Today, I recieved a book, and it is the only book in the system.  When I got it, I noticed the sender had wrapped it in a brown paper bag, and one side of the wrapping did not make it to me...I'm surprised the book itself was not damaged. 

I took the book out of the damaged wrapper to thoroughly see if the book was not damaged, and that's when I noticed that there is high lighting throughout the book.  This isn't highlighting in one or two spots; this is huge chunks of text in blue and pink.  There's no way the sender didn't notice the highlighting; he definitely knew that he highlighted some text. 

I have a suspicious feeling that the book might have been used in a college classroom, which would definitely excuse the highlighting; there is no way to prove this, however.  The sender didn't PM me before hand to ask if it would be okay.

I was in college once, and I highlighted in all my books for class.  So on a personal level, I don't really care that the book has highlighting in it.  But I do know that PBS says that members cannot send out books if they have highlighting or writing in them. 

This is a book that will be going on my keeper shelf, and I do plan to highlight and make notes of my own.  (FYI, this is a history book that will be going in my personal library).

Right now, I want to RWAP but not ask for my credit back.  I feel the sender should know that sending books that have been highlighted goes against PBS rules, but I don't want my credit back because this is the only copy of this book in the system and because I don't have a personal objection to the amount of highlighting in this book. 

So my question is this:  Should I RWAP the book even though I do plan to make my own highlights and notes? 

So my question is this:  Should I RWAP the book even though I do plan to make my own highlights and notes?

Yes, because the sender needs to know the rules. They can't send a book with marks or highlighting unless they treat it as a textbook. And under the textbook rules they have to PM the receiver FIRST and get permission to send a book with highlighting.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/search.php?terms=textbook

/writing on text pages, according to the "textbook exception" in the Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS; BUT since the textbook exception in the Book Condition Criteria for 'Swappability' at PBS require her to contact the requestor and obtain PM consent to the book's condition, she won't be in the position of sending a "stealth textbook" to someone who doesn't expect to receive one.

Since I'm assuming they didn't PM you and ask you if you wanted it with the highlighting, they shouldn't have sent it. Whether to ask for a credit refund is up to to you, but they definately did something wrong by not getting permission first. Marking it RWAP and outlining the problem will put them on notice to be more careful in the future, and to re-read the rules if they need to.

That way, hopefully, they know how to avoid a RWAP in the future, where they'll be asked to refund a credit.

Yes, go ahead and RWAP. You do not have to ask for your credit back, unless you think it necessary. (I also would not ask for my credit back in a situation where I was going to use the book anyway, regardless of the damage)

The actual rule for PBS is that writing and highlighting are NOT allowed UNLESS the sender PMs the requestor and informs them of the writing or highlighting  in advance of mailing AND gains acceptance of the book as it is.

PBS has made it clear that it does not really matter whether or not the book is what most people think of as a textbook. It can be any book .... but the sender has to PM first and get the acceptance before mailing. Otherwise, the sender needs to cancel the order, if they have not gained acceptance of the book.

Thanks!  This answers my question, then!  I'm going to RWAP because of the highlighting, but not ask for my credit back because I'm going to use the book myself.  I'm also going to mention to him that he needs to use a better wrapper for his books than a brown paper bag.

Yes, I would because they aren't following the guidelines of PBS.  I've only had to RWAP one book so far but it wasn't posted right on their part.  I felt bad to have to RWAP it but that is what happens when people aren't following rules....

Good choice Becky, asking for the credit return is optional (your choice).  At some point you will need to mark the RWAP as resolved or unresolved.  So consider what needs to happen for you to consider the RWAP 'resolved' . . . even if it's a merely polite response from the sender.