I received a book that has a different ISBN than the book I ordered (I had the trade version WLed, and received a mmpb).  I have been trying to get this book (the correct version, that is) for months and have received the wrong version several times, therefore I put on a RC that states to please make sure that the ISBN matches the one I have requested.  I marked the book RWAP, but was unsure of which button to choose- RC  Not Met, or Wrong Book.  Both are listed as "official problems" in the HC, but in this case, it is both.  I ended up clicking on RC Not Met, and also put a note in the space for additional comments that the wrong book was received, but would it have been more appropriate to say that it was the wrong book?  Is one problem more significant than the other?  I did get put back on the WL at #1 for the book, so I guess the result is the same either way, I just wonder for the sake of PBS record keeping if one issue is more important than the other in the hierarchy of problem transactions.  Anyone know, or have an opinion?  Thanks.

My first thought would be to mark it Wrong Book to make the issue clearer to the sender that ISBN's must match - rather than the person brushing off "requestor conditions", but either choice works in your situation.

I think next time (wait, scratch that, there's NOT going to be a next time ;)  )you should mark it wrong book.  I have no idea if this is true or not, but I would imagine TPTB would frown more on sending the wrong book than RC not met.  Could be totally wrong though.  It may not make a difference to TPTB what you put either way.  But maybe if you put wrong book, the sender would maybe, just maybe, start posting by ISBN.  But I guess that's a big maybe. 

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my understanding is IF you mark it RWAP-RC then they have to refund the credit.

is it possible that the TPB and the MMPB have the same ISBN?  i've noticed this in other cases.

I'm actually surprised the Trade Size and MMPB would have different ISBNs.

If the sender sent a book with a different ISBN than was ordered, it's the wrong book.

If the sender sent a book with the same ISBN that was ordered, but the RC specified Trade Size, then it's RC Not Met.

The trade size has a unique ISBN from the mmpb.  I researched this thoroughly prior to WLing the book.  In case anyone is interested, the book is Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, and this saga has actually been going on for months.  When I first WLed this and one other Outlander book, I kept receiving the mmpb in the mail, with, of course, the wrong ISBN.  That is why I put the RC on in the first place.  In answer to the question about why people are not posting by the ISBN, they are- in the beginning.  What happens is that they put in the correct ISBN from the back of their book.  At some point in the posting process, a screen comes up that lists the information, and shows a picture of a book cover.  Below this is a list of alternate versions, along with their book cover pictures.  People get confused when their book cover does not match the one in the PBS system, and then end up clicking on the alternate version that does, not realizing that it is a completely different version of the book.  They also apparently don't understand that the covers need not match.  At least, this is what is happening most of the time.  About the third wrong version of a book that I received, I did ask the sender if this is what happened, and she confirmed that it was.  I don't know what can be done about it on the PBS end- they already have in large, red bold print that ISBNs must match, covers need not, etc.  but the way it is currently does seem to cause a lot of confusion.

This has brought a question to my mind - WHAT is the difference between a "trade" and "mass market" paperback - and how can anyone tell the difference? I do know that books are to be listed by ISBN but if someone asked me whether a particular book was a MMPB or a TBP, I would have no idea.  Can anyone put this in simple terms for me?

The difference is in the measurements.  Trade paperbacks are larger, measuring approx. 6"x9", while mass market paperbacks are the smaller paperback size, roughly 4"x6".  Unfortunately, the PBS system does not usually contain this information- usually the book binding description says only "paperback".  Sometimes there is no way of knowing what size paperback you are ordering, unless you research it ahead of time.  In some cases, the ISBN is the same for both versions, but in others (as in the case I have described above) the ISBN is unique for each the trade and mmpb versions.

By the way, one of the earlier versions of my RC stated that I was only looking for the trade pb version, however it was pointed out that many people do not know the difference between trade and mmpb, so I revised my RC to say only that the ISBN must match.  Much simpler that way.

One thought is that you could add to your RC the difference between a trade and mmpb - I wonder if that plus the ISBN warning would help people who are confused understand which version of the book you are looking for.  Just a thought....

Types

Paperbacks include inexpensive "mass market paperbacks", in the standard "pocketbook" format generally printed on inexpensive paper, which will discolor and disintegrate over a period of decades, and more expensive "trade paperbacks" in larger formats printed on quality paper, sometimes acid-free paper.

Early in my PBS tenure I received a rash of books with deplorable conditions.  I had set an RC asking that the Sender ensure the book met PBS guidelines, and found this to be useful until one person accepted the conditions and sent an unpostable book.  That very first violation presented the same question: is it RWAP - Damaged or RWAP - didn't meet RC?  The fact is that it is both, but because my RC wasn't really in excess of the PBS rules I decided to mark it Damaged, and consequently removed my RC as the dilemma proved my RC essentially useless.

James, that sounds pretty frustrating, and in that case, I would probably remove the RC too.  However, in my situation, my RC has been extremely helpful in weeding out the wrong book being sent to me, except in this one instance.  Since I put the RC in place, I have had at least half a dozen of the books posted declined due to my RC, and all of them stated that their book was a mmpb with a different ISBN.  The last one before this one realized what she had done, and even stated that she would make sure that she reposted the book under the correct ISBN rather than under the cover picture that matched.

As for stating the difference between trade pb and mmpb in my RCs, I do not feel that it is necessary in this case.  The trade version has a unique ISBN, so as long as the ISBN matches, it's the book I want.  One thing I have learned in the duration of my membership here is that the simpler the RC is, the better.  When they're too wordy, people don't even read them- they just decline.  My RC says simply that I have specific versions of certain books WL, so please make sure that the ISBN of the book matches the ISBN that I requested.

Then you received the wrong book - and I agree, I'm not sure what can be done on PBS's end about it!  I see what you're saying though that the poster gets confused and wants to pick the cover that matches when they post :-/

Well...  if I ever run into that book in trade-size, I'll keep you in mind ;-)

Lesley, I feel your pain.  I also have an RC that basically says the ISBN must match.  Mine is due to the fact that I order a number of Large Print books, most (but not all) of which have unique ISBNs.  If the book I recieve has the ISBN I ordered but it's not Large Print, I'm not going to complain because it's still the right book.  (Well, unless Large Print is in the title but that's a different problem and runs into shades of gray.)

But I just got one yesterday:  Right title, right author, wrong binding and wrong ISBN.

It's a brand new member (joined last Friday and mailed the book on Saturday) and I just hate that one of her first transactions is going to RWAP.  Sigh.  But hopefully she'll learn to post by ISBN.

And I need to ask to be put back at the front of the wishlist line.

Kimberly, you shouldn't have to ask to be put back on the WL at #1- when you mark the book RWAP and click on the "wrong book received" button (or the "RC not met" button, for that matter), you will automatically go back to #1 on the WL.  I have been through this numerous times in the last couple of months and have not had to request to be placed back at #1.  Just check your WL and make sure you're at #1.

Sorry this is happening to you too.  I'm learning that it's a pretty common occurrance.