Today I had my first "received with a problem" transaction. I've accepted that it happened but have a question.

The book was recceived in great condition (it is a brand new, unused textbook), wrapped nicely, and sent promptly; there were no requestor conditions. However, I made an ignorant mistake by using an envelope that has "First Class Mail" stamped on it in the design along the edges. I assumed that if my home-printed postage clearly said "MEDIA MAIL" at the top, the USPS would send it as such. They didn't, though, and the requestor ended up having to pay $2.43 to get the package.

I'm not disputing this was dumb and I am in the wrong; I have PMed this member and have offered several ways to reimburse for the expense. I'm just a bit bummed that the requestor did not handle this the proper way. From my understanding, insufficient postage is an "unofficial problem" and the RWAP button should not be used (http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/help_index.php#instructions_nonprob). That being the case, is there any hope of a way to reverse this RWAP bad mark? Can a member cancel/edit/remove a RWAP designation? Can the PBS team?

Thanks for any suggestions! -- Benny

You can't reverse it, but one "problem" transaction in a sea of successful ones won't hurt your member record.  Do offer compensation (postage or return the credit) to the receiver and ask the receiver to mark the problem as "resolved".

Or you could ask them to mark it as "Marked RWAP by mistake".

You could offer a credit, or maybe to mail them th epostage to make up for the mistake.

I agree with Britney. I have had one RWAP which I disagreed with and another one caused by the USPO. I felt bad about them but I have moved on and have not let them bother me. Now, If I received a lot of them, then I would be concerned. Just reinburse the receiver and mark it as resolved.

I think PBS needs to create a system that would safeguard against people incorrectly marking RWAP. I think drop-down menus would work - similar to how PBS already uses drop-down menus for when members want to chose which genre they're searching for. Instead of genres, they'd have nested lists of all the acceptable RWAP issues - starting with the most general and ending with something very specific. The member would be prevented from marking RWAP if their specific "problem' is not listed - they'd be forced to email PBS or the othe rmember.

It wouldn't be that hard to create.

Thank you for the replies. I understand (and agree) that one RWAP won't ruin my reputation and I'm willing to live with it if necessary. And as I said earlier, I fully own up to the mistake and will reimburse the member for the additional postage in the way that suits him best.

At the same time, I do not want to have a RWAP mark on my history that, according to the rules of PBS, should not be there. Yes, there is a problem but it was not addressed in the manner PBS says it should be. Sara P, you indicated perhaps the member could indicate "Marked RWAP by mistake"--were you referring to simply writing that in the notes for the transaction or is there an actual mechanism to do so to remove the RWAP in the system?

Is it worthwhile (or even fruitful) to contact the PBS admin team to get this removed? Can that be done or is it a "once there, regardless of accuracy, it is always there" scenario? Again, I know one mark won't destroy me.  But I also know that mark should not be there according to PBS' guidelines, and if it is possible to remove it with a bit of effort I will do so.

Benny, having them go into their Transaction Archive and marking it that it was marked in error would have the same effect as PBS taking it off.

Melanie, thank you! That's what I was hoping to hear. I will ask the member to do so.

Thank you to everyone for the surprisingly quick responses. I knew the forums existed but in my years of being a member never gave them a thought before I needed them. I'll frequent them more often now and hopefully be able to help others like you have helped me.

Have a great day, everyone! -- Benny

Benny, I see what you are asking now. Sorry about that. The one RWAP that I did get that I disagreed with has a similar tone to yours. It said that I went against the requestor's conditions. I didn't think she had any and went to the details and saw for sure that she didn't. Her complaint was that my book had a toxic odor of which I disagreed with. Anyway it was settled and she apolized.

Now, here is what I did that was similar to yours but the not same. I was most upset that it said that I went against the requestor's condition, which  I would never consciously do. Then I was further upset to find out that the requestor didn't have any conditions. So, I contacted PBS. I received this comment back from PBS: " The requestor obviously made an error when she clicked the button and will fix the problem when she marks it as resolved." Even though I contacted PBS about getting this off my record about going against requestor conditions, it is still there. I don't like it being there but I contacted them and nothing was done. So, I don't know if it would help you or not. In my case, it didn't.

Connie, wow that's not cool. I'd be quite frustrated if that happened to me. :(

I have sent a sincerely polite message to the other member relaying what I've learned in this discussion today and asked if he could go in and designate the issue appropriately by indicating the RWAP was applied in error. I'll update here what happens with the whole thing.

Thankfully, in three and a half years of PBSing, this is my first major stumble. As you and the others have suggested, I won't worry about it too much in the end. -- Benny

I have one against me for sending the wrong binding-I sent the right binding the requestor wasn't paying attention. (they thought they were ordering an audiobook but ordered a hardcover and didn't notice that they were only charged 1 credit).  It hasn't gone against me in anyway. 

Thanks, Benny. I know it isn't cool and I don't like it on my record. But, it was a few months ago and nothing has been said since. There has been a lot said on these forums about RC's and wondering if they should accept them. Then in my case there wasn't one but it still against my record. It's got me stumped.

Good luck with your issue. Looks like you did the right thing. Let us know.

Update: a happy and quick ending! The other member was able to go into his account and denote that he mistakenly marked the book as RWAP. The transaction now appears as is should, completely without any issue.

I also sent him reimbursement via Paypal for the postage due so that part is resolved as well.

Thanks again one and all for helping me figure this out. :) -- Benny

OMG....I just have to say I am very covetous of your avatar!!! Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger....mushroom, mushroom!

Yay! Benny that is great news!

That's so great that it worked out!  I've really found here that's usually the case.

Watching Benny's & Cheryl's avatars bounce in unison is completely riveting.

One more thing to note: TPTB can watch/review all of the communication that goes back and forth between senders and receivers, so if there is a dispute or if your status is in jeopardy, they can review all pertinent info.  When I was confused about something and was working with Live Help, TPTB helped out and reviewed all that was communicated.