Sharon, they were not MP3 formatted CDs.  Just CDs straight from the manufacturer (I ordered it new from Amazon).  I agree with others who say I can't require someone to listen to a CD where they do not want to, but I also reaiize that sometimes, my CD player will just stop reading.  I then take the disk out, clean it then put it in a second player and it works just fine.  I then go back to the original player and it works again.  I don't understand why it happens but once it works, I am glad to enjoy my book.  Again, I did not have any problems so did not hesitate to share. 

Comments from previous postings:

Questions about PaperBackSwap - Audiobooks that skip - View Inline

Patty P. (Patouie) - Santa Rosa, CA Date Posted: 6/13/2012 4:09 PM ET Member Since: 8/26/2006 Posts: 7,424 Back To Top

The site recommends that, before you mark an audio book received, you pop each CD into your CD player and randomly play five seconds or so from various spots on each CD.  The books should have no more than 3 minor skips The way to let the site know that a member is sending bad audiobooks is to mark them received with a problem, and that's the time to ask for your credit back. Also, before you decide a book isn't playable, try playing it on your CD player in your car, if you have one, or on any other CD player.  Some CD players read CDs much better than others, and the ones installed in cars tend to do better at playing a CD.  I know that when a CD won't play on one of my CD players, often if I try it on another, it will work.  In that case, I figure it probably played fine for the sender, and I don't mark it received with a problem.  If it is happening frequently, it could be that your player is especially sentitive to minor scratches.

Questions about PaperBackSwap - I rec'd audio books that don't meet swappability criteria - anything I can - View Inline

Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) - Prairie Vlg, KS Date Posted: 8/28/2010 5:45 PM ET Member Since: 7/7/2007 Posts: 4,137 Back To Top

Suzi-- You might also try cleaning the CD that won't play, either with a commercial cleaning kit or with instructions available on the web.  It won't solve the RWAP issue, obviously, but it might help salvage the disk.  We have a CD cleaner that we use, it cost less than $20, and we use it on music CDs, audio books, video games and DVDs, so it is very handy and has saved the day a number of times when we had a disk that wouldn't play. Good luck!

Questions about PaperBackSwap - Would you give the credits back? - View Inline

Mary L. (MsRight) - MA Date Posted: 4/4/2008 5:50 PM ET Member Since: 8/23/2007 Posts: 24,790 Back To Top

We have a Gwen Stefani CD that will only play in the car. I don't know why.  It won't play on the CD player in my daughter's room or the portable CD player-only in the car.  I haven't tried it on the computer. I'm listening to another audio book now that will only play on my computer in the DVD drive.

Questions about PaperBackSwap - Audio Books Gone Bad - View Inline

Karen B. (bizlaw) Date Posted: 2/27/2008 9:04 PM ET Member Since: 11/11/2007 Posts: 96 Back To Top

Audio books are harder to determine condition, i.e. playability. Even when I've listened to an audio book before posting it, it's a real possibility that the book won't play as well on another machine.  It's particularly bad with CDs, as I can find a CD won't play well on one CD player in my house and play just fine on another.  With tapes, my car tape player can handle some tapes that my home tape player can't play legibly.  Like Patti, the best I can do is be very open to returning a credit if it doesn't play well for the requestor.  That hasn't happened to me yet on PBS. ***knocking on wood.* Karen

Was it a MP3 CD?  Some players won't play them.  My car won't play any MP3 CDs.  It is not just the burned MP3s, It won't play the bought MP3s either. 

I also have recieved audiobooks that won't play in my portable cd player , but will play on my laptop. Those I donate to Goodwill . Sometimes you just have to take a chance. For the most part my audios have been good.

The site recommends that, before you mark an audio book received, you pop each CD into your CD player and randomly play five seconds or so from various spots on each CD.  The books should have no more than 3 minor skips The way to let the site know that a member is sending bad audiobooks is to mark them received with a problem, and that's the time to ask for your credit back.

Also, before you decide a book isn't playable, try playing it on your CD player in your car, if you have one, or on any other CD player.  Some CD players read CDs much better than others, and the ones installed in cars tend to do better at playing a CD.  I know that when a CD won't play on one of my CD players, often if I try it on another, it will work.  In that case, I figure it probably played fine for the sender, and I don't mark it received with a problem.  If it is happening frequently, it could be that your player is especially sentitive to minor scratches.

PBS should refund member credits when requestor conditions are not honored and the member who shipped the noncompliant book/audiobook refuses to do so.  The member who is not complying with club policies and guidenlines should also have the credits they earned in the transaction removed from their account and possibly have their membership suspended for a period of time or even terminated.  This protects the members who follow the rules of the club.  My situation is a perfect example of why that is needed.

I have certain requestor conditions on books because family members have asthma/allegies and cannot tolerate smoke and because badly scratched discs won't play on my CD player, so I don't want those items sent.  Recently, a PBS member ignored my conditions and sent a badly scratched CD audiobook set that would not play on any of my CD players.  I contacted her, explained the problem, and asked for a refund of my credits.  She refused to do so unless I returned the audiobook to her, which was fine except she refused to provide her mailing address to me (I told her I did not have her address) and she also would not pay the return shipping costs (why should I pay to return something to her that should not have ever been sent to me in the first place?).  I asked PBS to intervene by restoring my 2 account credits. I suggested PBS follow up with the member and dock her account the 2 credits too. I buy extra credits from PBS at $3.45 per credit so this cost me $6.90.  PBS refused to intervene and said I should just mark the problem "unresolved" in my Transaction Archive.  I contacted PBS to complain about this unhelpful response and my complaint - pending since September 11, 2011 - remains unanswered by PBS.

PBS allows members to set conditions and then refuses to penalize members who violate them. That is unreasonable and a breach of a material component of our membership agreements.  What is the use of placing those conditions on requests if PBS refuses to enforce them?  Why is PBS more than happy to take our money for credits and earn money off us in other ways, then refuse to help us when a problem arises.   It would be very simple for PBS to restore and/or dock credits under these circumstances.  Not doing so undermines our confidence in the Club and our trust that we will get what we swapped or actually paid cash for.   As members, we are entitled to expect at least that much support from our Club and its leadership.

Suzi--

You might also try cleaning the CD that won't play, either with a commercial cleaning kit or with instructions available on the web.  It won't solve the RWAP issue, obviously, but it might help salvage the disk.  We have a CD cleaner that we use, it cost less than $20, and we use it on music CDs, audio books, video games and DVDs, so it is very handy and has saved the day a number of times when we had a disk that wouldn't play.

Good luck!

I have traded and received several MP3CDs here but they were all the actual original CD not copied from a downloaded book. I've had people PM and make sure I knew it was an MP3 and I have PM'd people.  NOrmally I don't PM people about a books condition but I do with the MP3 because not everyone knows you need a special player to use them.  I can only play them on my computer and have to transfer them to my IPOD.  (I delete when I'm done).  THey won't play in my car. 

With tapes is hard to say.  A CD you can just look at to see if there are any scratches. It's also easy with a CD to pop it in and skip around to make sure it plays.  I guess I would just inspect the taps and make sure they don't look bunched up or knotted anywhere.  I would probably put them in to at least here the first few seconds to make sure they play.  Then be prepared to refund some credits if by chance one happens to be bad. Most likely that won't happen unless someone listens right away. 

Boy, we could have written Mary L's letter...about a music cd.

My husband tends toward anal about the care of his books and music, and I was right beside him packing up a book as he checked and cleaned an already pristine cd and checked it again, before he wrapped it.  It was fine.  It was also marked damaged by sender and he was out a credit.

This came a day after someone marked one damaged by PO, and that was sent well padded by cardboard etc.  But I guess that shouldn't surprise me...the PO is capable of a lot, eh?  I once got a brand new thick, trade paperback that had been bent in half and run over.  The tread marks were on the wrapper, and the book was in the shape of a sleeping C.

And I agree with being able to play something in the car, but it won't play in either of the house players, v.v.

I had someone complain about an audio CD I sent after they had marked it received w/o a problem. I bought it new from Amazon. I played it in my car, my portable CD player and my computer and it played just fine.  She said it played badly and now she couldn't donate it to the library.  I always check them before I send them out, I even clean them with CD cleaning wipes.  I sent her a polite PM saying that they played just find for me on 3 different devices and maybe it was her CD player. I know we have a Gwen Stefani CD that will not play on my daughter's CD Boom Box.  It'll play on the little portable, the computer and the car. But her CD stereo will not play it at all.  It won't even read it to say how many tracks are on it. 

Now I had another one that was 1 audio MP3CD. The case was cracked when I received it on PBS.  It played fine and cases aren't required for audio books as long as they aren't bootleg copies.  I transferred it to my IPOD and reposted it because it was WL. I used an appropriately sized bubble mailer.  Well the CD popped loose and the disc came out and broke in transit.  She marked it damaged by post office and PM'd me just to let me know. I sent her 2 credits back because I though maybe I should have taped the CD box it'self.  She sent the credits back. We went back and forth a couple times and finally I said take 1 credit back. Then we're both out a credit for the PO handling of this.  Apparently it had a shoe print on the mailer and looked beat up.  So we compromised.

I had one book come cleaved and the sender denied it.  I don't know, I suppose it could have happened in transit but the mailer wasn't damaged.  So who knows.  I didn't make an issue of it and demand my credit back after she refused.  I just marked it unresolved. 

I'm not seeing it here either.  I was at Half-price books recently and even Audio CD books that they had several copies of were all over $10.  The only ones under that were some that only had 2 or 3 CDS.  Even the local thrift store charges at least $10.  It's hard to find bargains for them on ebay anymore either.  I did score a WL audio CD for $5 at the FOL kiosk at the library. But that's rare.  The cassette ones are becoming obsolete.  I had a few old cassette ones but nothing to play them on but the car.  I had a hard time finding a cassette walkman.  I donated them because I can't really listen to murder mysteries in the car with the kids.   I won't buy the cassette ones anymore. 

I find used hardbacks for $1 or less all the time.  

We have a Gwen Stefani CD that will only play in the car. I don't know why.  It won't play on the CD player in my daughter's room or the portable CD player-only in the car.  I haven't tried it on the computer.

I'm listening to another audio book now that will only play on my computer in the DVD drive. 

Audio books are harder to determine condition, i.e. playability.

Even when I've listened to an audio book before posting it, it's a real possibility that the book won't play as well on another machine.  It's particularly bad with CDs, as I can find a CD won't play well on one CD player in my house and play just fine on another.  With tapes, my car tape player can handle some tapes that my home tape player can't play legibly. 

Like Patti, the best I can do is be very open to returning a credit if it doesn't play well for the requestor.  That hasn't happened to me yet on PBS. ***knocking on wood.*

Karen