I got a book today that the corner was tore open, wrapped in paper no corners were reinforced with tape. That corner looks bad but its look more worn them post office damaged. The other corner is totally ripped on the book ( this is hardback ) and the top corners show wear. Ok so post office damage or the owner. Where its torn away from the binding the paper was not ripped open on the wrapping. Thanks

Kay--

If the book appears to have been damaged before mailing, mark it sender damaged.  If it happened in transit, mark it USPS damaged.

From the Help Center document "There is a problem with a book I received!"

Damaged by USPS

• This means that the book's poor condition appears to be the result of its journey in the mail.
• This includes books that appear to have been poorly packaged for mailing by the sender.

A book is considered Damaged by USPS if it was damaged in transit (while in the mail).

• This is usually just bad luck
  • Even the most well-wrapped packages can get mangled by a postal sorting machine
  • We have tried to divide the risk fairly between the sender and the requestor:
    • If the sender gets the book back damaged, the sender assumes the risk: she should contact us to cancel the request.  The requestor gets the credit back when we do that, and the sender does not get credit unless she used PBS-DC or PBS Printed Postage
    • If the requestor gets the book damaged by USPS, the requestor assumes the risk.  The requestor does need to mark the book received and does not get her credit back; the sender does get credit in this case.
• If you feel that the wrapping of the book contributed to its damage en route:
  • You can tell the sender this in a Personal Message
    • Please be gentle!  The sender may be new to bookswapping.
    • You can ask for your credit to be refunded if you believe it is warranted.
  • You can share your own tips on wrapping technique, and/or refer the sender to the Help items on wrapping a book.
  • You can also comment on the wrapping in the Comments box at the bottom of the survey portion of the Book Received page, so these details are recorded on the transaction in our records.

Cheers,

Elizabeth

I got a book today that the corner was tore open, wrapped in paper no corners were reinforced with tape. That corner looks bad but its look more worn them post office damaged. The other corner is totally ripped on the book ( this is hardback ) and the top corners show wear. Ok so post office damage or the owner. Where its torn away from the binding the paper was not ripped open on the wrapping. Thanks

You can only use RWAP if the book is unpostable. Are you saying that the book is now unpostable ... or that it just has some damage to it?

I am not understanding if it is the dustjacket that is ripped or the cover. If it is the dustjacket that is damaged, then no matter what it looks like, the book is still postable (unless you have a RC requesting a dustjacket, in which case, the dustjacket must follow the same rules that paperback covers follow).

Worn corners are postable on books. At least, there is no rule against them.

If the spine is cracked or broken, then that would be unpostable.

There is no dust cover, it a childs large disney book. The bottom on the book the cover is torn on the spine and pulled away from the binding.

There is really no way for people to determine the cause of the damage over the forums. You will need to decide yourself if the damage was caused by the USPS or if you believe the damage was there before the book was ever mailed. If the damage was caused by the USPS, the only option is RWAP - damaged by USPS, even if the wrapping allowed the damage to happen. If you decide that the damage was done prior to shipment then you can mark it RWAP - damaged by sender and discuss it with the sender.

In my opinion, if I cannot tell that the damage couldn't be a result of the USPS handling, it should be marked RWAP-damaged by USPS. I have gotten books that I was 99% certain the water damage was done prior to shipping, but there was the possibility that the torn package could mean the damage happened enroute so I marked in RWAP-USPS. That is just my opinion of course.

If you decide to ask for your credit back I recommend focusing on the damage that makes the book unpostable and not the worn corners since those don't affect the postability of the book.