I recently ordered a book, it arrived as a RWAP - water damage.  I Pm'd the sender as a courtesy and they apologiesed but then told me to mark it as not received. 

Don't I have to wait awhile to mark it not received?

Would this save the sender a "black" mark on her account?

The sender is incorrect and trying to avoid having to send a point back to you. 

Does it look like it received water damage enroute, or like it was sent that way?

I don't think we can mark books as 'not received'.  She probably means for you to not log the book in as received, in which case the system will eventually (automatically) mark it as 'lost' and your credit will be returned.

And yes, this will show as a lost book from the sending member (a very small issue) instead of RWAP (a much different issue). 

Did the sender use DC?  If so, a couple other issues arise...such as USPS shows the book as delivered, but not logged in by you (which leaves some small doubts as to whether yourself or USPS are in error).  Also the credit becomes an issue, when using DC the sender automatically received credit...by letting it go lost, PBS will refund your credit (at club expense, not the sender).   IE she can keep her credit, and PBS will refund you an additional credit at the expense of other members.

Technically, the book should be marked RWAP (sender or USPS?), but of course the final choice is up to you.  If undecided, you might check and see if you can tell if this is a new member...we sometimes cut them some slack until they get the hang of things around here.  But if the sender used DC, I vote you RWAP for sure...keeping her credit amounts be being rewarded for sending unpostable books.  In fact, if that's the case I'd be tempted to forward her pm to TPTB...they could check and see if she's developing a pattern.

This is why it's best to just use the system as it was designed--rather than PM'ing the person "outside the transaction" you should mark it Received, With a Problem and send her the PM in the space provided. This way, PBS has a record of the problem transaction. You can ask for your credit back (set a time frame, like one week) and let her know as soon as it's returned you'll mark the transaction as 'resolved.' You can still be courteous while working within the PBS system, but you aren't allowing someone to potentially get away with sending other people bad books too.

 If we don't mark books that don't meet posting guidelines as RWAP, people are going to get away with it and think it's ok to do again. And then the person who DOES call them on it will be called a "picky trader." Do us all a favor--mark it RWAP.

Cheryl

The book should be marked Received / Received with a Problem (RWAP).  Then there is a field to notify the sender of the damage and ask for your credit back.  

I try not not to assume what someone wrote, unless it is crystal clear what they are conveying.  Sometimes people are distracted and use terms that do not makes sense only to find out that they meant something else.  It may very well be that she is trying to work around the system and maybe not. 

This is from the help docs, this is the procedure your should follow.  For the full document, please visit the help docs:  There is a problem with a book I received.  The Sender should follow this help doc:  A requestor says there is a problem with a book I sent!

Books that arrive with one of the "official" problems listed above (Wrong book/inappropriate item ie ARC, Damaged, Damaged by USPS, Requestor Conditions Violation) need to be marked "Received, but with a problem" from the En Route to Me tab in My Account. 

• To do this:
  • Click on the transaction
  • Click
    • if this button does not appear on the Book Received page, read Why don't I see the *There is a problem with this book* option when I mark my book received?
  • Choose from the Problem options.
    • This will generate an email from PBS to the sender notifying them that she or he has had a book marked received with a problem, and telling her/him that she or he may receive a Personal Message from the requestor.

• On the next screen:
  • At the top of the page:You can send a Personal Message to the sender to discuss the problem.
    • Please be gentle!  No one wants to send a problem book.
    • Your Personal Message should mention the title of the book, and it can also ask for the sender to refund the credit, if you feel this is warranted.
    • Please remember that it is possible that you did not receive the problem book from that sender.
      • If an earlier sender sent a book but never marked it mailed, you could be getting 2 copies of this book, and the "problem" copy would not necessarily be the active transaction on your En Route to Me tab.
      • Please see the Help item I received 2 copies of the same book! for more information about this situation.

• • • At the bottom of the page: type in a description of the problem.  This information will be seen only by us.  It is very helpful to be as specific as possible.
  • Click Continue.
• Doing this grants credit to the sender; it also records a Problem swap on his or her account record.
  • We will not adjudicate individual problem swaps
  • We will intervene if a sender's account shows a pattern of problem sending

 If a member (sender or requestor) is rude or abusive during a PM exchange about a book, we can be notified.  We will review the PM exchange and take action commensurate to the offense.