I received this book in the mail today.  The book is worn, which is alright by me.  But the back cover is separating.  The top two inches of the cover is peeling.  My husband thinks that I'm over reacting and the book is fine.  I'm torn (hardy har har).

What do you think?

Well, gray area, but if it were me, I would tape it up very neatly with packaging tape and call it postable. (since the cover is not actually ripped).

I personally do not consider cover peel a rip. I rip (to me) is completely through all layers of the cover.  I don't send them, but I wouldn't mark the RWAP.

 I agree with Sara. That isn't a book I would have posted, however, you may be able to sit it down with tape on both sides and a little time between some hardcovers. Then it will be okay.

Melaine  I think that is funny that you wouldn't send a book but wouldn't complain if you recieved it. I'm there too. The last two books I've received will retire with me. I just couldn't repost nor RWAP them.

Elmers glue might be useful, even librarians use it to repair books.

Sorry but I would say RWAP.  That is a sad looking book.  I hate it when people send them around.  They should be labeled reading copy only and nonrepostable.  It amazed me that some speakers here felt it was okay.   

I marked it RWAP, particularly because I have RCs and I have my nickname listed with a link directly to my profile so the sender could have sent me a PM with a heads up asking if I would have wanted the book anyway. 

Doesn't matter, it was sent DC.  The credit was already received, but it the principle behind sending the book like that.  None of us here would send a book like that but question on whether we would raise a fuss on receiving it.

If you marked the book recieved then the sender would have gotten the credit even without DC.  Even RWAPs get credit when they are marked recieved.  That's why the sender has to reimburse the credit... he/she would have gotten it when it was marked recieved.

Oh, I see.

I did some more investigating through the forums.  Turns out, this was discussed before on the forums and the members were split.  There's no official answer on this.  The deal breaker for me was my RC.  My contact info was right there if there was any doubt.  But it is a rather gray area.

Jonnie:

You said your deal breaker was your RC. What is your RC? I'm just wondering.

RWAP. Overly worn.

I do consider seperating covers a rip, so think this should never have been sent.

Jonnie:

You said your deal breaker was your RC. What is your RC? I'm just wondering.

I'm happy with used books and I'm not looking for "like new condition".  But please decline this request if the book doesn't meet PBS's conditions. 

Florida has violent weather and I believe my mailman hates me (that last part might be a slight exaggeration).  But, he has left book shaped packages sitting on my front porch in the middle of a downpour.  I beg of you - please wrap the book in plastic (if you have it) and use something stronger than magic / scotch / invisible tape.  Don't feel bad about sending books in used envelopes held together by too much tape!  Mummified books don't bother me.  :o) 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to shoot me a PM. 

Thank ya kindly for your consideration and enjoy your day.

~ JonnieAngel

I really do wish more people would use the Golden Rule when sending books.  The way I work is if I would be disappointed receiving a book, I don't post it.  I donate it to the Senior Center so a senior who can't afford to buy books can enjoy it.  When you consider taking your books to Goodwill or to the Friends of the Library, consider donating the book(s) to your local Senior Center. 

I really do wish more people would use the Golden Rule when sending books.  The way I work is if I would be disappointed receiving a book, I don't post it. 

Kate, there are some PBS members that have no objection to receiving books with excessive wear, liquid damage, or even loose pages (so long as they all arrive in the same package as book cover).  If the only criteria is 'don't send a book if it's not in a condition you would like to receive' the guidelines get confusing...because the sending member may have been perfectly happy to receive the book in that same condition.

I agree with Kate on this.  Of course all my books follow PBS standards, but...if the book technically is postable, and I look at it and think I would be disappointed to receive a book in this condition I don't post it.  (Of course I would mark books received is this condition received withOUT a problem.)

I think Kate is referring to books that are postable, but we chose to not send anyway. Many books are technically postable, but not something a lot of us would want to get or send. I always use a higher standard on what I send. Mainly because the USPS system is hard on books and a barely postable book may not make the trip.

JA - reading through your RC - that actually makes me go the opposite way as you went. Your RC states you are not looking for like new books and all you expect is them to be postable. I don't see why you would expect the member to PM you (when they obviously thought the book was postable) just because you tell them they can if they have questions. I wouldn't PM on a book I felt was postable and in this case I would have been quite annoyed with a RWAP on a technically postable book (IMO) by someone who states in their RC that that is all they expect. Just because a lot of us would not send it, doesn't mean it qualifies for a RWAP.

The pic is a little fuzzy, but it looks repairable to me.  I would brush some glue between the layers & press it flat (with wax paper between the cover & pages) before using tape myself.  Tape repairs are iffy at best.  As for whether or not it's technically an RWAP, the area is larger than an inch, but it's not precisely a tear either, and peeling edges aren't mentioned in the help docs, so I don't think we can definitely say they're considered tears.  IMO, if all of the layers are there and none have fallen off & torn away, it's not torn.

I agree with Melanie, I would not have PMd you regarding the books condition because you said you were only looking for postable condition. However, I agree I would have attempted a repair before sending out a book in that condition. 

Kate thanks for the great idea. I donate books to all sorts of places but for some reason never thought of a seniors center!!

Regarding mailing out "technically" postable books ... I have no issue with that and I feel just fine doing it. I also don't complain or even think twice when I get them.

In my opinion, all of the PBS rules are geared to avoiding 1. gross books (water stains, other stains, chew marks, mold, etc), 2. unreadable (or unreadable to some) books (writing, highlighting, missing or torn pages, etc) or 3. books that are falling apart (large rips, spine broken, etc).

When I am deciding a gray area that is not covered in the rules, I ask myself it it makes the book gross, unreadable or falling apart, and if the answer is no, then I send it out (or mark it received if the shoe is on the other foot).

Maybe I have a different feeling about it because I go through books extremely fast (I've been a member for only a little over a year but I have both mailed more than 500 books out, and received more than 500 books as well .... that is more than one book a day for every day I've been a member). I generally don't feel like each and every book that comes through my hands is pecious,  I just get them, read them, (keep a very small number) and pass them on, (if they are still postable when I am done I may post them here, if not, I might donate them).

I understand the perspective of the members who wouldn't post a book like the one above ... but I would happily repair it and post it, as well.

Kate, there are some PBS members that have no objection to receiving books with excessive wear, liquid damage, or even loose pages (so long as they all arrive in the same package as book cover).  If the only criteria is 'don't send a book if it's not in a condition you would like to receive' the guidelines get confusing...because the sending member may have been perfectly happy to receive the book in that same condition.

Okay, I've never thought of that.

It was resolved.  The sender kept her credit and was really very nice.  :o) 

I wish the help docs would address this issue, because it's come up in the forums before and the decision is almost never unanimous.  The help docs say if there is a gray area (obviously this is) to send a PM.  And since my RC had my contact information, I would have preferred she sent a PM first so that she could have initially denied the request.

I'm going to try the glue thing but the cover is peeling really strangely.  It's not two solid pieces.  It's like peeling apart in a bunch of little teeny sheets.  I'll try the Elmer's glue trick.  We'll see if it works.

Since it is a gray area and the information isn't in the Help Docs, perhaps you should send in feedback to the Team.  If you decide to, make sure you post it here so we know! 

Good luck on the repair job.  I've found Elmers works well on my peeling repairs.  I just use a small paintbrush to paint it on all the exposed white surfaces and then pinch it back to together and hold for like 30 seconds.  Like someone mentioned, just make sure you put some sort of barrier between the cover and the books pages and then pile a whole lot of weight on top (I use our stack of encyclopedias myself).  Let us know how it works out!

Good luck with the glue repair.  I'm going to try a warm iron repair on a book today.  I agree that there are some gray areas on postability, but I guess it is impossible for PBS to cover every scenario.