ago.  It was so soaking wet I had to toss it :(

You could also consider sending a pm once they accept your order.  Some people will turn down any RC no matter how polite or reasonable.

Amen. Sorry about your book. 

I agree with you about the plasic. I do this myself and only started after one person had this happen with a book I mailed to her.

We all go shopping so what better way to use all the plastic bags we get! Just wrap the book up in that, tape it then add the wrapper. The plastic bag is VERY light and doesn't add much at all the weight of the book. Plus you protect it much better.

That is so sad! 

I didn't send my first few books out in plastic, either.  I think I was very lucky nothing happened -- or if it did, no one told me about it.  After receiving a few and reading here, I wrap them all that way. 

I didn't even think of it, and I would imagine most people wouldn't.  I never realized how much trauma the mail can go through!  I know PBS doesn't have any wrapping requirements, but suggestions would sure help people avoid problems when they're first figuring everything out. 

What book was it? 

It's sad to have a ruined book but it's not really the senders fault.   It's the PO or the mailcarrier.  There is no requirement to send books in plastic.   I put all mine in plastic but SOME conditions ask for you not to use plastic.           Sometimes it seems as if the sender NOR the person ordering can do the right thing!

The PO is required to deliver even in the rain. Unless the carrier is leaving something out in the open, I would not blame the PO. If the mail gets soaked in the box, you need a new box.

Yeah, if a book gets soaked in your mailbox it is in no way the Post Office or the Mailcarriers fault....They are required to deliver the mail come rain, sleet, snow, and the heat of the summer...it is the senders duty (IMO) to wrap in plastic (something I didn't use to do but, do now) and the requestors duty to make sure they have a mail box that keeps out the rain.  Now if the mailcarrier dropped it in a mud puddle that would be an entirely different matter... :-)

It isn't the sender's duty to do anything more than the basic requirements of PBS.  Show me in the guidelines where we have to wrap in plastic first and I will gladly do this for every book I send out.

Truthfully, if a book got that soaking wet in your mailbox, you are in dire need of a new one.  When the box is closed securely, a mailbox in designed to keep out most of the elements.  Some dampness can occur.  So, either your door isn't closing, or your mailman did not shut it when he delivered your mail.  I cannot see this as a fault of the sender.  I have received several books that came on rainy days, and I have yet to have one get soaking wet in the mailbox.  I had two sit in the mailbox 3 days this past weekend, and we had a lot of rain while I was gone on vacation.  When I returned, both books (and the rest of the mail) was perfectly high and dry.  There was no plastic wrap for the books, and the postal carrier did not put the mail in a bag, either.

This is one requestor condition that I would probably reject.  But, that's just me.

I received two wet books yesterday, and I came out and got my mail from the box just as the mail carrier was exiting out my front gate.  My mailbox wasn't wet inside either.  It's only 6 months old and pretty watertight so far as I can tell:P  Nobody has to do anything outside of PBS requirements, but it would be really nice if they did.  I don't think it's necessary to assign blame to a sender, receiver, mail carrier, mailbox, or an act of God when it comes to books getting wet or mositure damaged in transit.  it should really be enough that we all know it happens.

It isn't the sender's duty to do anything more than the basic requirements of PBS.  Show me in the guidelines where we have to wrap in plastic first and I will gladly do this for every book I send out.

There's nothing in the guidelines that says this -- and you know that.  It's already been mentioned in this thread. 

I don't think an ounce of prevention is unreasonable.  It doesn't even take an extra minute to wrap a book in plastic wrap or a Wal-Mart bag. Some people want to get by doing the bare  minimum and only what is required of them.  Others think a little common courtesy and thoughtfullness go a long way. 

I don't even have a mail box at my home.  All my mail goes to the post office box.  And yet I still get books the senders insist were not water damaged when they were sent.  There are a lot of things that cannot be controled between point A and point B. 

You don't know what will happen when you send out a book.  Some people care -- some don't. 

Oh, I in NO way blame the sender of the book!! It was wrapped totally according to the way it should be by the rules here. Our mailbox is large, snug and usually dry but sometimes the postman just pushes at the door after stuffing the mailbox and the door does not seal all the way. The wind was blowing really, really hard (like up to 30-40 MPH gusts) and rain just literally got driven in around the door where it was "closed" but "not closed", if you KWIM. I have thought this before, but now I am really tempted to just get a P.O. box.  CHRIS--  I am not blaming the person who mailed it- it WAS correctly packaged from the guidelines and I clearly stated so. I was not scolding the sender of the book either. I am sorry if you felt I was being angry at the member that sent the book and sorry that you would refuse a request because of the piece of plastic.  I have, however,  decided to put the RC of plastic and just lose out if that is what needs be (or the PO box). My whole point was just my disappointment that a book got ruined and to see what others thought adding a RC about plastic would do to my chances of getting rejected for a book. It was NEVER meant to cast blame.

I am lucky to live in a state with good weather most of the time, so it never occurred to me to plastic wrap the books against the weather, even though I grew up in one of the miserable weather states.  After reading about problems such as yours, I started wrapping all my books in plastic and weatherproofing my package with packing tape.  I've gotten many compliments on how well my books are packaged and have not yet had a problem with them. 

So, I would be one of those who would not refuse your request because of plastic RC.

Thanks, Robin- it makes me feel better to know that the plastic request is okay for others. I just got 3 wishlisted books offered with the plastic wrap RC in place, so I believe this will work out okay after all.

I just received 5 books and only one was in an inner plastic wrapper.  I really DO appreciate it when sender can do that.  A couple of the other books were torn in more than one place even though the corners were reinforced with tape.  Had those books been exposed to the weather we just had...they'd have been ruined.  Not all mailboxes are weatherproof.  I have a rural mailbox and the carrier usually doesn't close the door on it.  Most of the time I'm thankful just to get my mail.  We do have a PO Box, but we only go there once a week...so there'd be a definite time lag in getting books and crediting them if I hadn't changed my address to our road.  The box is nowhere near our house so it's hard to tell when the mail is delivered - especially if the relief driver is delivering.  I just have PM'd the senders today thanking the one person for the plastic, and urging the others to consider doing so in the future.   I have wrapped every book I've mailed in plastic because I know how messed up things can get in the mail even if it isn't raining.   The first 3 books that were sent to me went to our PO BOX and one had been taped well and fortunately had an inner plastic wrapping.  It had a "worn" through place where there wasn't any tape and the plastic wrap was all that ended up protecting the book from the machinery of the post office system.  So it isn't always weather.  Sorry if I come off as ranting -  I'm just nervous about getting a book I really, really, want and it arriving ruined for lack of inside plastic wrap.

i never wrapped mine at first either - but, i do now. i actually use ziplocks, just because i use them for everything and they are re-usable for the receiver. I wouldn't want to get a wet book - if there are any problems with mine i hope i am told :)

I'm like Robin, we generally have good weather here and in the beginning I would never have thought about the plastic until I started visiting the forums.  Now all books that will be wrapped in the PBS wrapper are first wrapped in plastic.  Many have appreciated it and one even asked where I found the violet plastic wrap!

so order from me, I'll wrap in plastic to protect the books! <G>

Hugbandit (leslie) - I got  some violet plastic on one of the 2 books I received wrapped in plastic.  Wonder if it was you?  I always PM senders to thank them, and now I'm PM=ing them to ask if they will consider using plastic.  I just PM's someone who's sending me a book asking her to do so because of my mail person.  I hope she/he wasn't offended - I said I didn't want to offend them.  I just don't know what to do.  I did get one book today that had it been mine I wouldn't havesent it without PM to the requestor about the very rippled cover.  It doesn't bother me for my use, but I'm gonna have to flag it if I try to trade it.