I have a book I bought from a library sale and I've been going back and forth with whether or not I am going to post it here. It's condition is as follows:

- there are 2 major creases in the spine. 

- the cover and back are intact, but they are creased and worn on the edges.

- there are, what seems to be, water marks on the very edges of some pages, they don't cover any words. 

- the book as a whole looks a bit old and worn.

Now I think it's perfectly readable, it's just a little beat up. Would you post a book in this condition? If you received a book in this condition, would you mark it as damaged?

Any book I wouldn't be happy to see myself I wouldn't post, even if it would technically meet guidelines.

The site does say...

When you Post a book, you are asked to confirm that the book is "in good condition, and not excessively worn".

And I think that's really subjective, so yes you could certainly get a complaint.

I'd post it as a freebie on your shelf in the bazaar and then you'll know someone who wants it will get it, and will help give you an extra order you might not have had for a while.

Water damage of any kind, regardless of whether it is just on the edges and not into the words makes the book unpostable. Period.

This is what I was going to say. The other stuff is irrelevant because of the water damage.

If it's WL you can try offering it up in the book bazaar for a credit. If it isn't WL-I wouldn't bother.

Postable is quite a bit higher standards than readable in my opinion. If a book looks old and worn I would not consider it "in good condition and not excessively worn". Even IF the sum total of the damage did not break that one, any sign of any water or liquid damage renders a book unpostable, it doesn't matter if it covers words or not, so this book sounds clearly unpostable.

A good rule of thumb: if you're not sure about posting a book, don't post it. Best to not disappoint and/or upset someone over one little credit.

P.S. Your cat is so handsome. He looks like he thinks he's the king of the universe.

Old and worn books are JUST FINE and usually postable. I post them all the time.

However, on this particular book, everybody is correct when they say that the water marks make it unpostable. There aren't any exceptions to that rule.

Otherwise, my opinion is, if a book does not break any explicit rules of the site, then I consider it postable. Even if it is old and worn.

"Water marks" = kiss of death. Not postable.

A good rule of thumb: if you're not sure about posting a book, don't post it. Best to not disappoint and/or upset someone over one little credit.

This is my rule of thumb too. If a book looks questionable to me, I don't post it and just give it away as a freebie. This happened recently with two books I got FIFO...they are postable so I received them fine but I won't be posting them myself because they have a few issues.

I agree about the water marks.  But, I also agree with the philosophy, "If I would not be happy getting this book, I won't post it".  I don't care if a book is a little worn with yellowing pages.  It may be a book out of an older series I really want and if people didn't post it because it looked "old", I would never get it. 

Liquid damage is unpostable per PBS guidelines, and therefore the deal breaker.

Otherwise, this is a used book site.

Thank you everyone. I didn't know about the water damage rule, so I will definitely not be posting this book. I also think I'll live by the rule of, if I'm not comfortable posting it, I won't post it.

I'll either donate it or give it away to someone. Maybe I'll do a "order a book and get this one free deal"..I've seen others do that. 

@Lisa- thank you! His name is Achilles and he really does think he's the king of the universe, lol. He's a very spoiled only cat. 

Please read the rules, every time you post a book you get a message stating that it can be posted and that is does not have water/liquid damage.

Here's a link to the postability guidelines:  http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/help_item.php?id=205