Menachem entered Sofer’s Sefarim Store. “I’m looking for a sefer on the laws of Pesach that’s user-friendly,” he said to Mr. Sofer. “Can you suggest one to me?”
“A new sefer just came out,” said Mr. Sofer. “It’s the hit of the season!” He pointed to a pile of sefarim in the front of the store.
“This sefer is very popular,” Mr. Sofer noted. “I’ve sold over 20 copies in the past week.”
Menachem browsed the table of contents and a few pages in the first chapter.
“Looks good,” he said to Mr. Sofer. “I’ll take it. Thank you for your help.”
When Menachem returned home, he immediately wrote his name in the sefer. He decided to dedicate half an hour each evening to learning it. As he learned, Menachem underlined certain portions and wrote occasional notes in the sefer.
The following week, the weather was pleasant, so Menachem decided to learn outside. As he finished page 48, he realized there was a defect in the binding of the sefer: pages 49-64 were missing. “I’ll have to return the sefer,” he said to himself. He put the sefer down on a table next to him and went into the house to get a drink.
When Menachem entered the house, the phone rang. “I need you to run immediately to the store to pick up bagels and lox,” his mother said. “I just found out we’re having some friends over tonight.”
Menachem jumped into the car and went to the bagel store. He forgot about the sefer he had left outside.
During the night it rained. When Menachem came out the following day, he saw the sefer had gotten waterlogged from the rain.
“What’s the difference?” Menachem rationalized. “It was defective and has to be exchanged anyway.”
Menachem took the sefer back to Sofer’s Sefarim Store. “I bought this here last week,” he said. “I’ve been enjoying it and learning from it regularly. Yesterday I noticed that pages 49-64 were missing. I’d like to exchange it for an intact copy.”
Mr. Sofer looked at the sefer. “Normally, I’d take it back without question and return it to the publisher,” he said. “However, I can’t take this back. You already wrote your name and underlined in it. Moreover, the book is all waterlogged! ”
“What difference does it make?” Menachem asked. “It was defective from the beginning and shouldn’t have been sold!”
“But now that it’s ruined the publisher won’t accept it back,” replied Mr. Sofer. “You should have taken proper care of it.”
Just then, Rabbi Dayan entered the store. “What’s the argument about?” he asked with a smile.
Menachem related the story and asked: “Can I return the sefer after I wrote in it and it got waterlogged?”
“You can return the sefer, despite the writing inside,” ruled Rabbi Dayan. “However, because of the rain damage, you cannot return it for a full refund.”
“Can you please explain?” asked Mr. Sofer.
“If the customer, before realizing that the purchased item was defective, damaged it further in a manner of normal usage, he is exempt from that additional damage,” explained Rabbi Dayan. “However, if he added unusual damage to the item, he is liable for the additional damage when he returns the item.” (C.M. 232:13)
“What is the source for this?” asked Menachem.
“The Rambam [Hil. Mechira 16:6] derives it from the halacha of a person who purchased an animal and discovered it was a treifah after slaughtering it,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “The customer can return it for a full refund, even though the animal is worth significantly less now that it was slaughtered. The Rambam explains this is because it was expected that the customer would slaughter the animal.” (SM”A 232:29)
“How does this apply here?” asked Mr. Sofer.
“It is typical to write one’s name in a sefer, and also to underline and add notes,” Rabbi Dayan answered. “Thus, even after doing so, Menachem can return the sefer.”
“However, the customer is responsible for the safekeeping of the defective item until he notifies the seller or returns it,” continued Rabbi Dayan. “Leaving the sefer outside is negligence, so that when it got ruined in the rain, Menachem bears liability for that damage.” (C.M. 232:22)
“How is this evaluated, though?” asked Menachem “The book was defective even before being left outside and was not worth its full value!”
“That is true,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “Therefore, we need to evaluate how much a defective sefer, missing those pages, is worth. Menachem is entitled to a refund only of the difference between the full price of the sefer that he paid and the reduced value of a defective one. He is liable for the remaining loss.”