Hi! I have someone that would like a WL book I have that is unpostable. We're not sure how to do it - do I post it to her Wish List and have her order it from me that way?? I started to do that, but the whole "can't post/can post" box came up and since it's an unpostable...I just wasn't sure how to handle it.

Advice welcome!

You can do it that way, just so long as she's aware of the book's condition. The box is designed to (try to) make sure nobody is posting unpostables into the system that they shouldn't be. If you have the receiver's consent then it's a secure way of sending an unpostable for a credit. Or, she can transfer you a credit and give you her address and you can mail the book to her. Whenever I do it that way I like to use the custom DC when mailing so that there's less mistrust about whether I mailed it or not. But then, I was in Alaska up until recently, and the longer delivery times made people nervous if I didn't take extra measures like that.

i think it's recommended that if someone wants an unpostable book you have available, they should request a postable book off your shelf. you can then send them a postable book along with the unpostable that they want.

unpostables can NOT be swapped for credits.  They need to order another book from your shelf and you can send the unpostable as a freebie.

Actually, unpostables CAN be swapped for credits, they just can't be posted into FIFO for credit. The receiver needs to be fully aware of the condition of the book they are getting for their credit and consent to that condition (which they do by asking for the book you described and handing over the credit you asked for it). So, you can post in the Book Bazaar forum asking a credit for an unpostable (or multiple unpostables) in the described condition, but you can't post the unpostable into FIFO and then PM the potential receiver describing it and asking if they want it.

And no, no order of postables is necessary in these deals. You can make a deal solely for an unpostable or multiple unpostables.

Blubonnet1, yes, they can. It has been approved by the PBS Team that members can ask for credits for unpostable books. The sender just has to make it clear how the book is unpostable, and the requestor has to agree to the damage. The book just cannot be posted FIFO, meaning to the first person wishing for it on the site. If someone posts a damaged book and then PMs the person asking if they are ok to receive a damaged book for a credit, THAT is not allowed.

If the sender advertises in the Book Bazaar, genre forum thread, or on their profile/forum signature, that is all acceptable practice. The requestor then knows what damage to expect, and knows that they are paying a credit for something that they then also cannot post FIFO, and depending on how popular and in demand the book is, they might not be able to get a credit for it when they are done with it. If someone wants the book badly enough, then that is the risk s/he is willing to take.

Other options are that an unpostable can be sent along with an order, but that is totally up to the sender. If it's a WL'd book, the first thing most people will try to do is get a credit for it. Especially if s/he received it in unpostable condition via FIFO, and the sender refused to credit him/her back for the damage.

Jennifer,

Thank you. You gave a more detailed explanation than I did.

This is from another thread where folks were trying to say that you could not ask for a credit for an unpostable...

Sure, we don't mind if people ask for credits for unpostables.  If someone wants to pay credits for unpostables, then they are doing it knowing they are getting an unpostable book.  Selling anything other than books, or selling for anything other than credits, or asking or offering more than PBS price for a postable book - those things are not permitted.

Have a great day!

The PaperBackSwap Team

Thanks, everyone! I just wanted to make sure it was ok to post it to their WL even though it was an unpostable (and they did request it as an unpostable). The little blurb that pops up about making sure it meets guidelines just had me paranoid I was doing it wrong.

Thanks for clearing it up for me!

Tiffany, looks like I was typing the same time as you were; I didn't see your post before I responded. :-)

Just wanted to add that the Team was asked about this and they said it was perfectly fine with either posting it to their Wish List or buddying the credit, as long as both members agreed to the method used. As long as the requester agreed to having it posted to their Wish List and understood that they could not post it back into the system when they were done, they had no problem with posting to the Wish List despite the Golden Rule.

No problem Kelly, just make sure the requester is aware of the book condition details.  If the other member approves the transaction, you can post the book FIFO to their wishlist but I would advise keeping pms showing the receiver is aware of the unpostable status prior to your mailing...JIC.

Another option, is to use Custom DC and have the other member buddy the credit.

ETA - oopsie, thanks for catching that Melanie.

...you can post the book FIFO  directly to their Wish List ...    FIFO on a Wish List book would be a bad thing.