Hi everyone,

I'd like to ask for opinions about my situation.  Any responses / thoughts gratefully receieved!

I read in one of these forums a member's suggestion that if you have a book that has only a few stains, you should go ahead and post it, and then if someone requests it, you should PM them to let them know about the damage and see if they are okay with that.

But I've also seen people suggest that damaged items should be offered for free in the Book Bazaar forum. 

I have a book that I received via PBS and discovered too late that it has a few stains in the early pages.  What do you all think?  Would it be okay to post this and then PM, as the first person suggested?  Or would that be more likely to irritate the person?  Would it be seen as going against the PBS community norms?  (This is my own sense --- it does seem to be against the rules, after all, and I wouldn't have asked if I hadn't seen it suggested in these forums.)

Thanks for your help!

Well, I can tell you that it would definitely irritate me.   And it's not a matter of going against PBS community norms, it's a matter of going against PBS rules.    Books with stains are unpostable - period.    There is no grey area on that one.

ETA:  That might have sounded a little abrupt.   But it's true.  Any book that has stains in it is unpostable.   If it is a wishlist book, you can advertise it in the unpostable WL book thread on the Book Bazaar.

No, you shouldn't post it if doesn't meet the condition guidelines. 

If it's a wishlisted book, you can post it in the Book Bazaar and ask for a credit for it.  If it's not wishlisted, you can offer it as a freebie with order.

It is completely unacceptable to post unpostable books into the system. You'd have to lie on every one of them because it makes you say that your books meets the posting guidelines.  As the Help Center says These Guidelines are not suggestions.  They are criteria to which all books Posted here MUST comply.

Altho it seems like it would be the nice thing to do - offer it to the first person in line for it, It is actually really rude to the person who gets the offer. Their request is tied up with an offer of a book that is not postable and they are stuck with the conundrum of breaking the rules themselves or not being able to repost the book. During that time a postable copy that they were first in line to receive may be offered to the person behind them.

I wouldn't post it since you know about the stains. If it's wish listed you can offer it in the Book Bazaar or the genre forum it would belong in. If it's not on any WL, then I'd offer it as a freebie with another order from my shelf, or take it to the used bookstore.

I did once accidentally post a book with stains and didn't notice until my final inspection before wrapping it. I PM'd the requestor and asked if they still wanted it. They did, and didn't seem upset about getting the PM. However, that might have been because it was after I'd accepted it that I noticed the stain and didn't just post it that way.

It's a good thought Marta, but per PBS guidelines not an acceptable method to handle the situation (your source is incorrect). 

Some members become rather cranky if offered unpostable books FIFO, because 1. Violation of PBS membership agreement, 2. while the transaction is pending, the requester is off FIFO and not eligible for the next postable copy, and 3. requester is at the mercy of the other member to cancel the transaction so they don't loose their place FIFO...for however long the poster wishes, or until the transaction times out, arrives (RWAP), or goes lost. 4. the requester will be unable to re-post the book FIFO, and thus lose their credit.

I'm fine with offering unpostables in your siggie or your bookshelf header.  Or in a BB or genre thread.  I'd really resent one in a FIFO order.

Thanks, everybody!  What you've all said confirms what I was thinking . . . but since I'd seen it suggested in these forums I wanted to check it out.  Thank you for responding!  I especially appreciate the suggestions about the WL thread in the Book Bazaar, which I hadn't known about.  And thanks for helping out a newbie!

I'd be really curious to know where the heck you saw that, as it is completely against the rules, and I'm really surprised that someone could say something like that on the forums and not be immediately notified of that fact.

"If it's a wishlisted book, you can post it in the Book Bazaar and ask for a credit for it.  "

Is there a thread for this? I have a couple wishlist books that are unpostable because of damage that doesn't interefere with reading them... I can't afford to send them for no credits and that was the only thread I saw there, one to give away damaged books for free.

I think there might be an ongoing thread. But they keep it going so long that it turns into this hundreds of pages long thread. I just put my damaged WL books in my signature or start my own thread.  Also the more active genre threads (love/romance, mystery, paranormal etc..., ) have Is This On Your WL threads where people post what WL books they have in an effort to find someone to ship multiples to and save on postage.  I see people offering unpostable ones in there as well. Sometimes for a credit, sometimes free to someone who wants 2 or more other WL books. 

Now I do the Damaged Books Virtual Box and trade my unpostables there.  That's in the games forum but it's in limbo now.  She's getting ready to completely restart the box as they made some rule changes.  Whatever I can't move there, I trade on another trading site that doesn't have posting guidelines. Nowhere near as good as PBS but handy for moving some unpostable and heavily posted books.

Rebecca, here's the link for the Unpostable Wishlist Book thread in the Bazaar, but Mary's suggestions are all good ones. 

Within the last two weeks I posted two damaged WL books in the Unpostable Wishlist Book thread and both offers were snatched up within a few days.  So people do look at that thread, even though it is lengthy.

Both times I offered the damaged books free with a purchase from my shelf and both trades went off without a hitch.