I mailed a book with DC so I already got my instant credit, so this is more in terms of me being anal-retentive, I guess. I checked a book I mailed over a month ago that is still in my "Books I've Mailed" section, and clicked on the checkmark. It indicated that it reached the "end" of the transit on 02/02/10 when it was scanned. It's now 17 days later, and it states system action will take place in two days if not marked received. I know this is only an indicator of when the code was scanned...so is it possible it got lost between the receiver's local post office and their house? Or have there been previous cases of lazy receivers, and if so, what is the proper action in this case? Like I said, I've already received the instant credit, so I'm not too worried about losing a credit, I just want to know what others past experiences have been in regards to this.

I'm waiting for a book that got sent with PBS DC and it shows as being here on the map, but the only scan on the book was the initial notification of electronic whatever.  It will be officially lost on Tuesday.

Or have there been previous cases of lazy receivers, and if so, what is the proper action in this case?

There could be lazy receivers, or receivers who may be having internet or computer problems, be out of town, or dealing with some kind of family crisis, and in any case, just can't get online to mark their book received.  In any case, the proper action for you is to do what you want with that credit you got for using DC or PBS postage w/credit assurance, and be glad you spent the extra money on it:P

In one case recently, I sent a book that was scanned "delivered" and the person's building management company was sitting on it for a week.  Things happen - send a PM and find out if the person has actually received the package.

You might want to PM the person who was destined to receive the book.  Perhaps they forgot to mark it received.  I did this yesterday on a book where the DC said it was delivered 10 days ago.  It magically got marked received today!

Sometimes people simply forget to mark a book received.  I did this recently on a paperback I had on my shelf for about 5 days.  I was really embarrassed and PM'ed the sender to apologize for my oversight.

For a period of time this long, I would guess that the person is out of town on vacation, business, or for an emergency.  When you put your acct on

vacation hold, nothing shows up for any transaction already in progress.  I was out of town for 5 days in January and had 2 books arrive while I was gone, but fortunately they weren't close to being "lost" in mail.

I've had my account on vacation hold many, many times, including the past month.  I always get all notifications on books already on my transactions as well as notifications of wish books that are on auto order.  The only thing that doesn't happen is that books don't get ordered from me and wish list books that aren't on auto don't get granted. 

Could be either situation Erik, but since it's been over 10 days you wouldn't be out of line to check with the receiver.  Sometimes RL happens, and sometimes the book is delivered to a wrong address....the receiver could be anxiously waiting also

Ok, color me confused....the OP doesn't really make sense!!!

--"I checked a book I mailed over a month ago that is still in my "Books I've Mailed" section" 

Books don't stay in your "Books I've Mailed" section for over a month...unless you are talking about in your Transaction Archive!!

--"It indicated that it reached the "end" of the transit on 02/02/10 when it was scanned." 

Are you saying that it was scanned delivered or that it had reached the final post office?  Remember "Delivered" does not mean that it was delivered at the correct address, it simply means that it was delivered somewhere!!!

--"It's now 17 days later, and it states system action will take place in two days if not marked received."

Are you saying that the PBS action date is in two days...if so, this book couldn't have been mailed over a month ago!!

As I said...color me confused!!!

ETA:  don't forget the recent weather conditions that have shut down large portions of the United States...postal service did not work, if I remember correctly some postal service substations collapsed under the weight of the snow. 

I believe that books mailed to AK, HI, and APOs stay in the "Books I've Mailed" section for longer than a month. I think it is a fairly recent change. So, if the destination is one of those, his math may not be too far off.

Do you see a scan that says "Delivered" with a date? That is usually the final scan when the book is actually delivered.

If you do, then you may just want to send a PM to the receiver, and ask them if they did in fact receive the book yet (keeping in mind that it is possible that they haven't, even though the scan says something else).

Yup, just checked, the number of days is 35 if either the sender or receiver is outside the continental US. (otherwise, it is 26 days).

If it is scanned along the way, it is accurate as to where the book is because that a scan from a machine in a sorting facility. The only one that may be inaccurate is Delivery since there is no guarantee its been delivered to the correct address. I usually give it a week after a delivery scan, them PM the receiver to see if its shown up.

The section of the Help Center that will explain what to do is If a book you sent hasn't been marked received yet... I've copied the relevent section below. You should PM the sender and ask if the book has been delivered to them since the last scan shows it _________ . Don't sound like you are accusing them of being dishonest, just state that you want to track the book through the postal system to figure out where it went. As you can see, if they do not respond within a week or mark it received within a week of the lost date, the site would like you to contact them.

If you sent the book with Delivery Confirmation and it has been recorded as delivered by USPS but hasn't been marked received yet:

• Remember that the book could have been scanned as "delivered" at the local PO, before it went to the requestor's mailbox--the actual delivery can be a few days later  Also, the book could have been misdelivered.
  • The requestor should check with her mail carrier about this package.
  • The package could also be at her local PO being held for pickup; sometimes pickup notices left by the mail carrier go astray.
• You should FIRST contact the requestor using the button on the transaction on the Books I've Mailed tab in My Account when a few days have passed after delivery.
  • If the requestor does not respond to your PM within a week, and/or has not marked the book received by a week after the delivery scan, contact us.  We will look into it.
  • If the requestor responds and says she or he DID get the book, she or he can mark the book received one of two ways:
    • if the book has NOT been declared lost in the mail at PBS - from his or her active transactions (on the En Route to Me tab on My Account) as described in How to Mark a Book Received.
    • if the book HAS been declared lost in the mail at PBS - from his or her Transaction Archive (linked from the top of the My Account page)  as described in I received a book that was 'lost in the mail'.
• If you used DC purchased through PBS, or PBS Printed postage, you will already have gotten your credit for sending the book.