I'm new to PBS, so I'm not sure of the "proper and polite" way to handle things.

I received a book yesterday that looked like it was in great condition and rated it such. about one-third of the way into the book, though, I noticed that about four pages had tears in them that actually made it down into the printed words... OK, no big deal, right?... So I ignored that and continued reading, and found that a page that was ripped off all the way, held together at the middle by a half inch strip of scotch tape. I would never send a book in that condition and don't think I can even put it back on the PBS market.

Am I in the right to request back my credit? Or is the "polite" thing to do just to bring the issue up with the member in hopes that she will be more careful about the books she sends out?

Did you already mark it received?  If not, then mark it Received Wth A Problem, explain what the problem is and politely ask for your credit to be refunded.  If the sender wants the book back, the rules state they should send a second credit to cover the cost of sending the book back. 

If you already marked received and said it was fine, then it's too late to ask for your credit back.  Sorry.  I've had the happen to me before.  I used to be really uptight about marking the book received as quickly as possible, now I figure it's not unreasonable to wait a little bit and really check the book over before I mark it received. 

I already marked it received :( Oh, well.

Just wanted to add one thing.  When you ask for your credit back, leave your emotions out of it.  Be Joe Friday.   Just the facts.  Say something like, "This book has several pages that are torn including one that was held together with scotch tape.  As this book is not postable according to PBS guidelines, please refund my credit." 

Then do nothing.  If they refund the credit, go to your transaction log and mark it "Resolved".  If they ask for the book back, ask for a second credit to cover the postage.  If they try to argue, just stick with the facts.  If they ignore you, just leave it as "Unresolved" and move on.  There are far too many good traders on here to allow a few bad ones to spoil it. 

I have only had one really bad experience and I'm a pretty low-volume trader.   Some folks have traded over a 1000 books a year and report only having one or two problems.   

Ray has it exactly right. If you already checked the book in as received, it's too late after the fact to mark it RWAP. I had that happen to me a couple of times, but I tend to not read received books right away, so it was weeks afterward that I found some writing, underlining and food stains in the pages. Look at it as a learning experience--I bet anything you will now be more careful about thoroughly checking books before marking received!

The only thing I would change about Ray's wording of the RWAP message (if it should ever happen again) is to add a time limit to the return of the credit--"I would like my credit returned within seven days or this transaction will be marked as unresolved." That way it's not just hanging out there indefinitely.

Cheryl

I'm going to disagree slightly.  I, too, often (okay, usually) don't read a book as soon as I get it.  Though I try to page through them before marking them received, I could miss damage that wasn't pretty obvious.

If I got a book like the one you received, even though I couldn't RWAP it, I'd probably send a message to the sender, letting them know of the damage.  "Hi, I just got around to reading the book you sent and realized that there were torn pages and a loose page that I missed when I marked it received.  Just thought I'd let you know in case you received other books from the same source -- you might want to check them in case they're damaged, too."  (And I'd send it through the transcription archive so the message is attached to the book.)

It does two things -- gives the sender to refund you a credit if she's feeling charitable (I would, even after the fact, if it was a book I had sent out without realizing it was damaged) and subtly lets the person know that he'she needs to be more careful before sending out books. 

You should contact the sender and tell them about the condition of the book citing the proper Help Docs; and suggest that they check their books closer before sending them out.

-RD

 As you checked the book and marked it recieved in good condition even though it was not, then it is not a stretch to think that the sender good heartedly did the same check and missed the same issues. Sadly it happens and I do not think it correct to now ask for a credit back. However you may want to contact the sender and let them know what happened as a reminder to you both to check books better!

 Sorry your having to deal with this, and your correct that book is an unpostable.

I like the suggestion from BookwormKath 

If they ignore you, just leave it as "Unresolved" and move on. 

Actually, I would suggest contacting The Team if in a future RWAP situation you have someone who ignores you completely.  Not responding to a RWAP situation is considered an admission of guilt by the Team and this is one of the very few situations where they will step in to help resolve the problem. 

But if they respond and say they disagree, and then after that ignore you, then yeah.  Mark it unresolved and move on. 

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

I'll definitely check books before marking them recieved in good condition. I'm guilty in the fact that I just flipped through the pages, looking for highlighting and marks more than anything, and made sure the binding was OK. Had I just taken two more seconds, I think I could have avoided this situation, so lesson learned!

Also, I think I will PM the user. If anything, she'll check her books more carefully before sending, right?