Of course, I realize if pages are missing due to a printing error, the book would be unpostable.  What about duplicate pages?  What about "ink smears" that are repeated on several pages, obviously from the printing process, that do not obscure the text?  I just noticed this in a book that was requested from me - no idea why I didn't notice it when I posted it.  The tops of some pages in the back have a smear across the top, like a cash register receipt when the paper is about to run out.  It doesn't obscure the text, though.  Unfortunately, we've had illness in the house, so I was almost out of time to accept when I saw the request.  A quick search of the help documents didn't turn anything up, so I turned down the request just to be safe.  If was an author signed copy, too, darn it.  Your thoughts?

If you think it's dirt or a smear caused by a person, it would be "soiled" and not postable.  If you think it's a smear caused by the publisher, you could post it and PM the requestor when the time comes, as a publisher's ink smear isn't mentioned in the postability criteria, so it could be considered a gray area.

Alternatively, you could contact the publisher.  Many times, a publisher will replace a book with a publisher's error.

There's a discussion of this being a gray area here, and another one that says it's completely postable here.

I've seen books like you describe with ink on the pages. If I requested a book and it had stuff like that on the page it wouldn't matter to me as long as I could read it.

It would be irritating to wait several days for the member to send the book and then have the request canceled. I am waiting myself for a book I requested on Apr 1 and it has not been sent yet.

I consider books with printing errors postable (as long as there are no missing pages and no obscured text).

I've had several with ink blotches and smears (not obscuring text). I've also had 1 or 2 with extra pages in them (just a section of repeated pages, with no pages missing).

If the pages are ordered incorrectly but they are all present in the book, I might just stick a small note in it and mail it.

Obviously if the issue is so large that it prevents reading the book, then I toss it in the trash (after getting a replacement from the publisher, if possible. I've had good luck with that, so I usually try it first.).

Thanks for all the feedback!  I'll keep this in mind in case it ever happens again.

What they said   the best option is a replacement book from the publisher.

In the past, PBS admin has considered printing flaws to be postable if text is readable (ie smears, smudges, & all pages present but not in order, etc.)...unfortunately, not all receiving members are aware of this.

I once had a book that had duplicates of about 30 pages, but was missing the 30 pages following those page numbers.  The book was published in Britain. I contacted the publisher by e-mail and they sent me another copy. Needless to say, I was very impressed with their customer service, especially since I got the book on PBS.