I knowthere have been posts about stains ranging from coffee rings to Britney Spears' Cheeto drool.  Those are obviously  books that have wear and damage that should eliminate them from consideration for trade here. What about those books that are printed to look old and worn and sometime fool recipients?

Last night someone sent me  a rather curt letter stating that the book I sent them was stained and that they would be out a credit after their husband had read it.  She marked it damaged.   The book was almost brand  new when I sent it.  However, it had been released a few years ago when the art directors at Penguin were getting a little nuts with making everything look retro and/or worn. 

As luck would have it, the copy of the edition pictured at Amazon was very was very washed out and you could barely see the real nature of the book's cover art.  I found a couple of private sites with good, clear pictures of the book's cover:

burlyhouse.com/images/burlyhouse/thedifferenceengine.jpg

www.djcline.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/difference%20engine.thumbnail.jpg

Another  example: to celebrate seventy years of publishing both here and the in the UK and Australia, Penguin printed aa number of their "Pocket Book" line to look like they were released in the 70s.

modculture.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/23/penguin_retro.jpg

Here is a another very well-known example of mock wear or age on a book:

http://www.readinggroupgold.com/jackets/large/0312199430L.jpg

If you get a book that looks old, worn or damaged, please take a moment to be sure it's not supposed to look like that before you mark it damaged.  If it smells clean, has good sharp corners and a flawless spine, is nice and smooth and doesn't have stain damage on the inside of the cover or anywhere else, there's a good chance that the art director at that publishing house meant for the book to look that way. 

Of you're sending a book like that, you might want to send a quick note and let them know what the cover looks like so you won't have to take the time and trouble to explain to the recipient that "Yes they'll be able to ttrade the book", "Yes the publisher meant it to look that way." "No I don't eat live kittens for breakfast." blah blah blah 30-minutes-of-my-life-I'll-never-get-back-cakes. 

LOL!  I had a book that had printed coffee rings on the back.  I spent waaaaay too much time looking at it to make sure it wasn't a real coffee ring :-b

Yes, I have sent a couple like that with the "mock wear" on them (good term!) and went ahead and PM'd the requestor when I sent it that "it's supposed to look that way." In both cases, they already knew that anyway as they'd seen the book in a bookstore, but yeah--it could be a bit disconcerting if they DIDN'T know, so definitely a good idea to warn them ahead of time.

Sort of like your mother trying to return those pre-washed/pre-worn/pre-ripped jeans that you bought to the store because they were 'damaged.'. LOL

Cheryl

LOL Rhonda was it Sex, Murder and a Double Latte?  I did the same thing, first thought was oh man I can't repost then after a very long minute of staring I realize it was part of the cover art! 

Victoria I would contact R&R about it and let them know that the book was not damaged or unpostable and that the person who got the book should take a closer look. 

This happened to me once with a book, too -- it had this odd, barely visible circle on it that didn't seem to fit with the cover art at all (not really "wear" exactly, but more of a discoloration).  I spent WAY too much time trying to figure out if that circle was supposed to be there.  Finally I found a photo of the book online where I could see the circle, and then I felt okay about sending.

Thanks for the head's up, Victoria.  I hope you got the matter worked out with the recipient.

I did talk to R&R and they were nice and a bit amused by it.  They stated that there was no way to remove the problem report but that they would tag that trade so that they would know I hadn't sent someone a bad book.

The recipient got back in touch with me:

I talked to my husband about this (after I sent the report) and did wonder if this was indeed the case...it just seemed really strange to me and the image that I could see on the website was not enlargable, and looked like it was just white to me.

Okay, consider me silly, but why didn't she talk to him before sending me the snippy note and a report toR&R?

I'll check out the covers you sent, but I trust you.

What did I do that would make this a question?  Argh!

If you are unable to remove the "problem report" yourself using these e-mails, let me know and i'll try and figure out how to do it. It just truly looked dirty to me. Sorry for the hassle and thanks for the book.

I know I need to answer her and I do need to be nice about it, but this is so much like spending time with the cousin who usually gets me injured or in deep doodoo and then reaches the end of a too-busy weekend with a deep, contented sigh and the squeaky declaration that "everything was So! Much! Fuuuuun!"  Talk me down, please.  I want to find her and beat her with a house shoe.

And BTW, you're welcome to the information about mock wear.  It would have never occurred to me that this would be an issue.

Rhonda, was that book Sex, Murder and a Double Latte? I warned someone about the cover art on that one before sending it. I set it down one day with the back of the book up, and about had a heart attack when I returned and saw the "coffee stain" on the back, LOL!

Okay, Victoria, I'll jump in and try to talk you down.  Yes, if she had doubt she should have tried to figure it out before marking the book as a problem and sending you a snippy PM.  But it sounds as if she's trying to be pleasant and make it right now.  So give yourself a moment (or more), enjoy your own double latte or other treat of choice, and chalk this one up to everyone being entitled to have an occasional "doh" moment.

Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren has the fake coffee cup stain on the title page and on the first page of every chapter, and a fake coffee "drop" stain on every page of the book! Someone who wasn't paying attention and only noticed it on the title page might think the book was legitimately stained. I'll have to remember to mention it when and if the book gets requested from me!

Thank you, Kristen!  LOL!  My mantra for the day will be "buttercream frosting...buttercream frosting...  I know down to the bottom of my black little heart I need to give the benefit of the doubt.  It was just a bit of venting. 

"I know I need to answer her and I do need to be nice about it, but this is so much like spending time with the cousin who usually gets me injured or in deep doodoo and then reaches the end of a too-busy weekend with a deep, contented sigh and the squeaky declaration that "everything was So! Much! Fuuuuun!"  Talk me down, please.  I want to find her and beat her with a house shoe."

Lol!  You gotta admit, it's funny.  Funny in that bad way, like when I got a book shipment, and the packaging had come open in-transit, and some nice person from the USPS had put a - presumably also lost in the mail - piece of exercise equipment into my package (along with the invoice thingy saying it was a book)...  As long as it's on record that you didn't send out a coffee stained book, I'd chalk it up to one of those kooky, flukey things, and try to laugh about it:P  Laughter is always the best medicine - especially when you want to beat someone with a shoe - lol.

What will really be funny if the woman posts it and gets a RWP mark against her for the same thing.  Could happen Karma bites you in the butt sometimes.

Ok this is funny. I just picked up Sex, Murder and a Double Latte at HalfPrice books today. I didn't even notice the fake coffee ring on the back until I read this thread.  I'll have to remember to PM the person so they know it's supposed to be there.  Most likely they'll know already but better safe than sorry. After all I didn't notice it until just now and I flipped through the book before I bought it to make sure it was postable.