My first RWAP in over 5-1/2 years of being a member of PBS.  I know I should "just move on and forget it", but I find this a bit of a puzzle.  I recently sent off an order of books and also included several freebies.  I wrapped all the books in plastic and boxed them as best I could, but somehow or other the USPS still managed to damage the BOX.  As per the comment below from the receiving member, none of the books were hurt, just the box, yet she still marked it RWAP.  This is the second or third time I've sent this member A LOT of freebies and have never had a problem.  So apparently unless she marks the transaction resolved, I'll have a "black mark" on my account.  Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but still bothers me.  

"Thank you for the books Post office sent a note with pkg saying it was damaged by their machine. No book was hurt."

OK, moving on now . . .

Why are you bothered? "Damaged by USPS" means exactly what it says; it doesn't reflect badly on you.

The receiver states that the books were not damaged; only the packaging.  I thought "RWAP - Damaged by USPS" was only supposed to be used if the book was damaged, not just the packaging.

I had that happen once, too.  I sent a book, and the person RWAP'd it even though the book itself was not damaged, just the packaging. 

I was bothered (past tense) because like Erin, I thought the RWAP/USPS damage was only meant to be used for the books.  I've never had a complaint about my packaging and/or books before . . . but what's done is DONE.

Karen, you could ask the other party for photos, if they're able to provide them, of the damage to enable you to better see what happened -- perhaps it would put your mind at ease or help you see where the weak spot might have been in your packaging (or how big the teeth were on the USPS machine who "ate" your box).  Normally folks post digital photos on a photo sharing site, like Photobucket, then send the other member a link.  Of course, she may not have digital camera access, but it is worth asking.

I can understand your confusion Karen, I would have been also.   Reading the Help documents again, it does appear the RWAP is to be used for damaged books (packaging is not mentioned, although many members will send a FYI/courtesy pm to the sender if the packaging arrives damaged). 

From the Help documents:

• Damaged by USPS
  • this means a book that was damaged by USPS during its journey

ETA - USPS has been very liberal lately in their use of those "damaged enroute" stickers.  In the last several weeks, I've received three packages with those stickers.  One appeared to be scuffed a bit (no damage to content) and the others had no visible damage.   I certainly didn't mark them RWAP, the books were in excellent condition.

I would be confused and a little upset by this as well.  If the actual book isn't damaged I don't think it should be marked RWAP at all.  If she wanted to let you know about the packaging she should have done so in a PM. 

I would send a note to TPTB that states that per her PM that none of the books were damaged.  Maybe they can change the RWAP since they have the receiver's PM that no books were damaged?  Worth a shot.

The team, to my knowledge, can't go in and change a RWAP.  However, the person who received the book can go in and mark that the transaction was resolved. You can politely message her and explain to her what the help documents say the RWAP damaged marking is for.  Then ask her to mark the transaction resolved.  It's been awhile since I have had a problem transaction, so I don't remember if there is a place for them to leave a note for the team.   Sorry!

The response I received from TPTB is below.  I've also sent the member a PM about indicating "problem solved" as regards the books in their transaction archive, but have heard nothing from her in return yet. 

You can ask the other member to provide follow-up removing the "problem" status (as described in the Help Center), but you can also rest assured that this swap will not affect your account status.

I was hopeful for you Karen, but don't recall hearing of TPTB removing a RWAP (no matter how unfair or silly).  But the other member not responding, that could be a concern for them...they might mark it resolved if she doesn't soon.  BTW, what's she waiting for anyway?  The only reason not to mark a RWAP resolved is if you are waiting for some action by the sender, what could she possibly expect from you...a new wrapper?

When I had a book on cassette arrive with a big hole in it from the PO and missing 2 tapes. I was the one SOL because the sender did nothing wrong. Why is it RWAP and not just "damage by PO?

Fara, there is no option for just "damage by PO". The book was "received with a problem" and then you specify the type of problem, one of the problem types is "damaged by USPS".

The phrase "received with a problem" does not imply any delinquency on the part of the sender, and is not in itself a black mark against the sender. What matters is what type of problem occurred. If you have a lot of "received with a problem / damaged by sender" transactions, then you should be concerned. If you have one or two "received with a problem / damaged by USPS" transactions, then it's nothing to worry about.

We talk in shorthand a lot here, and we act like "RWAP" is some horrible thing that always goes against the sender. But really, that's an overreaction. It's the problem category that matters, and whether you admit your mistakes and try to make amends. "Damaged by USPS" is not usually the sender's fault (barring occasional cases of poor wrapping), so there's nothing for the sender to do when it happens.