So I'm a long-time member, and this has happened to me personally, but I'm just wondering what the general thoughts are on this.

So I received the wrong book today, but I had a heads up from the sender that she knew she had done it, and would I send the book on to the rightful owner.  I said of course, shoot me a credit and the address, and I'll send it on.  Well, she didn't want to send me the credit.  She thought I should send it out, and then when the member recieves it, she would refund me the credit.  So I tell her, I don't want to spend postage $ to send a book to that member...what happens if it goes lost, etc.  I refer her to the help docs where it says to offer a credit or postage and provide the address to the member and to send it on.  Well, she interprets this "offer" verbage as just that.  She could offer, but doesn't have to.  She kind of infers I'm being stubborn and since I "feel so strongly" about it, she'll give me the credit to help her straighten out her mess.

So after that windy explanation, I'm wondering am I in the wrong?  Would you all just mail the book out as a nice gesture?  This happened to me, and I forwarded the credit, but now I'm wondering if that's not the way it's normally done since she seemed so peeved with me.

The sender should just send a credit for you to mail it.  It shouldn't be on you since you are doing the sender a favor.  The Help Doc need to be a little clearer about the sender's responsibility in this type of situation.

Eh, don't let the shitsters get to you. The site admin felt strongly about it too - enough about it to put it in the Help Center.

My willingness to do nice gestures is directly tied to their willingness to do the right thing. If I get an apologetive member who is willing to do the right thing right off the bat I might tell them to forget the credit and send it out. Someone getting peeved at me for not wanting to fixing their mistake on my dime would get much less considerate cooperation. 

I would find a nice way to explain to her that if someone has to take a risk of the other person not doing what they say they will do, it should be her, since it was her mistake in the first place.  Maybe also give her the option of either mailing you stamps or give you money for postage via PayPal.  But I absolutely would not send the book on without her already covering your postage cost.  You should not have to pay for her mistake, literally.  JMO.

Thank you.  Just made me wonder if I was out of line asking for the credit, as the other member who was involved in the mixup said she would mail it out without the person who made the mistake sending the credit first, so I was wondering if it wasn't the norm to want the credit first.

I would not mail it to the other member without either postage $$ in hand already or a credit to cover that expense.

If she doesn't send either, then you'll get your original credit back when the book she was supposed to send you goes lost.  Plus, you'll have the incorrect book she sent you that you can do with what you wish, like repost it.

You're not out of line at all for insisting on the credit up front.  I'd do the same thing.

I fail to see how being cranky with you will somehow convince you to help correct the senders mistake.  The rules are clear that you are not responsible for the postage to forward the book.  If she wishes your cooperation, a better approach might involve compensation and/or courtesy.

When I've sent the wrong book, I always (and it hasn't happened often) immediately send a credit and the address of the correct person it's to go to, and PM the other person to let them know that they might be getting the wrong book, that the right one is coming and who from.  I've never felt it was the responsibility of the person who got the wrong book to correct a mistake I made.  Good luck.  Pat

I think the help docs say to "offer a credit" because you are asking the member if he is willing to forward the book on to its proper destination.  He has the right to say no, he doesn't want to send it on, and in that case  you wouldn't give him the credit.

I wouldn't give the credit before getting the other member's agreement to mail the book.  If he doesn't respond to your request to mail the book, and you've already given him a credit to do so, it can cause some bad feelings.

That said, I agree with everyone that the person who made the mistake should be going the extra mile.  You should have compensation for your postage costs before you mail the book.

This has happened to me a few times. The senders all gave me a credit ahead of time. One time, it was the recipient of my book who didn't cooperate. So, I sent her the book she requested but never did receive the book I requested. The sender kept pming me asking me if the other member sent me my book yet, but no she had not. I felt the sender tried everything she could do to make sure I got my book, but not everyone cooperates.