I have been a member of this site for about 3 years and have sent & received many books during that period.  For the most part, the majority of the books I have received are in good to excellent condtion.  I  just received a book yesterday that I am not too sure about.  The edges of the book on all 3 outer edges have  dark stains (I would call it rusty looking).  This book was published in 1994 and I realize shelf wear and age need to be taken into consideration. The actual pages look OK except for a minimal amount of rust?? occasionally on some of the pages at the extreme edge. I don't know if I should accept it or RWAP it?  Any suggestions????

Teresa

What was your initial gut reaction when you first unwrapped the book?  If it was something along the lines of "What kind of crap is this?"  Then RWAP.  Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.  But that's just me.

It sounds like foxing. Is it little rusty-colored spots? Usually foxing is an accepted condition here unless it makes the book nasty. I will see if I can find the post with pics of foxing examples.

Foxing examples

Here's the post. It does show that some people on PBS consider it staining and not postable, some consider it normal aging and postable. You'll have to decide how you feel about this specific book.

yep, sounds exactly like foxing....and with the book being 15 years old...you are lucky the pages are still intact.

Yep...that is exactly what this book looks like.....thanks for the information.  I really appreciate it!!

it is foxing

and as far as i am concerned foxing is postable

it is a process that occurs as some books age- not a spill or a stain

good luck!