I know that this has been discussed before, and I can't find anything in the help center, so am asking how long can a tear be in a book cover. I think at one time it was 1", but seems to me it's been raised to 2 or 2 1/2"?  Thanks. Pat

Cover:

• Must both be present (front and back)
  • note that a paperback missing its front cover is  usually an illegal, unsold copy
  • "cover" does not = dust jacket.  Hardcovers do not need to include their dust jackets to be swapped here.
• Cover not water damaged (there may be no water damage to any part of the book)
• Cover not significantly torn, or chewed/gnawed at all
  • some used book stores cut out a small part of the cover; if the amount missing is less than 1 square inch, this is OKAY
  • a small rip (less than 1.5 inches) in the cover is OKAY
  • yes, that does say "chewed/gnawed" above.  That means no pet-chewed (or human-chewed) books.
• A bookplate inside the cover or on the flyleaf is OKAY

Thanks. Pat

Mu pet peeve is when the covers are ripped more than 1.5 and the person tapes them together. I've received 3 books where one, the back cover was taped, clear tape around the spine and front cover. The actual back cover had ripped almost off. The other 2 were taping the covers but both had tape on the inside page. At that point, don't trade it.