I received a book about a week ago and just started reading it this morning, and I have been noticing pencil markings on text pages.  So far, I think it's five, but I'm only on p. 23.  They're mostly in the margins but some in the text also.  This was  a book I had had WL'd, actually so far it's the only WL book I've received yet and I was glad to get it.  But it was posted, I had to use a credit for it, and as I understand the rules I can't repost it when I'm done.  Should I just be grateful that I finally got a wishlist book, or be a "good PBS citizen" and attempt to get my credit back?

[edit] It just occurred to me I could try to erase the markings.  But chances are they wouldn't erase completely anyway.

If the markings can be cleanly erased, you can certainly repost it.

If the book could be considered a textbook, then you can follow the textbook rules in the Help Center and repost it. You just have to get the recipient's agreement via PM before sending it out.

Asking for your credit back is not being a "good PBS citizen". Educating the other member about why this book should not have been sent is an act of good citizenship. Marking it received with a problem would also have been an act of good citizenship if you had noticed it at the time. Asking for your credit back is not necessary to accomplish either of those acts. This is not to say that you cannot request a refund -- of course you may do that if you like. Keep in mind that since it's been a while, even if the sender agrees to give the refund, she may not have a credit and you may have to wait for her to get one.

Try using one of the soft white erasers designed for artists. I've had good luck getting pencil off even the cheapest book paper that way--they're not as abraisive as regular pencil erasers. You can get them at Walmart, Target, etc fr around $1. 

I know that underlining is allowed in textbooks but if this is not a textbook then it should not have been posted with underlining in it, not even in pencil. I would certainly try to erase the marks so the book could be posted again. Failing that I would ask for my credit back, there should be consequences for unacceptable behavior. You may not get it, but then you don't always get them when you do mark it RWAP. If nothing else, the PM will let them know that they sent you an unpostable book. It is possible they didn't notice it themselves, especially if they never read the book.

I am sorry you had this experience with your first WL book. Welcome to PBS and know that most of the swappers here are wonderful people.

Edited for clarity(I hope it worked, this is pre-coffee)

I would not try to get my credit back. If sender never read the book themselves, it is very possible that they didn't even know the markings were there. I rarely try to get a credit returned for an unpostable unless the damage is so blatantly obvious that there is no way the sender could NOT have noticed it.

You can list the book in the book bazaar for a credit (or free with an order from your shelf), you just can't post it into the PBS system.

<<I know that underlining is allowed in textbooks>>

Underlining is only allowed in textbooks if the recipient agrees via PM in advance.  You can't just send a book with highlighting or underlining without permission from the recipient.

Nora, by all means, you may politely notify the sender, in case they are unaware of the rules or need to look through the rest of their collection, and you may ask for your credit back. 

Cheers,
Catt

I would certainly try to erase the marks so the book could be posted again.

Try using one of the soft white erasers designed for artists.

I second these. White erasers are great. :-)

I might send her a carefully worded PM and mention the underlining and the fact that I should have checked it and marked it RWAP, but just as a reminder for her future reference type of thing.  I don't like to ask for credit refunds on things I failed to check when I received it.  I feel like that's something I'm supposed to do as a responsible member - so that RWAPs are consistently marked - but I have been known to drop the ball & not check the occasional book:P  Not checking it doesn't make the unpostability your fault though, so ask if you feel strongly enough that you should.  Also - it might be a pain, but if you can gently erase the pencil marks without damaging anything, you can probably repost the book.

As always, you can do what you want to. I'm not sure how I would react to getting a PM from someone who had checked in a book I sent them as being fine and then getting a PM later saying there's something wrong with it.

Personally, I figure once I mark a book as received then I am indicating that I've checked it over and it's in acceptable condition. If I then discover a problem later on when I go to read the book, the book is MY problem. I would never go back and ask someone for the credit back at that point! I've made that mistake a couple of times, and yes--learning lessons is important for the sender, but also for the receiver! The lesson here is, CHECK YOUR BOOKS CAREFULLY before you mark them received!

Cheryl

Well, what I did was, let the sender know about the pencil marks, that I will try to erase them to enable reposting later [because I haven't yet had a chance to do that], and will let her know.  Certainly not asking for credit refund at this point. 

Also if it's still a WL book you can post it in the book bazaar and ask a credit for it-if the pencil marks don't erase.  You can ask for a credit for unpostable WL books in the bazaar because the requestor is aware of the damage to begin and with and can choose to ask for it or not. You just can't post  them to WL and then ask the requestor.

Sounds like you've found a good solution, Nora :-)

Thanks to all for the input.  She was absolutely aghast that she had sent out an unpostable book and assured me that if I can't get the pencil marks out she will give me the credit back.  Then later I was able to get them all out.