I received a book from another member.  It had minor water damage on a few pages, but on several other pages, there were handwritten notes.  It appears this was used in a literature class of some sort.  I can't repost it once I'm finished reading it.

I marked it RWAP, then send a pm to the sender on March 4 - very polite, very brief, outlining why this is unpostable and respectfully asked for a return of my credit.

So, it's just been over 2 weeks.  No response.

How long should I wait before marking this unresolved?

Thanks!

MaryF in KY

Thanks Stephanie!

I would have only waited a week.  I would check to make sure they weren't on vacation and mark it unresolved if they aren't.

You've been adequately patient Mary, feel free to proceed as per guidelines 

A week is sufficient.  I'd mark it unresolved and send a note to the PBS team that this person never responded to your PM about the problem.  They have to at least PM you back, even if they're not going to return the credit.

Before you mark it unresolved, you should submit the follow-up that the sender never responded to the PM. This way, the sender has one last opportunity to make things right. If you skip that step as Sarah suggests, then chances of you getting your credit back are not very likely. The PBS Team may not appreciate it if you mark it unresolved and then PM them. They do not get in the middle of disputes except in specific cases, and may ask you why you didn't submit the follow-up. Submit the follow-up, wait out a few more days, THEN email the PBS Team.

Finally got a response, which boiled down, says, "another PBS member sent it to me in this way".  sigh.  But the sender said they'd give me my credit back if I want it.  Well... yeah... I did ask for it! 

MaryF In KY

Don't mark it unresolved until they send you the credit back. By the way, who gives a bull hokey if they received it that way. They should've RWAP when they got it. That's the excuse that a lot of them are giving lately.

Yup, that's apparently one of the most often used excuses..."I got it that way and I didn't complain!" Welll....you should have! Just because you were either unaware of the PBS posting guidelines or too timid to risk conflict by marking a book RWAP doesn't mean you should send your problem book on to someone else! Sheesh...glad you are getting it resolved anyway.

Cheryl

Just had to share the most ridiculous excuse for a water damaged book that I recently received (and will NOT be passing on):

I'm an experienced book swapper and many of the books I've received thus far were less than pristine condition. This particular book, I recently purchased it at a local bookstore a few weeks ago.

I've received books with markings, highlights, and water marks (yellow). I've received them and passed them on, and never had a problem passing any of those books on. I think you'll be fine, read it and pass it on. I think as long as people can read the book, that's what most people are looking for. Book swappers are not looking to resell these books, therefore less than pristine condiion is not sought after. I think the whole idea of bookswappers is to read the book and pass it on. I wouldn't have sent the book to you if I thought you were not able to read it or it had major water damage.

So, according to this sender, anything less than "major" water damage is okay -- even though ANY water damage violates PBS rules.  Sheesh.  (I did send this communication to TPTB.)