A post mentions spine creases being unacceptable so it made me wonder....  I have a few books that are older and have creases in the spine, does that make them unpostables?  I was under the impression that they would be ok because they are not falling apart and the covers are still intact, in other words they still have a few reads left in them.

I would not send out a book that I would not find acceptable, my feeling is if people want EUC they can go buy it at a bookstore or post a Request for specifics.

Spine creases are allowed. Cracked or split spines are not allowed.

There are members who request no spine creases. When requesting this, though, they are essentially asking for a new, never-been-read book and that is an automatic call to kiss my grits.

It's difficult to read a paperback and not get creases in the spine.  Some people don't like them, but they don't make a book unpostable.  As long as the book is  intact and all pages are attached and the spine isn't "cleaved", then it's postable for that problem.  It doesn't matter if the book tends to open at a certain page either.  Hope this helps.

Ruth

yes that does help, thank you!  But what exactly is meant by cracked or split spine?  sorry if it is a dumb question....

Older books with spine creases are acceptable here.  Separated or cleaved spines with pages falling out are not.  See the "Book Condition Criteria" page in the help docs if you're unsure about the postability of any of your books.  You should also get a reminder prompt regarding what condition your book should be in anytime you post one to your shelf.

I really wish PBS would put up pictures of some of these problems so that members could refer to them.  it isn't a dumb question.  There aren't dumb questions.   I just don't know how to describe this in words.

Ruth

Well I have one or 2 books that when you open them to some pages you can see where they are glued to the spine, does that make them unpostable?

Here is a Discussion thread on this topic that should help clarify things:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/forum/topic.php?t=150725

Books that fall open to a specific page are postable, and almost every paperback book that does that has at least some small separations. What matters here is if the pages are securely attached. If they are likely to fall out on the next reading, then the book should not be posted. We really cannot clarify this any further. We need members to use their common sense and best judgment about whether a book is about to fall apart or not. This is just not something we can judge without having the books in our hands.

I have one, but it's kind of extreme end of spine separations and they're not always this bad: i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/rubberducky102760/8_299.jpg

These are pinhole separations and I was given to understand (by the PBS team) that a book in this condition is acceptable: i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/rubberducky102760/2762798875_d3dec5c5e0.jpg

There are various stages of binding separation in between the two, and you just have to use your best judgement.  PBS told me that the most important thing is that the pages are not coming loose from the binding.

ETA: Yeah, that's the response they sent me that Sianeka posted above.

Those are good pictures Kim, especially the pinhole separations. Makes it clear once you see the pictures, thanks for posting them.

ok great, my books are fine then, IMO.  Thank you for all of your help!

You're the one who has to make the call, Carrie.  Without seeing a book or some really good images, it's too hard to say - which I'm sure is why PBS can't make the call on that either.  My rule of thumb is that if I can see the binding from top to bottom between any pages, I won't post the book.  I don't worry about pinhole separations anymore, but sometimes I'll run across some that are more elongated slashes; not a full top to bottom separation, but much more pronounced than a pinhole.  I don't post those either.  I think what you have to keep in mind is that a receiver can have a different perception of a binding separation that you do, and there's always a risk of having a book with any sort of binding separations marked RWAP.  You have to decide for yourself whether it's worth the risk to send the book or not.  Hope that helps:)