I ordered an audio book, Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen. The ISBN is 1423392418. It is listed on this site as unabridged and that is what i prefer. What I got is abridged and if I click on the buy from Amazon it comes up as abridged. What is the proper way to mark this? I didn't get what I ordered but it seems to be a problem with site data.

Well, personally I don't think you can blame the poster and mark it RWAP.  I also don't think you can ask them for your credit back, because, as you said, the ISBN lists the book as unabridged on this site.  The poster input the ISBN, and that's that.  If this is the fault of PBS having a listing for an incorrect version, you can tell them what happened and see if they'll give you a credit because of the inaccuracy, but I don't know.  All PBS requires is that the ISBN matches, and it appears it does.  I would like to give the poster the benefit of the doubt and say that they didn't notice if it was abridged/unabridged.  They probably only made sure the title/ISBN matched.

I think that you can ask for your credits back because the item they sent doesn't match the listing. When we post items we're supposed to check that it matches the listing. If the listing is wrong then the correct action is to contact the site with the correct information to get it fixed. Until the listing is fixed the item would be unpostable. There was a situation kind of like this in 1 of the swapping games recently. Vision in Silver (Others, Bk 3) by Anne Bishop was listed as a paperback, which would have been fine with several swappers in the game, when the only edition out was Hardcover and the ISBN on their HC book was the correct HC one. That meant that NO copy of the book was postable because NO copy of the book would match the listing. Once the listing was corrected the book became postable.

But the thing is, it doesn't have to match the listing that specifically. ISBN, title, author, and book binding (in this case audio CD) have to match, but nothing in terms of content. I would contact the site owners to see if they can help you out, but the sender really can't be penalized as they did everything right. 

For what it's worth, I do agree that the correct thing would be to contact the site to know for sure. The title listed on PBS includes "Unabridged" for the ISBN though so (another listing had "Abridged" in the title) so, if it were up to me, which it's not, I'd still say that the poster didn't post it correctly. Absolutely contact the site though, they're really the only ones that can give an official answer.

Thank You, I have sent feedback . I will let you know what happens.

Actually, when posting a book you are supposed to make sure that it matches the listing exactly. If it does not, you are supposed to post it without an ISBN. From the Help Center:

Confirm that your book matches the information in the Book Listing Preview

• You will see the text below the Book Listing Preview:

  This is how your book listing will appear in the PBS library.

  Do the Title, Author, ISBN and Book Type match your book EXACTLY?

  Please note: book cover image shown does NOT need to match your book.

• If all of the information (ISBN, title, author, booktype) on the Book Listing Preview matches your book EXACTLY click . Do not click Refresh on your browser while the button reads "Processing..." Doing this may cause the book to be Posted twice.

• If your book does NOT match the information in the Book Listing Preview:

  • If it is a minor difference, such as a misspelled title or the wrong author first name, you can post the book and submit corrections afterward using the Edit Book Data link.
  • If the booktype is different (if your book is a paperback, and the Preview shows hardcover, for example):
    • You will need to post the book without an ISBN

So if the book states unabridged on the Site listing, and you received an abridged version, I would consider that as not matching the listing and RWAP, as it should've been posted without an ISBN.

Terry, does the ISBN on the abridged audio book you received match the ISBN of the unabridged audio book that you ordered?
I'm just curious if they do regularly re-use ISBNs for both abridged and unabridged audio books. In my opinion, when it's listed one way in the title, the poster should make sure their audio book matches that. However, as someone who regularly submits data edits to include either "abridged" or "unabridged" in the titles of audio books, I can't help but think it's possible the sender already had their book posted when "unabridged" was added to the title. www.worldcat.org shows this ISBN belongs to the unabridged audio book as the listing here shows. That's why I'd really be interested to know if the abridged audio book was also issued under this same ISBN. And please let us know what TPTB say.

The ISBN matches the book I ordered.I will let you know what TPTB say when I get their reply.

The ISBN re-use problem is also why we see so many members post ARCs which they shouldn't. Because the ISBN matches they figure it's ok.

Hope this works out to your satisfaction. 

I had this same issue a few months ago and requested clarification through feedback. I can't find the actual email right now but the answer I received was that the book was improperly posted because the title as it appears on the PBS listing did not match exactly with the audiobook being posted  (i.e. "Unabridged" in the PBS listing is, in fact, considered part of the title and must match exactly.)  If I recall correctly, TPTB also indicated that there had been a data edit to the listing for the book I received at some point where the "unabridged" was added and approved by a data editor.  They mentioned, though, that my sender posted her book after the data edit so she was held accountable.  I believe if she had listed the book before the data edit, she would not have been held accountable - which make sense - if it did not say "unabridged" when she posted it and was later changed, she didn't do anything wrong; however, it did say "unabridged" when she did post it and that was incorrect.

Please let us know what your answer from feedback is - I sincerely hope that it is the same if the circumstances are the same.

I heard back from TPTB . They wrote for future reference, if the listing here states "unabridged" *in the title, then an abridged book shouldn't be posted to that listing, so you would mark it "Received with a problem" --> "Wrong book/wrong version". I had contacted the member who sent the book to tell them why there was a delay in marking it received, The member was very nice and returned my credits before I marked it or asked for them back.

I would also like to suggest that you add a requirement that you would prefer unabridged audiobooks.  That way it would prompt the sender to double check that it is the unabridged version in case a posting error was made.  As a big reader of audiobooks I know that sometimes you have to read the small print on the back which is the only place it says it is an abridgement.

Are you going by the picture listed?  Because books only need to match the WRITTEN version.  Unfortunately, on this site they don't always tell you in the written description whether it is abridged or unabridged.  The picture does NOT need to match.  I just had someone do this to me tell me I sent the wrong book as the picture shows an unabridged version.  In the written description it does not state that it is unabridged and that is what matters.  If it is the correct title, author and ISBN, it is the correct book.  The lister has no way to control the picture or even what is in the description when they enter the ISBN.  With audio books if you don't wan't abridged versions, be sure to communicate that before the book is sent.  You can make it a condition or send a pm when you request the book.  Don't punish the sender by putting a black mark on they record when they listed the book exactly as it is listed in the WRITTEN (not picture)

I did not go by the picture. The listing said that it was unabridged and that was why I was surprised when i received an abridged copy.. I also dont want to have to ask if it is unabridged if it says unabridged in the title. No more than I would want to send a pm every time I order a hardcover to make sure it is a hardcover. What I needed to find out was it a RWAP  or was it a problem with book data on this site. It ended up a case of  ISBN being used on both types of audio books.

If it is the correct title, author and ISBN, it is the correct book.  The lister has no way to control the picture or even what is in the description when they enter the ISBN.

Barbara, as Terry previously said, this particular book said 'unabridged' in the title, and TPTB said that the abridged version should not have been posted to a title that says 'unabridged.' Also, people listing a book absolutely do have control over a picture and what's in the description. You simply do a book data/image edit to fix what needs to be fixed/updated. If I have an abridged audio book that has a picture showing 'unabridged' on the cover, I would absolutely search for and find a new picture and do an edit to the listing before I posted the book. I also add 'unabridged' or 'abridged' to every audio book title and description that passes through my hands.

I have been advised that it can take the volunteers 'weeks' for the cover to be updated depending on how backed up the list is. 

I've seen the image team take a while to update them, but I don't think it's ever been weeks. But it can definitely be weeks before you see the updated image due to the servers having to update/sync/something like that.

By the way, the time delay in things being updated is why I update my books as soon as I get them. That way once I've listened to them and am ready to post, they are already updated.

If there's no image currently in place, and you upload a good image (large enough, straight like a  scanned image, cropped) your image should show up within two or three days.

If there's already an image in place, it does take longer for the new image to show up. It used to be 2 or 3 weeks, but this has been getting faster. The reason is that the current image is stored in various data locations, and each of those locations has to be updated. It all depends on where the database is in its update cycle.

TPTB are being consistant, as that has been their response in the past...a PBS listing that shows abridged or unabridged should not have the other version posted to it.  If you think the PBS data is incorrect you can forward it to the Data Correction team.