I received a book today that has a 5" tear on the back cover. It has been taped nicely, on both sides, but if the tape was not present there would be a large piece of the back cover not present. Am I right in thinking this book should not have been posted? I ordered this book planning on reading it, then returning it back into the system. I don't want to post an unpostable book. I haven't entered it into the system yet. Any thought on what I should do?

Kelly,

I would consider that book unpostable. Even if the tear is fixed, it is still present. You can RWAP it -- asking for your credit back is your choice. You are not obligated to return the book to the sender unless he/she sends you an additional credit or some other way to cover postage. Sorry you received an unpostable book.

Help Doc exceprt below:

Cover not torn or chewed/gnawed

• some used book stores cut out a small part of the cover; if the amount missing is less than 1 square inch, this is OKAY
• a small rip (less than 1 inch) in the cover is OKAY
• yes, that does say "chewed/gnawed" above.  That means no pet-chewed (or human-chewed) books.

I agree with Sophia. 

Thanks for the advice - I appreciate it!

I agree with the rest. I had a book that was wish-listed but had about a 3"  tear in the back cover. I PM'd the person asking if they wanted it or not. I try to be on the careful side with those type of things. The person still wanted it (it was a cookbook) and that has happened before with many books but it is always best to know about it before hand so you can say yes or no. Sorry it didn't work out that way in your case:(

The only  way to know who's FIFO, is to post the book and after it's accepted you get the button to contact the requester.  Some members get very cranky when asked if they want an unpostable FIFO, because 1) it's against the rules, and 2) it jeopardizes their waitlist position, as they are then at the mercy of the sender to cancel the transaction. 

Waitlisted unpostables should be posted in the book bazaar, or other discussion forums.