Another Paperback Swap ?

[ThreeBlessings]

How do you know what condition the book is in? Is there a way to tell from the listing? Also does it matter what condition the books your listing is in? I have some well loved, cover worn books, also some with dog ears. Would these be acceptable or do they need to meet certain requirements? TIA!

[KS_]

How do you know what condition the book is in? Is there a way to tell from the listing? Also does it matter what condition the books your listing is in? I have some well loved, cover worn books, also some with dog ears. Would these be acceptable or do they need to meet certain requirements? TIA!

 

PBS doesn't have a system to note the condition of each individual book (unlike BookMooch), so people are supposed to follow the posting guidelines and only post books that are within those guidelines.

 

Here's the info from the FAQs:

 

"When you Post a book, you are asked to confirm that the book is "in good condition, and not excessively worn". It is impossible to list all of the ways in which a book might be considered excessively worn, but the criteria below are as comprehensive as we have been able to make them.

If you feel your book falls into a "grey area", you can either post the book and send a Personal Message to the requestor, or not post the book. We have delineated what we can, and we expect members to follow these guidelines, and use their common sense in cases that are unclear. If you would not mind "paying" a credit for a book you are considering posting, then it is probably okay to post. However, book condition can be a subjective matter. Keep in mind that a pattern of sending out poor-condition or inappropriate books will jeopardize a sender's membership.

 

These Guidelines are not suggestions. They are criteria to which all books Posted here MUST comply.

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

General remarks:

 

* This is a used-book swapping site; books are not expected to be in like-new condition.

o Older books may have some page yellowing or spine-creasing or dogeared pages; these are all OKAY.

o Decirculated library books may have various markings and/or stamps inside or outside or on the page edges of the book; this is OKAY. These may not obscure text.

o BookCrossing books may have stickers or stamps or markings on the outside or inside covers or page edges of the book; this is OKAY. These may not obscure text.

o Hardbacks do NOT have to include their dustjackets.

o Audiobooks MUST be the original cassettes/CDs, but do NOT have to include the outer "box" that held the set.

o Audiobooks must be playable and have all the CDs/cassettes.

o Books that require batteries to work do NOT have to have working batteries.

o "Playaway" books must include working headphones.

o There is an exception to general condition guidelines for textbooks; see below.

o There is an exception to general condition guidelines for cookbooks; see below.

o There is an exception to general condition guidelines for travel guides; see below.

 

* We do NOT have a place for members to describe the condition of a particular copy of a book.

o ALL books on PBS are expected to be in "good, not excessively worn" condition

+ note the specific cases for textbooks and cookbooks and travel guides.

o Books are requested in FIFO (first-in, first-out) order

* If you would like your books to be in "better-than-PBS" condition :

o You are responsible for setting Requestor Conditions on your account.

 

Guidelines:

Overall Condition:

 

* No damage at all from water or other liquid

* Not soiled

* No stains (exception for cookbooks--see below)

* No mold

* no highlighting, underlining or writing on text pages (exception for Textbooks/Workbooks and travel guidebooks --see below)

 

Dust Jacket:

 

* The DUST JACKET (this is not the same as the cover of a book) does not have to be included with a book at all, unless the requestor had this in their Requestor Conditions.

* So DUST JACKET condition cannot be considered as part of the condition of a book, unless there were Requestor Conditions on the request specifying that the dust jacket be included.

* If the Dust Jacket was to be included as specified in the Requestor Conditions on the request, the Dust Jacket must meet the same conditions as defined for the cover, below.

 

Cover:

 

* Must both be present (front and back)

o note that a paperback missing its front cover is usually an illegal, unsold copy

o "cover" does not = dust jacket. Hardcovers do not need to include their dust jackets to be swapped here.

* Cover not water damaged (there may be no water damage to any part of the book)

* Cover not torn or chewed/gnawed

o some used book stores cut out a small part of the cover; if the amount missing is less than 1 square inch, this is OKAY

o a small rip (less than 1 inch) in the cover is OKAY

o yes, that does say "chewed/gnawed" above. That means no pet-chewed (or human-chewed) books.

* A bookplate inside the cover or on the flyleaf is OKAY

 

Binding:

 

* Must be intact, with no separation on the inside or outside of the book

* If the book tends to open at a particular page, this is OKAY

* Small amount of fraying or denting at top or bottom is OKAY

 

Pages:

 

* No torn or chewed/gnawed pages

o yes, that does say "chewed/gnawed". That means no pet-chewed (or human-chewed) books.

* No loose or missing text pages

o for travel guide books - maps if designed to be detachable may be detached, but must be included.

* Cover not water damaged (there may be no water damage to any part of the book)

* No writing or highlighting or underlining on text pages

o a signature or note on the flyleaf or inside front or back cover is OKAY

o an author's signature on the title page is OKAY

o writing or highlighting or underlining on the text pages is NOT OKAY

+ Exception: if it is a textbook or workbook, these are expected to have highlighting/underlining/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 in a reply PM before the book is sent

# This is the one of the ONLY three cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent (the others are for travel guidebooks and cookbooks--see below).

+ Exception: if it is a travel guide (not a picture book but a guide, such as Fodor's or Lonely Planet), some writing on text pages could be expected. All maps must be present and included with the book - if detachable it is OK if they are detached, but they must not be missing.

# if you post a travel guide that has writing in it, the condition must be described to the requestor in a Personal Message

# AND the described condition MUST BE AGREED TO in a reply PM before the book is sent

# This is the one of the ONLY three cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent (the others are for textbooks/workbooks and cookbooks--see above and below).

 

o

 

No staining

+ Exception: Cookbooks may have some mild staining, since these are used in the kitchen and while cooking, and some minor degree of staining could be expected in a used cookbook. Also a small amount of writing in cookbooks could be expected

# HOWEVER, if you post a cookbook and it is stained and/or written-in, the condition must be described to the requestor in a Personal Message

# AND the described condition MUST BE AGREED TO in a reply PM before the book is sent

# This is the one of the ONLY three cases in which a PM exchange about a book is required before the book can be sent (the others are for travel guidebooks and textbooks/workbooks--see above).

o this exception applies to the covers of cookbooks also.

* Page edges: remainder marks are OK. A name written on the page edges is okay (if it does not bleed in and obscure text on the text pages)"

[ereks mom]

"When you Post a book, you are asked to confirm that the book is 'in good condition, and not excessively worn'."

 

You can read more specifics about what is acceptable and what isn't here.

[ThreeBlessings]

Thanks! :)

[ThreeBlessings]

If you have a book that shows as being on someone's wish list, should you message them or wait for them to message you? This is fun, lol!

[KS_]

If you have a book that shows as being on someone's wish list, should you message them or wait for them to message you? This is fun, lol!

 

Once you post a book and it's on someone's wishlist, PBS notifies them and they have 48 hours to decide if they want the book. They will either accept or decline. The system will show you when someone accepts, so there's no need to message them. If they decline, and more people are on the wishlist, it will just pass to the next in line. If there isn't anyone else on the wishlist, the book will just go to your bookshelf.

[hsmom3tn]

If you have a book that shows as being on someone's wish list, should you message them or wait for them to message you? This is fun, lol!

 

If you post a book that is wish-listed, just post it as usual and the request will come to your account as always. It may take a little while if the requestor doesn't have any credits at the time. They can acquire a credit, or decline the request. If they decline, it will go to the next person in line. :)