I've been RWAPed.

"Dosn't meet my requested conditions, page 29 has a torn corner and the book is not in very good condition, this person should have pass on my request
Requestor Conditions:
must be from a smokefree home and no damage to the book, only very good condition books" 

I inspected the book twice. First when I posted it and again when I was wrapping the book to ship. I didn't see a torn page, and I considered the book to be in "very good" condition. The edges of the pages had yellowed a little, but it's 15 years old. The dust jacket showed a little wear along the edges, but was also in very nice conditon.

Is it rude to ask for pics?

How bad is an unresolved RWAP?

I've had 3 others in the 4 years I've been a member here. Two of those were in the last six months. (One of them was marked "Damaged by Sender" because there was a tear in the packaging I used, while the book itself wasn't damaged). In the past, I've always just returned the credit. Even when I didn't necessarily agree with the receiver. I didn't want the RWAP to seem "twice as bad" for not resolving it.

Any advice?

I would have declined the request due to RC 'must be in very good condition'.

As you can see the very good condition is highly subjective.  It is in the same category as 'like-new'.   I always take a pass on those books.  I don't need the credits and possible headache that badly.

If you believe that the RWAP is not justified, then leave it unresolved.  Three RWAPs in 4 years is not such a bad track record.

Ask for a picture of the torn corner and then decide what to do. No, it's not rude, but some people won't be able to do the pictures.

Otherwise, if you think the book was postable (and, IMO, especially if the receiver is not willing to send a picture), you are not obligated to refund the credit.

If you have a good sending record, then this RWAP won't hurt you. I think it's more about percentages. If you have 4 RWAPs and you've mailed out 10 books, that's bad. If you have 4 RWAPs and you've mailed out 1000 books ... that's less bad.

Send back a message that says 'Sorry you were not happy with the book. When I reviewed it, I believed it to be in very good condition. Can you please elaborate on why you believe that it is not in very good condition. Also, please post a picture of the torn corner for me to review. Thanks" or along those lines and see what happens.

The edges of the pages had yellowed a little, but it's 15 years old. The dust jacket showed a little wear along the edges...

IMO, this does not describe a book in very good condition to me. I would not have sent the book with that RC. Age does not make the "very good" "good" etc change, they are still the same descriptions. The person is just not likely to find a 15 year old book in very good condition easily, but very good condition is the same for a 15 year old book and a new release.

Otherwise, if you think the book was postable (and, IMO, especially if the receiver is not willing to send a picture), you are not obligated to refund the credit

Wrong. There is an RC that required better than postable. Postable is "good condition", the RC was "very good condition". Yes it may be subjective to some, but clearly different. RCs trump postable and if someone is unable to determine if their book meets an RC, they decline, they don't just say postable is good enough and send a book.

One unresolved will not affect anyone's PBS account. If the member marks it unresolved it will be a double black mark, but the site knows members will not always agree on condition issues and allows for some of that. If you feel the person is making up the torn page to have an unpostable issue and that the book was in very good condition and not damaged when you mailed it, then don't return the credit. If the Team questions you, you tell them that.

She didn't RWAP it "requestor condition not met" she marked it "damaged by sender". I should have clarified that in my first post.

I've asked her for a picture of the page, and will take it from there.

Thanks to everyone for responding to my post!

I'm dealing with an RWAP, damaged by sender, right now.  The book was a hardback, about 18 years old, and in good condition when I mailed it.  I read it just before I posted it and it was WL'ed. I mailed it in a padded envelope. The requestor RWAP'ed it saying binding was not intact. I asked her to describe what she meant. She said book was starting to separate from the cover. It could be a case of old book vs. rough handling by USPS. I'm waiting on pictures. I'm inclined to return the credit because I don't want another unresolved. ( The unresolved I have was a nut who insisted I sent her the wrong book because the cover didn't match the book description picture) Would you guys return the credit even though the book was fine when it left my hands?

Sarah's sounds like a Damaged by USPS, rather than damaged by sender. (Which do not have a credit refund option.)

Otherwise, if you think the book was postable (and, IMO, especially if the receiver is not willing to send a picture), you are not obligated to refund the credit

Wrong. There is an RC that required better than postable. Postable is "good condition", the RC was "very good condition".

I meant "postable to the RC" but that part wasn't made clear in my answer. Sorry!

I also disagree that yellowing puts a book out of "very good" condition. Since I am not professional book expert, I generally use Amazon conditions if I have a particular question, as that appears to me to be what most laypeople might also use. And Amazon does not address yellowing.

But on older books, I would certainly expect it, even on "very good" books. And, I have received plenty of books described on Amazon as "very good" that looked brand new except for aging.

So, I think it's a gray area.

  "For me, the refund really depends on how polite the requestor is. Silly, but true."

Doesn't sound silly to me, Emily.  I think the same way.

"Must be in very good condition" is way too subjective and I would have passed on the request.  I would not return the credit now.  This is really one opinion against another opinion so I would not worry about it. 

Well, since you didn't pass on that request, and there is now an issue, I believe it really just boild down to whether you believe the book you sent was in "very good" condidion as requested.

It is your decision to return the credit or not. If you believe you met the RC, then you can just say so and refuse to give a refund. They can then mark the transaction as unresolved. I don't think that a few unresolved transactions over several years is going to harm you.

And, don't forget, the PBS Team does not just look at the number of RWAPs but also looks at the correspondence regarding each one.  If you made it clear in your messages that the book was, in your opinion, in very good condition when you mailed it, and it therefore met the listed Requestor Conditions in place, the Team will take note of your message when reviewing any RWAPs you may have.

Well that's over with. She sent me a PM asking me how to post a photo, and then didn't wait for a reply before marking it unresolved by sender.

Wow, that's really rude to mark it unresolved while you were still communicating and you were expecting a photo to be posted. If you were leaning toward refunding her credit, she is out of luck now.

A bit rude to mark it unresolved while you were still communicating.  For the record, you might send one last pm...along the lines of, sorry to see you have marked this transaction unresolved, I had hoped that the requested picture and/or further communication could have resolved this matter to both our satisfaction...or something like that.

This is exactly why I don't accept RCs like that.  Too subjective. 

Well that's over with. She sent me a PM asking me how to post a photo, and then didn't wait for a reply before marking it unresolved by sender.

That would just lead me to believe that she did not think pictures supported her case and I would forget about it. If RWAPs ever became an issue, your correspondence is clearly visible to the Team (as is her dropping it as soon as a picture was requested).

For me, the refund really depends on how polite the requestor is. Silly, but true.

Not silly at all!  I agree, the tone of the message does influence me too.  As does if I know the person.  I just refunded a credit for something damaged by the USPS.  I didn't have to but it was a friend and I feel awful that the like-new book I sent arrived with a torn package and dumped in a mud puddle along the way.  I've sent hundreds of books packaged the same way without any reported damage.

Now that they've marked the transaction unresolved, that would end it for me as far as a credit return.  That would be off the table.

Now that they've marked the transaction unresolved, that would end it for me as far as a credit return.  That would be off the table.   + 1