Hi Everyone,

Please see the following pictures:

http://img839.imageshack.us/i/img2125m.jpg/

http://img84.imageshack.us/i/img2124r.jpg/

I think this is a cleaved spine- what do you all think?    Perhaps my real question today, though, is am I just being too picky about the books I receive?  Do other members get books in this sort of condition and then just live with it?  Maybe another way to put it is, if you were to receive a book in this condition, would you find it acceptable or would you RWAP it?  The reason why I ask is, after I finish reading this book, I will most likely send it back out.  But I don't want to be stuck holding the bag if the next person I send this to does not find it acceptable.

Thanks for your opinions.  Edward

That book is not postable.  I would have marked it RWP and asked for my credit back.

As to whether or not you get a lot of RWP's it's hard to say since you didn't say how many books you've received and how many were RWP.  I think I've gotten around 12 out of about 600 books received.  So a really low number.  I have gotten a lot of gray area/borderline books that I wouldn't have sent but that I didn't feel warranted an RWP.  You have to expect to be the last one to pay a credit for some books.  But something that's clearly unpostable, I complain about.

yep definitely unpostable and I would RWAP and request my credit be returned.

Sorry for asking a question without proper context.  I have received 4 books so far and now 2 of them are RWAP.  (If you want to read about the other one, it is also listed in this forum.  Just search "Edward RWAP" in the Message Text of this forum and you should get a hit.)  But perhaps I wasn't really asking this question.  Since I am relatively new, I just wanted to find out how often people get books that look like this and whether they just accept it as "the way of this community" ?  Hence my question about being too picky.

Thanks for your comments, Edward.

Between my cousin and myself I can say that out of about 60 books recieved we have only recieved one with that level of damage (which was from a new member who claimed to have never read the posting rules).  I would say that we have gotten another 5-7 that are on their last leg and will most certainly not be reposted.  Generally books arive in reasonably good condition with the random like new book thrown in.  That level of damage is not the norm at all.  It sounds like you are just having the run of bad luck that happens from time to time.  I promise it gets better.

Edward, you are not being too picky.  It sounds like you've just had a couple of bad trades in a row.  I am sure it is disappointing to have problems with half of the books you have received, but your sample size is not very big, so I think you need to hang in there.  I have received over 300 books now and only had problems with a handful.  For some reason, they seem to come in clusters, so maybe this means you're getting all of yours done right at the start!  Seriously, hang in there- it will get better.  No, you are not too picky- you sound like a great PBS member who is paying attention to the posting rules!  Keep up the good work!  Sorry you got some lemons...we all get them at some point.

I've been a member since the last of June.  I've received 6 PBS books, 1 market.  The first 2 books were fine then 3 of the PBS books were unpostable followed by a good one.  Two had underlining/writing that I didn't catch until I marked them received and that I won't be able to repost and 1 with water damage that I did mark RWP.   It has definitely made me "gun shy" of ordering books because I can find books at Good Will in better shape than the 3 bad ones received here. I know because of FIFO people are not targeting new people, but I admit wondering about that.  Since then my problem is ordering a book and not having the person respond to the request.  I guess that means someone is on vacation or the account is dormat. 

I have a feeling that the record will vary somewhat according to the type of book you're interested in.

I've received 50 or so books now, and a large fraction of them (a third?) don't follow the rules. But most of my books are textbook types, and they're written in, and people don't bother to PM as the rules require. I haven't been RWAPping, though perhaps I should - I just have a hard time doing that. (Only one of the books has been so marked up that I wouldn't have accepted it anyway.)

I don't think I've gotten many (if any) that were unpostable because of spine issues and such, though.

But one way or the other, it stands to reason (to me) that a book type that appeals to college students might have a different average condition than one that appeals to 40-year-old business people or to 65-year-old housewives or to 35-year-old moms or to 12-year-olds. So I wouldn't be surprised if different people end up with different levels of satisfaction with PBS.

I think you are right Elizabeth. I think the type of book ordered does affect the condition of the book. Most Steven King paperbacks are so thick that they are bound to have spine issues after several readings. And books that are still popular after they have been in trade for awhile are going to have condition issues. Some of the books that I want are 10 or 20 or more years old nd I expect some issues w/ the condition of the book.

I also agree that it's got a lot to do with the type of book. The spine cleaves on almost every Terry Pratchett book I get that's a MMPB. I rarely get to trade them on. If the cleaving isn't too bad, I donate the book to my favorite thrift shop, but I frequently end up having to throw the book away when I'm finished. 

I have received 409 books (wow!!  I never looked in my archives for a long time, that is a lot of books!).  By my estimation:

1 marked RWAP -- credit refunded, no  problem

possibly 10 should not have been posted

about 25-30 were clearly "end of the booklife" books (the books have to stop somewhere)

maybe another 40 that I would not resend, just because I am a little picky about what I send out. 

about 200+ that looked new.

So, 2 books out of 6 is a very high average of books that are not good.  I looked at your pic's.  That is not you being picky, that spine is cleaved, if it was posted like that, it should not have been.

I think it depends to some degree on type of book too. I've received over 1500 books in five years from PBS and can count on one hand the number of books that were in bad condition. I've had a few other RWPs for 'wrong book' (sent paperback version when I ordered the hardcover for example) or 'damaged in transit' but actual water-damaged, stained, torn, written in, etc.books that looked like they came from Grandma's very damp basement have been very few and far between.

So yeah, I would say 2 RWP already is a lot, but sometimes things run in streaks here, it seems to me. Don't NOT mark a book RWAP if it needs to be marked as such--that's how we keep the bad senders culled out.

Cheryl

I have received 271 books as of today.  I think I've had to mark RWAP maybe 10 times, if that.  And probably 5 of those 10 were due to receiving an ARC, not because the book was damaged.  However, I tend only to order newer books that were released within the last couple years.  So, my books have likely not changed hands much.

I just had the same issue except my books opened in many places to the spine.  I was directed to an explaination that says if the pages are still attached it is acceptable.  I know after I read it the pages will most likely begin to pull away therefore rendering it unpostable.  But even if they don't I won't repost them.  As I don't like receiving them in that condition so I'm sure others don't either.  But as far as a rwap and getting my credit back  I was told its not.  I really hope you don't repost it when your done.  Just chauk it up to one that reaches the end of the line with you. 

Yep, not postable.

I just discovered my first cleaved spine in over 100 trades - and I've probably only had to RWAP two others ever.  I was bummed about the cleaved spine because it was camoflagued by the almost pristine dust jacket.  I guess I will learn to check more carefully.

I hope you have better luck as you do more trades.

I too have been having a run of bad luck, my last two books received were RWAP, one water damaged, one stained. I have also been getting a lot more  book with cleaved spines, but I'm hoping at least a part of that is due to the darned heat and poor packaging. I'm about the penultimate stop on my carriers route, and with the heat in the trucks, and then sitting in his truck all day, those that rattle around in their packaging might be more subject to it and/or they are just poorly made... 

Still, I've had well over 600 trades and the vast majority have been positive. :-)

Please do not ever feel bad about marking a book RWAP if it has an obvious violation of the PBS rules.  You do not need to request a credit refund, if that makes you uncomfortable (although it is perfectly acceptable and within the guidelines to do so) but PLEASE do mark problem books as RWAP.  Sometimes, that is the only way for some members to learn what is acceptable here as they haven't read the guidelines thoroughly.  And also, as pointed out above, it is the way the site maintains quality control and culls out repeat offenders.