O.K I received a book today that had a post it on the cover. She apologized for a coffee stain on the cover of the book and said it happened just as she was about to ship it. i understand things happen but then I opened the book to find a scribble mark by a toddler in black crayon. On one hand I feel like I got a book I wanted for free so suck it up and just accept it the way it is. Then on the other hand I'm disappointed because I can't repost it to earn credit for the rest of the books on my wishlist. How often do you just suck it up and accept a book regardless or do you typically always mark it RWAP? I don't know why I always feel bad when I do a RWAP. Not that people would hesitate to tell me if I made a mistake lol 

Terri, the coffee stain makes it unpostable ... but ... if the crayon mark isn't on a text page, then its OK to be in the book.

I would probably mark it RWAP and tell her that I'm sorry to mark it RWAP, but since you can't re-post it, you would like your credit back.

Wow, Cindy said it all. I hate to mark books RWAP too. But when people on here say that if senders of these unpostable books aren't held accountable for the conditions of their books, they will continue to send books that are against PBS guidelines, a RWAP sounds like the correct thing to do.

Agreed.  Mark it Received with a problem.  Only way to stop it.  I just had a book owner wanting to send a book with tears & repairs, saying that's the way she got if from PBS. 

Terri--

I'm sorry you're having a negative experience.

Marking it RWAP is your civic PBS duty -- the system depends upon members doing so in order to "weed out" any bad apples.  Asking for your credit back is optional.

Nobody likes having to mark an RWAP, but not doing so just passes the problem to the next person down the line.

Cheers,

Catt

Ditto on the above comments.

Just last week or so, two threads were opened discussing just this issue.  One member did a final check just before sending out a requested book and realized she originally missed a small something that made the book unpostable.  Another member had an accident that caused her book to be unpostable after it was requested.  By not merely passing on the problem book to an unsuspecting requestor, they were offered options for cancelling and possibly posting in the book bazaar for full or partial credit. 

You guys  are right. I'm not sure why I have had such a problem with this maybe because I haven't had to do it yet. The only other unpostable book I've received I didn't notice the marks till after I gave them credit. The crayola markings are on a page w/text but not a main page of the story. Its like the first page w/title I believe. Thanks for the comments and support. 

oops scratch that the crayon markings are on a text page! 

Sender knew the coffee stain made the book unpostable and, instead of doing you the courtesy of PMing you and letting you know, they hoped if they sent it anyway with the apology note, you'd accept the book and give them the credit.  Definitely mark it RWAP!  Sender knew full well that the stain made the book unpostable.  Pair that with the crayon scribble on a text page, and it's doubly unpostable.

It's one thing to pay a credit for an unpostable book knowing what you're getting.  It's wrong to knowingly send an unpostable without the consent of the receiver.  PBS needs to have it on record that the sender deliberately sent you an unpostable book, knowing it was unpostable.  It wasn't a mistake or something the sender overlooked, which can and does happen and is understandable.  It was intentional.  Please mark that RWAP and hold the sender accountable.

I used to have a hard time marking them unpostable too (I haven't had any in my most recent transactions, knock on wood, but I did have a streak of them at one point this summer and did post it to the forum for advice).  I agree with what's been said since senders could have "coffee accidents" each time they send out a book to a different person as an excuse to send out subpar books.  My best anaology for this kind of situation is this:

One of the first homework assignments I assigned this year to my 8th graders was met with very poor results (looked as if they were done in homeroom, incomplete, etc).  In the past I've made an announcement that the quality wasn't appropriate for this grade level and gave them a second chance, usually with an all year struggle for improving the quality of work.  This year I just didn't give full credit for the assignment right from the start instead of giving a second chance.  Suddenly the quality of work improved on the next assignment for most of my students.  If there's an actual consequence (getting marked RWAP), some senders might realize that they need to improve or "fail" PBS by getting removed.
.

Ok, my husband's correct: I spend too much time thinking about school, on PBS, and reading...now they all merge in this post...!!! :-P

Totally agree with the above posts. It's not fair for people to take advantage of other people's niceness/willingness to let things go. The rules exist for a reason - so books can be reposted (if the recipent doesn't want to keep it) and the PBS magic can go on!

I would not have sucked that up.  Putting a sticky note apology on it doesn't make it OK.  She knew it was stained and could have cancelled the request.

I have let some things slide: a borderline spine that I wouldn't have posted or a very small stain that I can see being easily missed.  And I mean a tiny stain that I only caught by chance and can see myself having easily missed.  I've gotten a lot of books from here that are borderline postable that I would not have sent myself but didn't complain about.  Because if I did then I'd be marking 5 out of 10 books RWP.  But if it's blatantly unpostable then it gets marked RWP.  And putting a note on it it say sorry about the stain does not make it OK. 

I totally know how you feel. I just signed up 2 weeks ago and have received 23 books so far. Of those, in just the last 5 days 3 of them have been RWAP. I feel really bad reporting them because I think maybe I'm overreacting, but then I have to remind myself that I can't send those books back out! The first one when I took off the dust jacket to examine it the back cover was gnawed by some sort of animal. Later my boyfriend noticed water damage to the top of the book. The sender was really nice about refunding my credit. Tuesday I received one where the last 80 or so pages were water damaged, quite obviously before sending because the back cover was not. No response from the sender yet. Today I received one that has writing and highlighting throughout. I can see how the book may have been used for a class, but I did NOT receive a PM prior to it being sent as is required for textbooks. You feel awful being the "bad guy" but you have to uphold the club rules for the good of everyone else out there.

I get the impression that the sender in this case went ahead and sent the book and is expecting a RWAP and to return the credit. You should mark RWAP and ask for the credit back, and thank her for her honesty regarding what happened. Then the ball is in her court. I would be surprised if the credit were not returned to you. I'm thinking that she figured that the book was still readable, and that if that was what you were looking for that she'd go ahead and send the book, KWIM?

Oops! Just noticed that the OP was from Monday! Sorry about the delayed response! :P

It's such a shame when something happens to a book as you're waiting for it to be accepted.  I've had water spills on my desk, rampaging creative fever by my daughter with her stamps/crayons, something on the cover making it interesting and the cat tries to eat the cover..  [seriously, i have one that has a thing for adhesives and wrappers].

BUT - IMO, the sender shouldn't have sent a sticky note, they should have PMed you before they sent it asking if you were still interested in the book for free, as it was still readable.
  I would say she chose the path so that the ball is in your court and you could choose to be the bad guy, or be nice and just let her keep the credit.  It's entirely possible she didn't know about the crayon...Kids can be quick and you never know they wrote on something.