So far I have ordered three books. Two were in such poor condition I can not send on to someone else. Today I got one that was VERY old, creased and spotted on the pages from age and who knows and she had actually taped the cover page to the book so of course some of the front came off when the tape did. I did this time ask for my credit back but I guess that is up to them if they WANT to give it back. I feel this is all more work then its worth since I can go to the library and check them out free. I plan to use up the credit I have left and then take off my membership. Hope you all do better and God bless.

Sorry, Karen! 

I know we all get frustrated when we get books that shouldn't have been posted.  I still check out books from the library, since many books I want aren't available here.  I also read some online, like at www.literature.org.  PBS is just something I do for the fun of it.  It's sort of like a treasure hunt.  I've had to ask for a credit back twice and it wasn't a pleasant thing, since the sender usually gets very defensive.  It's just one of those things you have to put up with in order to get to the good transactions.

Good luck and God bless!

I'm sorry you're having such bad luck.  I know it's not much consolation, but those problems are really pretty rare.  I hope that you decide to give it some more time, but if not then good luck to you where ever you choose to go.

Hi Karen. I'm sorry you've had such bad experience's starting out. PBS has truly been a blessing to me. There are so many wonderful people here who do actually share great books that are more often than not, in excellent condition. With or without PBS, I hope you are able to continue with your love for books.

On a completely unrelated note, I browsed your shelf and I was thrown back into my childhood. You have a Hardy Boys book on your shelf that I distinctly remember having when I was a little girl. The exact same cover that I have not seen but remember from almost 30 years ago. It tugged at my heart strings. Thank you.

Karen - I hope you find many wonderful books at your library.  No site is right for every person.   Sorry this one did not work well for you.

Karen, it really does sound like you've had an unusual run of bad luck right at the beginning.  Some of the books traded are older and show their age (although they should still fit the posting guidelines) but others are in great shape, and I've actually received many books that are clearly brand new.  It all balances out in the end, and PBS really does have a lot of great features.  Hopefully you'll have better luck with your remaining credits and you'll decide to stay!

It's discouraging, Karen, but I hope you'll stick it out.  Hopefully, the rest of your transactions while you use up your credits will be more encouraging! 

My first experiences weren't that great and I did calculate the percentage of bad trades to good trades at one point wondering if it was even worth it.  I think the unpostables received then were about 25% (nothing like your 100%, of course!)!  I'm now down to 10% -- yes, I just counted them.  <g> 

What I can't count is the number of books I've received that are brand new or only read once and you wouldn't even know it.  That is a very *high* percentage.  I don't think an estimate of 75-80% is too high. 

I think there's some kind of karmic initiation procedure at work here lately, since there have been so many posts from new people having the same problem -- though I can't recall a situation right now as dire as yours! 

I really hope it gets better! 

That is a bummer.  It does sound like your having an unusual bad run.  I have been so lucky w/the books I have recieved here.  I have only recieved 1 book that was not so hot, but luckily for me it was heavily wished for so I just gave it as a book deal.  And I've recieved sooo many books that look like new! 

I can only encourage you to stick it out for a while longer.

Karen - I'm fairly new to PBS and so far my experience has been wonderful.  Only one questionable book so far.  I did get some books where the wrappers were torn and the book exposed even though they had been taped fairly well.  I'm still wating on several books, so I may be in for my share of the bad stuff.  But to me since I like to read so much getting a book that is unpostable wouldn't bother me too much as long as I could still read it.   I'm 40 mi from a Used Book Store (and their trade policy is harsh) so that's not an option for me very often.  Our public library has a very limited amount of books that I like - and they aren't so great on the checking books back in - so we've agreed I won't go there any more.    I do buy paperbacks from Amazon  on occasion using their 4-for 3 deal and I'm a member of Prime so I ger free shipping on most things.  Still the community here is very attractive to me since I don't have much of a social life (if you don't count doctors!).   If you stick around for a little while longer it might greatly improve.  At any rate - good luck and read lots!