Ok so I am new to this I have mailed over 15 books and have only gotten 1 in return so far. I am being very fair, thoughtful. I sent out a book that was quite expensive and brand new I did not even read it. The person sent me a damaged by USPS no credit for the book and told me that the book was held together with rubber bands!!! and no packaging. I packed that book like I have all the others and have had no problems so far. I am upset that she just no credited me for something that was not my fault, a brand new book in fact and she gets to keep it anyways. How do I know that the book was actually damaged?  I feel like since I have been on PBS I am doing all the effort here and not getting much back in return. People taking forever, if at all to get me back, to mail to me on so forth. I kinda feel like a chump to be honest.

:(

ok rant over but your more advanced thoughts and insights would be welcome

If they refused to mark the book received then you need to contact PBS.  If you wrapped the book well then it's not your fault if the post office damaged the book enroute.

Also it's ok to hold back from posting books or to put your account on vacation until you get some books.  Just autorequest your WL books.  To help control postage costs or you just aren't comfortable keeping a large credit stash: put your books on the reminder list to see how many copies are posted and if they are WL or not.  The TBR list will tell you if they are WL but not how many copies if they're available.

You've only been a member for 2 wks and there was a major holiday in there. So I don't see how people could be taking "forever" to mail to you.  People do and can take the full time allowed by PBS to mail books out. If you expect people to always mail books immediately then you will be disappointed.  I used to mail books the same day the book request came.  It gets tiring pretty quickly.

Hi, Jenna, welcome to PBS!  So sorry you're having troubles already; most of my swaps have gone very smoothly in the time I've been a member here.

I second what Tammie said; you should have received credit if she marked the book damaged by USPS.

Also, have the receiver confirm that the book she is referring to is actually from you.  Sometimes when a receiver orders a book from the system, the first person who got the request will mail the book but not mark the book mailed.  In those instances, the request rolls over to a new person (you) and you send the book to the receiver, too.  The receiver only sees your transaction on her active page and assumes you're the one who sent the "bad" book without realizing that she has a canceled transaction from another member and it's that book that was the "bad" book.  She can check her transaction archive to see if that might be what happened.  (Hope that makes sense!)

Good luck!

Are you sure you didn't get the credit?  You can check your Credit Registry to make sure.  You would get a credit when they receive it even if there is a problem.  If they didn't mark it received and pm'd you, that is against the rules and you need to tell them to receive it or use the contact us button and report them.

Is this the first hardback you have mailed?  How did you wrap it?  Hardbacks need to be wrapped differently than paperbacks.  They need stronger paper, like an envelope and need to be wrapped tight, so they can't move around.

What they said.  Check to make the book is actually from you (there are circumstances where she could be receiving two copies).  If she marked the book 'Received, damaged by USPS' then your credit should have transferred automatically.  Unless wrapper is inadequate, it is not necessary for the sender to refund a credit.  PBS has the mail-risk shared between sending and receiving members; receivers may loose a credit if USPS damages a book enroute & senders may loose a credit if USPS looses a book enroute (without DC).

If this is your book that was damaged by USPS, and you are certain it was well protected for the journey, you (nor any sending PBS member) are obligated to refund a credit for USPS damage.  If the receiver has this problem often, she might wish to report it to USPS.

AND, you can ask for pictures.  If the receiver has the ability (and knowledge) most will post pictures for you to view the damage yourself.  How was the book wrapped?

You know, it often does feel like you send out and send out and not much comes back at first. It is the nature of the wish list and new members bringing in a collection of great books. But I can tell you that does turn around. I have half my wish list on hold because I can't keep up with reading them as they come in. Hang in there and it will pay off!

As for your current transaction, if the receiver marked the book as Received - Damaged by USPS, then you get the credit. They can't stop the credit from being transferred when they do that. If you click on the blue word Credit in the upper right corner you will see your Credit Registry and should be able to see the credit being granted.  

Now they may have asked for their credit back. The site splits the risk of postal damage between the members and says that, unless the wrapping contributed to the damage, as long as the book makes it there the receiver takes the loss of the credit. If the book goes lost and doesn't make it there then the sender would lose the credit. If you feel you wrapped the book good enough to make it through the postal service, then you are not obligated to return the credit, it would not be your fault the USPS damaged the book. It could very well be that a machine ripped the wrapping off.

What you do want to take away from this is that the USPS is hard on packages so you may need to adjust your wrapping methods. Some tips:

• Never leave packaging loose around a book. Always tape it down securely so that the book cannot move inside. A book loose in a big envelope will bust right through the side as it is jossled in transit.
• Always tape corners and sides and seams. No need to overtape, leave a place for the receiver to get in (I leave a 1-2 inch gap in along the back for scissors or fingers to get in), but corners and sides are most at risk for machines to grab and tear. Tape along the edges also helps support a little when the book gets squished.
• A single layer of paper on a hardcover is likely not enough. A machine can easily punch through the paper along the edge. Doublewrap and reinforce edges. If using plain paper envelopes, wrap tight and tape edges. The two sheets of printer paper work fine on a mass market paperback, they won't hold up to the weight and wear of transporting a hardcover.
• Tape flaps on envelopes. Books are heavy, clasps may not hold when the force of a book comes at them.
• Your book will get tossed around on its journey. Probably a lot. They throw it into mail bins around your PO and they throw it into sorting bins along its route. It could end up being tossed underneath a 50lb package. Do not wrap it like it will be handled like a delicate flower, wrap it like you expect it to get ran over. 

ahhh that is very helpful, she just told me she did not credit me for the book so I took her at her word I did not know that damage by usps also  means i get credited for the book so I will check my account.

if its a heavy book i mail in either padded envelope or a UPS type super durable envelope and heavily secured by tape.

about responses: I definately respond within a day or two and mail up to 5 days from that. Others are taking much longer to respond... it started to feel like everyone but I have had some notices today (maybe they read the rant lol) I just know I threw down some serious cash to mail all these out and a lot of effort and was feeling really disheartened by one book so far and then this above.

thanks for everyone's kind responses!!

huh... I got credited for the book so I do not know why she said she didnt credit me? Hmm chalk it up to a learning experience thanks to all!

Welcome Jenna,

I got credited for the book so I do not know why she said she didnt credit me?

As was mentioned to you by someone else, the receiver does not personally give you a credit, nor do they personally take one away. When the book is marked received, whether it's marked with a problem or not, the sender gets the credit. Then it is up to the sender and receiver to work out the problem. The only way you would forfeit the credit is if you personally clicked the button and gave a credit to her. Members do not have the control to deny someone a credit. This is why she is saying she didn't credit you, because she didn't, the system did when she marked it received. 

Now, if you use PBS postage then you got your credit as soon as you marked the book mailed. If you use PBS DC then you get the credit as soon as the first scan is done on the book. 

huh... I got credited for the book so I do not know why she said she didnt credit me? Hmm chalk it up to a learning experience thanks to all!

She likely just doesn't know what she's talking about and thinks she can withhold the credit by marking it as received with a Problem.

Any marking of a book received will transfer the credit to the sender, it doesn't matter if it is marked as a Problem swap or what kind of Problem it is marked as. If the book is marked received, the sender gets credit and the receiver must ask for their credit back.

If you have book requests going past 5 days without being accepted then you have just run into inactive accounts.  The system automatically rolls over the request to the next person if there are other copies in the system.