Hi. I received a book that was wet due to a downpour here today. I marked the book received w/a problem and PMed the sender. How do I get my credit back?

Thanks!

Was the book properly wrapped? If the book was properly wrapped then the sender is not responsible for it getting wet and does not owe you a credit refund.  And plastic covering is not required by PBS.  So if it came wrapped in the PBS wrapper or an envelope and was taped up with mailing tape and covered then it's not the senders fault.   They can't be responsible if you don't have a dry space for your mail or for what happens to the book after they mail it out. 

Was the book wrapped properly and not damaged by the post office? I guess I would need more information to give my opinion, but based on what you have writtin - I am assuming the book was wrapped properly and not damaged by the PO.  As Mary said plastic wrap is not required.  If this is the case I would mark it rec'd.  If plastic wrap wasn't used then you can pm the sender and let them know  that it contributed to the damage.  If the member is from a dry warm climate --  they are generally the opposite and don't want plastic wrap. 

Since you marked the book RWAP - if I assumed correctly to the above,  then I would recommend marking the issue resolved. 

It is a frustrating - so I am sorry this has happened to you.  I included the official rules on damaged by the PO and if poor packaging contributed.  here is the link to the help docs with more details - http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/search.php?terms=post+office+damaged+book

Damaged by USPS transactions:

A book is considered Damaged by USPS if it was damaged in transit (while in the mail).

• This is usually just bad luck
  • Even the most well-wrapped packages can get mangled by a postal sorting machine
  • We have tried to divide the risk fairly between the sender and the requestor:
    • If the sender gets the book back damaged, the sender assumes the risk: she should contact us to cancel the request.  The requestor gets the credit back when we do that, and the sender does not get credit unless she used PBS-DC or PBS Printed Postage
    • If the requestor gets the book damaged by USPS, the requestor assumes the risk.  The requestor does need to mark the book received and does not get her credit back; the sender does get credit in this case.
• If you feel that the wrapping of the book contributed to its damage en route:
  • You can tell the sender this in a Personal Message
    • Please be gentle!  The sender may be new to bookswapping.
    • You can ask for your credit to be refunded if you believe it is warranted.
  • You can share your own tips on wrapping technique, and/or refer the sender to the Help items on wrapping a book.
  • You can also comment on the wrapping in the Comments box at the bottom of the survey portion of the Book Received page, so these details are recorded on the transaction in our records.

if you marked it RWAP and the package was intact then really you need to mark it RWAP in error....

Sad but true.  It isn't hard to use plastic beforehand, but if it was properly wrapped according to PBS standards...you're out the credit and the book.  Just bad luck.  If there is a likelihood that you will get wet books because of where your mailbox is or its size or it's condition , etc., you need to either fix the mailbox and/or add RC's for plastic to be used on all books in the future.

Ruth

Christy, I thought in this case, it was RWAP - Damaged by PO? The sender is out postage and a book, and the receiver out a credit and the PO gets off scott-free since we have no way to penalize them :)

Damaged by USPS transactions

It wasn't the post offices fault that it rained.

and Trish, it does sound you are out of luck. Bummer...