It has staining/damage on the tops of quite a few pages.  At first I was just going to send a PM to the sender saying that I'm not too picky about the books I receive, and since I can read it, no big deal, but in the future she should watch closer to what she posts.  Then I thought, wait!  This means that I can't post the book when I am done with it, and therefore, won't be able to get a credit back for it.  So, I said it was received with a problem and that there was damage from the sender.  My question is, once I clicked on that, it just took me to my account screen and didn't even ask what was wrong with it.  Is that what usually happens?  Or did it miss a step or something?

First of all, you did the right thing second guessing yourself.  As much as it may seem nice to let things like this slide, if we didn't report problem swaps it would encourage them.  It's not like people "need to be taught a lesson" but the rules are the rules and they're there for good reason.  Your rationale is correct, you can't repost it and therefore cannot get your credit back if you so choose, which I believe is one of the main reasons for the refund rule. 

After you click Received With a Problem you should have been taken to what looks like the regular screen after marking a book received, where you can type a message to the Sender and there's the survey in the bottom half about postmark dates and how the book was wrapped.  The difference was that the sentence above the message to the sender box said to state what was wrong with the book.  (edit: if you didn't get that screen then there might actually be a glitch, which you might want to tell PBS about by way of the Contact Us link at the bottom of the screen.)  I would send a PM explaining (since the Sender never got a reason).  You might want to double check the Help Center doc ( http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/search.php?terms=problem ) about problem swaps, too, just for future reference.  It's may seem like a milestone now, but we all get bad swaps from time to time and I'd almost guarantee it'll happen again (though hopefully quite rarely). 

Good Luck and Happy Swapping!

Thanks, but this is not the club I want to be a part of!  :)  Anyway, I checked out the help docs about reporting a problem and that's why I thought I missed something.  I don't know if the sender will get the message saying that I reported it as RWAP or not, but I did PM her explaining the situation.  Will see if I hear from her...

I have to agree with James on all points.  I've gotten several unpostables by different means and while I was originally inclined to be generous about it...consider if everyone let it go???  No one would have many credits or postable books.  I get some that slide by my first inspection of the books and it's very depressing to discover that a book I thought was postable isn't.  500+ pages can hide a lot!  ;D    Send the message to the powers that be about this.

Ruth

<<consider if everyone let it go???>>

As Ruth states, this is a problem when folks don't mark problem books as such just to "be nice" or avoid conflict, then all you do is make it that much more likely for the next person to get an unpostable book too.  To ask for your credit back or not is your decision; to mark it RWP is mandatory for the PBS system to work properly.

Cheers,
Catt

The survey pages... where you put in the mailing date, wrapper info, etc has the top text box of information which goes to the sender.  When I have a RWP book, that is where I put the details of the problem.  However, your PM would work just as well.  The only downside of the PM is that it won't be "tied" to the actual transaction within PBS, but this is no biggee.  Good luck.  I hope they respond in a mannerly fashion to you.

I just received a book that is damaged-the binding is coming off the book and the first page is hanging by a thread. I nicely explained the problem and asked for my credit back . The sender told me to send the book back and then she would refund my credit because the book was in good condition. I'm already having a bad day and this is the first time in my tenure on PBS that someone has basically called me a liar about the condition of a book. That didn't seem very nice to me. What should I do now-just suck it up?

She owes you a credit for the book and one for mailing it back if you do so. You do not have to mail it back.

I would take a picture of the damage and send that to them, then if they still want the book back ask for both credits.

When I received my first unpostable book, it was hard for me to actually report it; it was still readable, so I felt bad for making trouble. But it was coffee-stained, so it definitely shouldn't have been posted. And then I received two more unpostable books the same week!

Miranda, the first thing you do, if you haven't done it already, is mark the book "Received With a Problem".  You will see this tab when you first check it off of your books enroute to you list.  Do that - ALWAYS - do that first.  When the page reloads, type the problem into the message box.  I'm presuming you just sent her a regular inbox, but the message on that page goes directly to her as well.  Look at this page in the Help Docs: www.paperbackswap.com/help/help_index.php#mark_problem

Select: There is a problem with a book I received!

This is an "Official Problem" - caused by the sender (damaged book).  Click on that and follow the instructions.  Copy and paste the PBS club rules into the inbox you're sending her, so she's crystal clear on the fact that you do not have to send her back the book; she is supposed to refund your credit.  Period.  Be nice, but be clear.  If she fails to refund your credit, you mark this problem as unresolved in your transaction archive, and report it to the site owners.  Toward the bottom of that page I gave you the link to, you'll see the word "notified" highlighted in blue.  You can report it there.  Copy and paste any inboxes you exchanged with her into that form.

*edited for links:P

is there a way to check if anyone has had a problem with any of my books?  Seriously, I would want to know. 

You should get a notice via email if you ever have anything RWP.

Renae, If you go to your transactions archive (on the horizontal yellow bar on your "my account" page) and find the problem transaction, you can then click on "request details", and you'll be able to see if any message was sent from you to the sender about the book.  If you use the PM button there, in the archive, any communication you have will be attached to the transaction, which is a good thing.

When I first joined I didn't post those RWAPs as they were readable, etc., then I decided if I can't repost it, then I need to report it and get my credit back.  So that's how I look at it .  Pat

Miranda, I recently had the same situation -- there was a stain that started on one page (like something dark was spilled on it) that ran along the outside of the book (opposite end from the spine).  I marked IN RWAP and asked for my credit back.  The sender said it must have been damaged by the P.O. (sure, if they opened the backage, opened the books, spilled something on it, and resealed the package so it looked like it havd never been opened) she would refund my credit when I sent her back the book, so I pointed her to the appropriate help files. 

So then she said she would give me two credits back when I mailed the book to her.  Now, I hate to call someone dishonest, but she's already claimed the book was fine when it left her hands, and there's no way it was, so what happens if she doesn't give me back my credits?  Then I'm out the book and the postage.  So I just held my ground and asked for my credit back again, and she did give it to me, so I could mark that the problem was resolved satisfactorily. 

Good luck!

Thank you for all the feedback to my post. I PM'd the sender as you all suggested with the credit returning rules. She said that still contends the book was in good condition when she sent it and that this is unfair because I just want to get a free credit. Not to get all crazy about it-but IT'S A BOOK! I am sure there are some dishonest people on here who mark all their books damaged to get a free credit but seriously? I'm going to take all this time to get one free credit? People never cease to amaze me....

Pattie A. - sounds like we might have run into the same sender. Better tell your post office to stop spilling stuff on your books. I'll tell mine to stop opening the package, pulling apart the binding and leaving a page hanging out. :)