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Topic: Question: RWAPing a book not listed

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ChokolatteJedi avatar
Subject: Question: RWAPing a book not listed
Date Posted: 2/17/2009 4:32 PM ET
Member Since: 1/4/2009
Posts: 69
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So I ordered some books from a person who was offering a deal. All the books I asked for were on their shelf - none of them were from an unpostable list or anything. One of the books has liquid damage to the top corner of a good number of pages, and smells pretty foul - to the point that I really don't want to touch it. The problem is, as this was a multi book deal, this book isn't one that I have an image of in my recieved books section because it was one of the "free" ones. So do I basically have to just suck it up and accept the icky unpostable book?

Thanks for your help everone!

demiducky25 avatar
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Date Posted: 2/17/2009 5:15 PM ET
Member Since: 6/26/2008
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I'm curious to see the answer on this because I had this happen twice (3 for 1 deals and the like).  In both cases I ended up not marking it RWAP because it hadn't occurred to me to do so since, as you said, it wasn't the book pictured in the transaction since it was the free one.  But like you said, if it's from their bookshelf, you would assume that it would be in posting condition since it was technically posted and not an "unpostable."

Generic Profile avatar
Date Posted: 2/17/2009 5:16 PM ET
Member Since: 2/19/2008
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If it was a "free" book that you didn't pay a credit for then I don't believe there's any way to RWAP it.  It sounds like it was a deal where you ordered a posted book, and also got one or two "unpostables" as part of the deal.  Unpostables are just that, books that can't be posted because they do not meet PBS guidelines, and which members often give away free with other book orders.  Being an unpostable, the book can have all kinds of damage to it, tears, smoke smell, water damage, etc.

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Pat O. (PatinCO) - ,
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Date Posted: 2/17/2009 5:33 PM ET
Member Since: 8/19/2007
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None of them were from an unpostable list or anything. -

If I remember correctly from previous postings on this sort of thing, you have to suck it up unless the book you  ordered (pictured) was one of the unpostables.   However, s/he shouldn't have posted them if they actually were unpostable.    Pat

Spuddie avatar
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Date Posted: 2/17/2009 5:38 PM ET
Member Since: 8/10/2005
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But if the "free" book was on the person's bookshelf, it should have been a postable book. I have a few 'freebies' I offer that are ARCs or slight water damage or other unpostable reason, but those aren't on my shelf--people have to look at my profile to find those. If it's just a 3 for 1 deal for books that are posted, those are *supposed* to ALL be postable books. But unfortunately, yes--you basically have to just suck it up. People think because they're free they don't have to be postable--but if they're not postable, they shouldn't even be on the person's PBS shelf!

This is just one reason why I don't participate in deals.

Cheryl

ChokolatteJedi avatar
Date Posted: 2/17/2009 6:01 PM ET
Member Since: 1/4/2009
Posts: 69
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Bernard, as I said. NONE of the free books were unpostables. They were all chosen from the person's bookshelf.

That said, I'm going to just suck it up, toss the icky book, and put it back onto my wishlist. Thank you all for your help and your replies. :D

-Chokolatte

Cattriona avatar
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Date Posted: 2/17/2009 6:08 PM ET
Member Since: 7/7/2007
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Katie,

I'm sorry you had a negative experience -- it is frustrating to get damaged books, whether they were "free" or not. 

Per the Help Center:
"Members often post "deals" or "bargains" in the Book Bazaar, hoping to clean out their bookshelves and earn some credits.   We do not officially support such deals (there is no credit compensation for unsatisfactory or unfulfilled swaps)."

So, essentially, you cannot RWP if the book you ordered was postable.  You can, however, make a note in the comment field in the mini-survey, so there is a record on their account (in the event their account is reviewed due to repeated problems) and you can make some constructive criticism to the sender and let them know about the book's damage, etc.

Cheers,

Catt

NewRuth avatar
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Date Posted: 2/17/2009 6:16 PM ET
Member Since: 1/15/2007
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I would be sure to note the unpostable "freebie" that was on a bookshelf in the comments section of the survey, that way, there will be a record of it with TPTB

Generic Profile avatar
Date Posted: 2/17/2009 6:20 PM ET
Member Since: 2/19/2008
Posts: 2,007
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Silly question time but...

What if the sender just happened to have two copies of the book, one posted and one not?  I have several dupes here in my own library.  In most cases they are all postable, but if I had one posted and one as "freebie" I'd hate to get reprimanded for giving away an unpostable.

 

tiffanyak avatar
Date Posted: 2/17/2009 6:34 PM ET
Member Since: 1/20/2009
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Bernhard, I think if someone ordered it off your bookshelf as part of a deal, then there's an understanding in place that the book they receive will be postable, even if the person also has an unpostable copy. But of course, as others have said, there's really no recourse if you are sent an unpostable book in a deal, if it isn't the one actually pictured in the request. So, if you wanted to send an unpostable without risking future trouble for it, you'd need to make sure the person knew in advance they were getting an unpostable (have it ordered off your unpostable list, send a PM, something like that).

Cattriona avatar
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Date Posted: 2/17/2009 6:45 PM ET
Member Since: 7/7/2007
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<< I'd hate to get reprimanded for giving away an unpostable>>

What Tiffany said.  It isn't a silly question, but since the deal was likely "choose X books from my shelf" and not "choose X unpostables from this list", it is reasonable for the recipient to assume that all the books will be in postable condition.  Even if they had 2 copies, if the sender did not disclose they were sending an unpostable when something postable was expected, they shouldn't be surprised to be "reprimanded" :-)

Cheers,

Catt

Guinan avatar
Date Posted: 2/17/2009 8:36 PM ET
Member Since: 9/2/2006
Posts: 4,110
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I've had this happen to me, once it was one I picked and gave a credit for and once it was a freebie.  In both cases I didn't do RWAP because it was a deal and I did get at least one postable out of it.  However, I agree with the majority, in theory if it was on their shelf, it should be in PBS postable condition, unless other wise specified.

But me personally, I think I'd just suck it up.  Chances are the person is going to not be thrilled at refunding a credit when you got at least one freebie from them.  Now what I might do, especially if the book was particuarly icky, or it was a book I really wanted to read and couldn't due to the condition, I might be inclined to send them a PM letting them know the book isn't PBS postable, that you understand  sometimes it is easy to over something in haste, and maybe they'd like to give any other books on their shelf a once over to save themselves any future complaints.

ChokolatteJedi avatar
Date Posted: 2/18/2009 9:34 AM ET
Member Since: 1/4/2009
Posts: 69
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Alright, thanks everyone for your advice! I marked the books recieved w/out a problem and then left a quick note on the condition of the one book, saying that if they were trading out unpostables, I'd rather get a note and pay a credit for a readable version (as this was neither postable nor readable). I specifically stated that I didn't want my credit back, but I did make a note in the PBS box. Hopefully that will be the end of it. :/

Again, thank you all for your advice! :D

-Chokolatte