I just received a book that is a retelling of a legend. It is not a textbook. It had ONE sentence very lightly highlighted. It does not bother me, but it may prevent me from relisting the book. I received it yesterday and have not yet marked it received. Should I mark it received with a problem? I hate to do this because the one lightly highlighted sentence did not bother me at all, but I also don't like the idea that I would not be able to relist it. Advice, please? Thanks.

Technically it should be marked but it's probably an honest mistake.  It's your call. :)

I'd probably PM the sender and ask about it.  If they knew about the highlighting, I'd mark it with a problem.  If they didn't, I'd explain that you can't re post it, and ask  for your credit back.

I'd not worry about it and either donate it or offer it on the Book Bazaar.  Even someone who flips through and checks their books carefully before sending out could have easily overlooked that, so I'd be likely to let it go, honestly.  Not every book is going to be repostable, even if it was postable when sent to you - eventually every book has to retire from being swapped.

Edit - yes, technically it is "received with a problem" and you can ask for your credit back.  For me, I'd figure it was an oversight and not worry about.  YMMV.

This is a constant question for me on PBS.  The very first book I ordered was a book I needed for my book club.  I read it, and I didn't repost it because it had some staining that could have been water damage - on one page.  I could really hardly blame the sender for missing it, and so I just ate it.  The book found a new home through the bazaar, and I'm perfectly happy.

I figure every book has an "end of life" somewhere.  Sometimes it will be with me.  I send four books last week - two of them didn't meet guidelines.  In both cases I PM'd the person because I found it *after* I had printed the label.  The light in my office, where I wrap books, is SO much better than the light in my den, where I store them!  Anyway both requesters wanted them anyway.  One had some water damage and the other had a small amount of writing in the margins - on one page.  I didn't see the water damage in the light in my den AT ALL but in the bright sunlight in my office (I have a big window with a southern exposure) it was quite visible.

Both requesters wanted the books so I got lucky - also because both requesters answered me quickly!

Anyway.  It's really your call.  If it were me, and it was a book I wanted to read, I'd let it go, but I'd probably PM the sender politely and tell them. 

I asked R&R about this recently because people admitted on the forums that they did this- - They basically said sending books that don't meet guidelines with the permission of the receiver is ok.  Personally, I think that sucks - it encourages people to post unpostable books, and degrades the overall quality of the books here. :/  I can see scenarios where people OK an unpostable book, receive it, then pass it on, saying "I got it that way from another member - what's the problem?"  Unpostable should mean just that - unpostable, period.  Otherwise, why have guidelines, at all?

I'd mark it received with a problem. It does not conform to the guidelines, and as far as I am concerned, that's the thing that matters!

This is a used book swap. I received a hardback with a three inch strip of tape on the dustjacket to cover a tear. I thanked the sender for the book, and enjoyed the story . A tear on the dust jacket doesn't change the integrity of the story, nor the book itself.  When I repost it, I'll let whoever requests it know about the tear/tape and let them decide. If I want a perfect book, I'll go to my LBS and purchase it there.

Well, since books don't have to include dustjackets at all, I think the tear in the dustjacket would be within the guidelines.

Unfortunately, highlighting is not.

I did let it go and gave the sender the benefit of the doubt. After all, I DID read it, so I got my money's worth from the credit.

But I can't re-post it. Oh, well.

And besides, I accidentally clicked that it had been received before I noticed the "problem" choice on the same page! lol

I would just deal with it. To me, asking for a credit back is saying, "Hey, I know you knew about this and sent it to me anyway." ONE sentence? It was an oversight. I know I am not about to turn 400 pages one by one before sending a book. I always flip through to check for damage, but one sentence might slip through.

Honestly, if someone PMed me about a book I sent and asked for a credit back because one sentence on page 341 has light highlighting on it, I would return the credit and add the person to my buddy list under the heading "DO NOT DEAL WITH".  If you just mentioned it and left the rest in my control, I'd offer you a free book off my list. At least then, I get to keep ONE credit to cover postal cost.

It is your right to ask for your credit back, and it does stink that you would't be able to repost it. That's just how I would feel if I was a good sender who let one highlight through by accident. And I'm all about posting books within guidelines. I just think this was truly accidental.

I just started a Bookmooch account for this very thing.  I'm only going to use it to list the books that don't meet PBS requirements that I either already own or have received.  On that site you can list the condition of the books you post.  I like the PBS rules, and almost all the time it means that I get books in the condition that I'd like to read them.  -But my unpostable books are beginning to accumulate, either from the occasional book I dropped in the bathtub or the very rare book that was sent to me unpostable.

Yep, I'd treat it as an oversight and not worry about it.  After enjoying it I'd post it on book bazaar, use it in one of the "damaged" games or take it to my local UBS for credit.

I think it was probably an honest mistake.

I buy a lot of books at FOL sales that I have no intention of reading, but are on other people's wishlists.  I do check out the books to make sure that they are in postable condition, but I don't look at every single page.

I would mark it with a problem, but if it is not a big deal to you, I would PM the person that sent it and let them know about it. This gives R&R a record - is they never do it again, fine, but if this person is constantly sending out unpostable books, then they need to know about it. We are not doing this site any favors by just letting this go, because eventually people that do this on purpose will think they can get away with it all the time. I agree with a previous poster - if I can read the book,  I really dont care, but there are some people using this site that do care about the condition of their books.

I recently received an ARC - I was a little irritated, not because it inhibited my reading, but I would not be able to repost and get a credit for another book to read. I did mark it with a problem. I PM'd the sender and told her that ARC's should not be swapped on this site, but that I was not looking for my credit back. She PM'd me back and apoligized, said she was new and was still learning the rules.

HC

I asked R&R about this recently because people admitted on the forums that they did this- - They basically said sending books that don't meet guidelines with the permission of the receiver is ok.

WOW.  If that's the case then it should be made clear to all that the rules have changed. 

Edited my rant to say:  While I don't agree with this, it's not my site, so...but this is a slippery slope.  For example, if you decline a wishlisted book because someone thinks you want it badly enough to put up with a coffee stain (or worse!), then you lose your place in line.  The person offering may or may not be willing to cancel on their end allowing you to retain your position.

I've had a few with minor things that were technically wrong, but didn't affect the book IMO.  I didn't mark them RWP, but I didn't repost them either.  They might have been oversights, they might not have.  I have occasionally let the sender know (especially if they were new) that the book shouldn't have been sent according to guidelines, but let them know that I don't need a credit back since I have a UBS I can trade it in at when I am finished.  If it's really blatant, obvious damage though, I have to mark it RWP.  It's just not fair to send those books out.

this is why I also have my bookshelf over at frugalreader....you can post ARC's there and you can state condition when you list the book and your opinion if they are New, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.  It is easy to list things like musty, book crossing labels, whatever.  I think the standards are a little less stringent over there but I still would never send a book in horrible condition no matter what.   Plus because that site isn't as big as this one, many books get snatched up more quickly because there is an overload here but none there.  I just sent out a book that probably had 10 copies on this site and none over there.

some of those features would be nice to see over here, saves some time IMHO

I would let it slide. One little highlight is not an issue for me.

They basically said sending books that don't meet guidelines with the permission of the receiver is ok.

I have to agree with calen...Wow.  That's just, well, wrong. 

As for the highlighting, I, too, would just assume it was a mistake and let it go.  I got a book recently with a few sentences underlined on one page.  I didn't notice until I was actually reading the book...and I flipped it when I received it, so it was easy to miss, IMO.  I'm guessing one line of highlighting could be easy to miss, too.