I seem to be receiving more books with water damage than I ever gotten before.  Are any of you also seeing more water damage?  I thought PBS rules about this were very clear but I've gotten 4 books this month with water damage.  Do I need to have an RC for something that's already in the rules?  My next door neighbor got a book that smelled like perfume, and the person who sent it refused to admit that it was damaged.  Said all kinds of junk like it was an old book and I read it myself(?), but I saw the book and it looks like it was dropped in a tub.  I've had better luck, people have been apologetic and refunded my credit, but I really want a nice repostable book to read.  I'm getting quite a collection of books that are no good once I've read them, except for the recycle bin.  Sigh!

I went through a period where I either had a lot of water damage or loose pages.  It was obvious that the books were unpostable, and I asked for the credits back and got them.  Think I got about 4 books and they were by the same author but from different PBSers.  After that I just put that in my RCs (and if I lose books because someone won't send to people with RCs then I lose the book, but if I have no chance of reposting it, I'll just wait.  Pat

I got my fifth water damaged book the other day. It was a wish list book too :-( .

I am starting to worry that my account will be flagged for marking too many books RWAP.

I haven't...I have only had one that had water damage and that was before they even had the whole RWP process. No problems at all recently. Not too bad for 1130+ received books!

Cheryl

I've decided to put in an RC about rechecking for water damage.  Yesterday's response seemed put out when I asked for my credit back for the book.  She would never post a bad book.  Ummm, well I think she did this time.  I'm not too fond of being called a liar, however indirectly.

I've had probably about 5 books since being a member here that have some sort of water/liquid damage. Most of those have been recently.

"I've decided to put in an RC about rechecking for water damage.  Yesterday's response seemed put out when I asked for my credit back for the book.  She would never post a bad book.  Ummm, well I think she did this time.  I'm not too fond of being called a liar, however indirectly.:

You know, it is just possible your sender is feeling the same way. I try to check my books carefully and to never send a questionable book, but I have still had complaints and felt unjustly accused. On my part I have decided that it is not worth the stress and arguing and plan to accomidate anyone who feels the loss of their credit enough to ask for it back, but I can also see how your sender might be feeling.

If you are getting a lot of complaints, it's probably time to re-think your idea of what is and what is not postable.  One or two people can be wrong.  More than that, you have a problem.

 Judith, I have so many problems with liquid damage, I added a condition a long time ago.  I still get liquid damaged books.  Here is my condition as it pertains to liquid damage:

Sorry to have to list conditions - I have received quite a few books that were in poor condition.

Please - no water or liquid damage of any kind and no mold.   If you are in doubt as to what liquid damage looks like, please do not send the book.

Thanks for your understanding and Happy Swapping! :)

I still got this book:

(link removed because the general public reads the forums now)

And the person argued that it wasn't liquid damage.  Some people simply do not get it.

L that is awful!  My most recent book was just wavy pages, no gunk on the edges.  I've tried to explain without going on too long about it, what I think is unacceptable.  I don't have a digital camera, or I could show you the books I've gotten.  I think people aren't checking carefully enough, and just send the book.  Maybe it's because they are new and excited, maybe they don't have proper lighting, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I just don't want to spend a credit on a book I wouldn't want to send to another person.  I justify the postage costs to myself as a book rental or as what I would pay in overdue fines at the library because it can take me a long time to read a book.  But if I lose the ability to recoup my postage or if it is a big hassle to deal with someone who sent me an unpostable book, I may rethink my use of the library.  I'm fortunate enough to have a decent one, and while I've gotten way more books than my library can ever hope to stock, it isn't that bad.  At least I can return the damaged ones for free and it's the library's problem. 

Eeks...I don't even want to guess at what is on that book. (shudder)

I have a little question about the "wavy pages"...I have actually purchased books (read: brand new) that have had wavy pages, but they aren't "stiff" when turning them..I don't think I ever thought it was water damaged..I mean, can a book get like that if it has been stored in a place with high humidity (or somethin')?

For those getting moisture damaged books recently have you considered the areas that the mail went through? I just opened some books that I was going to send off this week. They were sitting in my truck all week while Gustav went through. They are now considered water damaged because of the excess humidity here. Florida also had a hurricane dump up to 2 feet of water last week (Gustav left 22 inches in 2 days here). I could not really tell the books were damaged through the packaging either. I just had a hunch to check them since I have two bookcases full of slightly wavy books now. If I can get water damage in my house from opening the windows, mail trucks can too.

and just because a book has wavy pages, doesnt necessarily mean its water damage. water damage is noted by darkened pages, stiff pages, stains on the book/pages. but books are being made with cheaper materials now, and the littlest bit of humidity causes the pages to wave. i live in oklahoma and have lots of trouble with humidity and books

Paula, wavy pages from humidity (or poor binding) will be evenly wavy throughout the whole book.  The waves tend to be "big" as opposed to the small, more warped waves of water damage.

I'm not too fond of being called a liar, however indirectly.

That is another thing I HATE about having to beg for your credit back. It is ridiculus that I have been called a liar and a cheat for wanting my credit back for a book that SHOULD NEVER have been posted in the FIRST PLACE.

I really think PBS we should have a different way of handling it:(

Thanks:)  I never really thought too much about  (buying) a book (with big waves) until I started trading here.  I never thought about it being a binding problem either.

I can understand that this might happen because of the way books are being wrapped.  I just received a book that was only wrapped in the paperback labeling and the entire side of the paper was torn off.  Luckily there was no harm done, but if it had been raining during the delivery there would have been damage. It is possible the damage occured in shipping and the member doesn't know the damage occurred.

I try to wrap all my books in saran wrap to hopefully avoid this.  Or if not that way I put enough tape on the outside to make the covering waterproof.

I guess people don't understand how much of a problem this could be until they start receiving damaged books.  And, if you live in a humid state, this can happen quite easily.  But,  I do think there is a difference between obvious water damage, and just wavy pages from excess humidity.   I would say with water damage you will see the water spots, with just humidity you will not.

Susie

I'm so confused. Is humidity damage considered water damage?

It's happened again!  I just got a book with something splashed on a few pages.  Yuck!  You are right Latricia, people don't bother to check to see if their books meet the requestor's conditions.  But I will keep marking them as not being right until I get booted out of the club, it isn't right! 

Jessica, I don't know how to answer your question about humidity damage.  I don't think I've gotten one that's been humid, the ones I get have been wet, not always with water.  I know it's hard when you have a book you know people will want, but you just have to be brave and not post it if you think it doesn't meet the guidelines.  Better to offer it with an order off your shelf and not expect a credit for it.