I just received a paper back book on a swap.

The bottom of the front cover is damaged. Part of the bottom is worn down to the white part so that the glossy part is gone and only white remains.  This is about 2-3 inches wide by about 3/4" high.  Part of the print - where is has writing is gone.   The back cover has similar wear/damage, but just a little along the edge - not as bad as the front.   The spine is slightly torn - but that doesn't bother me so much.

I was very disappointed when I received this book and don't feel it's in good enough condition - although it is readable, I guess.   Should I report this to PB swap?   Does it seem to meet the posting guidelines?   I couldn't really tell if it did or not.  I would never send someone a book in that condition without at least asking them first.

Thanks for any advice.

I'm not sure. I know that if there is a rip in the cover it can not be more than 1 inch..

I know that there hasn't been anything said about the white part showing on the cover from wearing.. But if there is a lot gone I wouldn't think that is postable. I know that some of mine have a little of the white showing around the edges but that is all...

I'm really not sure... I think if a book is readable then it deserves a credit.. But if it is loosing pages and is really damaged then I don't think it does....

This sounds OK to me too.  It would be clear if a piece of the cover was missing that the book was unpostable, but, IMHO, it takes a lot of cover wear before a book is not postable. 

Sorry, but I also think the book is postable under PBS guidelines from your description.  It would have been a considerate action on behalf of the book poster to PM you about the condition first, but it isn't required by the site.  It's unfortunate that the book you got wasn't in better condition, but it doesn't sound like it was an unpostable, just old/worn, so I would NOT mark it as Received With A Problem.

This one falls into that grey area of  degree of wear.   This is a totally subjective thing, and many people would say that book is just fine to post. 

Personally, I would NOT report is as Received with a Problem.   But it's nearing the end of its useful PBS life, I think.

If the tear in the spine is less than 1" I would say it was postable. If I cannot point at a rule in the Help that a book breaks, I consider it postable. The good condition, not excessively worn issue could possibly be argued here, but its very subjective (IMHO) and only you and the sender can really say since you are the only ones that have actually seen the book. I would probably marked in rec'd without a problem and retire the book if I felt it was too worn to post.

It would have been a considerate action on behalf of the book poster to PM you about the condition first, but it isn't required by the site.

IMO, members should NEVER PM someone regarding book condition if the book meets PBS guidelines. If a requestor wants better-than-PBS-guideline condition, a requestor condition should be used and specify the desired condition for the books.

This book sounds postable by PBS guidelines. Yes, it's probably worn and nearing the end of its readable life, but not all books that come through here will be once-read. Some will be nearly new, some will be very worn. But if they meet PBS guidelines, they're postable.