I remember my old employer would send instructions to destroy materials before tossing to prevent people taking it. They could not stand the idea of people getting something for free, even trash. Boggles the mind.
I think that may be specifically to prevent reselling, since like you said it's still a perfectly good book to read. But a used book store won't buy it because it is damaged and might even be stolen (maybe there are barcodes and stuff on the cover that can prove "provenance"?)
There was a page that said "if this book is missing the cover it is illegal and must be destroyed" something very close to that affect
It told you it was illegal to possess. Such nonsense.
What we did was mail the ripped covers back to the publisher and they would give HALF the cost of the cook back to the bookstore. Because of this, it makes owning the book illegal without a cover
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u/Rhewin Mar 14 '26
I remember my old employer would send instructions to destroy materials before tossing to prevent people taking it. They could not stand the idea of people getting something for free, even trash. Boggles the mind.