I just got a book in the mail from a new member, and I'm completely revolted. I opened the wrapper and saw what I assumed was residue from a sticker. As I opened it further, I was pretty shocked by the amount of CRUD on the cover of the book. It's a hardcover, so I'm pretty sure a lot of it can be removed with rubbing alcohol. There's also liquid (I'm assuming coffee or soda) damage to the binding and bottoms of the pages.

This is the third dirty cover book that I've gotten. The two I've received have been able to be cleaned, but this one is so truly gross and otherwise damaged that I don't even think I'll bother to clean it. I looked through the help docs and couldn't find anything that mentions dirty covers, but that doesn't mean I missed it. I reported the staining and spine damage, but added in the 'other' area the information about the dirt issue. Are there any rules about this? I know covers take the brunt of wear on a book, for most people, but I just don't think there's anything acceptable about a book that looks like lollipops and snot have been rubbed all over it, even if the pages are pristine.

Any thoughts? Is there a help topic I missed?

E: I got my numbers mixed up. Also, sorry for the bit of a rant mixed in. :)

I never read anything about a dirty cover....

I also just recieved a book in the mail today on my WishList that I will not be able to post again.. The book should not have been sent in the first place. I did give the person their Credit because they did pay for postage to send to me.. But the way it was wrapped the cover got torn and all of the corners of the book are bended in and the one side of the bottom corner is rounded off for some reason????

I will have to offer this as a Freebie.. Was very disappointed because i did just join!! But I guess we will all get these once in a while!

In the Help Center under Book Condition Guidelines, it specifically says "No damage at all from water or other liquid" and "Not soiled", therefore your disappointment is entirely reasonable.  If the cover damage you mention is on the dustcover of a hardcover book, it would be excusable (but gross) since the sender is not obligated to include the dustcover. 

I would have marked it Received with a Problem purely for the liquid damage to the pages.

I'm so sorry you had this happen!

Trisha, you are too kind. :) I've learned to complain.

Karen, the cover isn't a dust cover. It's a hardcover book with a slick surface and no dustcover. Can't think of a better way to describe it. I always assumed the 'not soiled' refered to pages. I've marked it RWP for the liquid damage and just noted the grossity in the other places.

Ugh....you would think people would clean their books off first.  Would that really be so difficult?  sigh.

Ah, I know the kind of cover you mean.  You might be able to remove some of the gunk with rubbing alcohol, but it won't change the fact that it's just plain unpostable.  It's a bummer no matter what you do.

Maybe the "not soiled" does refer just to the pages; I always assumed it meant the book in general.

(still chuckling over "lollipops and snot")

I'm sorry that happened to you. :( 

I have received a few disgusting and otherwise unpostable books too in the year I've been here. I usually mark as RWP and pm the sender, asking for a credit back. I have yet received one though..... some of these people are no longer members, so maybe they figured they weren't going to get away with sending books in such a condition.

I just don't understand how someone can send a book like that. I always take such good care of my books, knowing I will either read them many times over, or share with my daughters, or friends or post on PBS! If my books get yucky I  just toss them! I do have 2 dogs, and even with the vacuuming every day, there is always dog hair around, so before I send a book I will hold it by it's spine and give it a quick shake!

I posted this on another thread already but if you can, take a digital picture of the cover & the damage, or a photocopy & have it scanned into a jpg file. Upload it to Photobucket.com and send the link to the sender. Also post the link into transaction report so that it can be clearly viewed by R&R. If you need to shorten the link, go to TinyUrl.com , enter the link to get a shortened URL. I think the more we can show actual incidences of what's going on, the better. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. There would be no disputes open to interpretation with a clear picture. Maybe this way, we can keep the integrity of the site and the trades up, as people realize, they will get nailed for bad trades.  

Come order from me - my books are snot-free!!!

Come order from me - my books are snot-free!!!

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!

Jan, the first thing I did was take pictures, but the sender hasn't bothered to acknowledge my PM. I wish there was a feedback rating for individual transactions, so that you can see what kind of track record the person has before agreeing to the order.

I found that the antibacterial wipes end up causing a bit of stickiness on the covers of mine (might just be the wipes I use), so alcohol tends to be my weapon of choice unless the books are seemingly snot free. And Robin, I think you should stick that in your profile. Your orders would probably go through the roof, lol!

Stacy the sender has a week to respond to a PM about a damaged book - after that you are supposed to report them to R&R.

Trisha if a book looks like it was damaged in the mail, you should mark it damaged by USPS. However if you believe the way the book was wrapped contributed to the damage, you are supposed to PM the sender and let them know they need to change their wrapping methods.

Thanks for the link to the follow up, Cindy. It doesn't seem like the individual is interested in communicating, so I'll wait the week out and see what happens.

I don't mind scruff books or even books with the infamous 'cleaving' (as long as the pages are firmly attached), but it really does irk me when someone sends out a book that's obviously damaged, especially when the 'are you sure you can post' message directly addresses liquid damage. Even more irritating is when the person doesn't bother to reply, at all.