with BOB, you don't have to return books to the sender if the books don't meet PBS conditions, right?  Just like with regular PBS transactions, huh?  A member said to return the books if I didn't like their condition.  Any answers would be appreciated :)

Thanks Cindy.  I didn't think I had to send them back, but I'm new to BOB and couldn't find anything in the help section. 

The other member needs to make it right, just like a credit trade. If she/he doesn't want to send you books to replace the bad ones, they should gift you credits to cover them. No excuses to send bad books just because it's BOB, they all have to meet PBS standards, just like credit trades!

I'm sorry you had a bad trade. If you don't get any satisfaction, try feedback and see if R&R will do anything. Probably not, just as with credits trades they don't usually get involved, but it's always worth a shot. Be sure to tell the other member, that BOB trades must meet PBS standards, and all the same rules apply. If the HC doesn't say it's different, then it's the same rule.

Thanks Sherry!  I offered to send the member a pic of the books, but haven't gotten a response yet.  I hate waiting :)

did the person tell you up front that the books were of "questionable condition"?  or did you receive the books and then "complain" about the condition?

twice i've had people complain about the condition of books.  once someone claimed 1/3 of the book was water damaged.  though i have no idea how the book was water damaged - it wasn't when it left my house.  another time someone claimed there was highlighting on page 37 - claimed highlighting on 1 page of a 200+ page book.

in each case i offered to take the books back, pay for postage and refund the credit.  even though i feel that i sent books that met all of the pbs guidelines - i would rather take a book back if someone is unhappy with it.  neither person took me up on my offer - but i felt better knowing that i made the offer.

Mary, the Help Center says this:

All of the information below apply both to swapping for credits and Box-O-Books swapping.

(What follows is the Book Condition Guidelines)

As others have said, BoB books have to meet the same guidelines as Credit books.

another time someone claimed there was highlighting on page 37 - claimed highlighting on 1 page of a 200+ page book

Nancy, the thing is...it was your job to let them know if there was highlighting on any pages and even then it's only considered acceptable in text/workbooks.   The HC says this about highlighting:

writing or highlighting on the pages is NOT OKAY

• Exception: if it is a textbook or workbook, these are expected to have highlighting/writing
  • if you post a textbook/workbook, the condition must be described to the requestor in a Personal Message
  • AND the described condition MUST BE AGREED TO before the book is sent
  • This is the one of the ONLY two cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent(the other is for cookbooks--see below).

So, that book really did not meet the PBS guidelines.  If it was a reading book, it can't have any hightlighting at all.  If it was a text/workbook then you needed to PM the requestor and make sure they agreed to it.

Nancy-  it was a 3 book deal.  They came in a box with no damage.  2 paperbacks and a HC.  One PB was in excellent condition.  The other PB has a large coffee stain through the last 1/3 of the book- very obvious from the moment I saw the book.  The HC damage was not at first noticable until I flipped through the book.  Water damaged on the first 20 or so pages.  I could see how the HC damage could not be noticed, but the PB has a large dark brown stain that can be seen w/o opening the book.  I'm not a super picky person, but I don't send damaged books, and I don't want to recieve them. 

If the person had offered to send postage, I would gladly have sent them back.    I'm just waiting for a response.

Beth -- I don't mean to sound like an a** - and i fully understand that books that are written in or highlighted in are not allowed.  but short of me sitting down with every single book and flipping thru the book page by page, i am not going to notice if every single page is free of random pencil marks.  i fan thru all of my books a couple time looking for marks.  and if i don't see anything, i make the assumption that the book is clean.  these are "used" books - and i personally think it is a bit unreasonable to complain about 1 random highlight mark on 1 random page of a 200+ page book. 

Seriously - if I'm expected to go thru every single book page by page - I'll just quit this club right now.  I won't have any time to read anything since I"ll be too busy making sure all my books are in pristine condition.

mary -- that sux.  I'm not a boxer, so don't know all the ins and outs of boxing - but I do think the sender should pay the postage to send the books back and do something to the equivalent of refunding your credits.