You know, it won't be long and I won't be able to use being a "newbie" as an excuse for all my dumb questions. Here goes (no laughing and pointing fingers please):

When I respond to a request that I can mail within 2 days, do I count Sundays and holidays? I can't find the answer to this question in any of the  help docs.

Thank you.

I hear you snickering 

Yes, the system just counts days since many of us do mail on Sunday and the holidays (bluebox, APC boxes, drop in our mailbox or a bin at the post office). Mailed just means delivered to the USPS system, it doesn't necessarily mean it starts traveling within their system.

Thank you Melanie. I have always waited until dropped it at the post office or the mail carrier actually picked it up from my mailbox before marking it as mailed. 

If it's in your mail box waiting for the carrier then it's mailed.  Even if you stick it there Sat night on a Holiday weekend.

I always choose the longest mail by date even if I think I'll mail the same day. After awhile you get tired of mailing books every day or every other day.  I wait to see if I get any other requests and then wrap and mail them all at once.  Plus you never know what's going to happen.  Choosing the longest time gives you leeway if your car breaks down, run out of tape, kids get sick, you get sick, car breaks down, power outage, bad weather etc.., 

I don't mark them mailed until the mail carrier has taken them either. With the long weekend and having missed a substitute carrier who came way earlier than my regular one does on Saturday I'll have to mark the request I got Saturday morning mailed before the maillady gets here on Tuesday but it will bother me to do so. I had already marked 'mail within 2 days' since I should have had plenty of time to get it wrapped and on the porch but nooooo, someone had to be ambitious this morning and get here at 9am instead of the usual afternoon delivery.

Some people mark them mailed as soon as they print them, I don't think it's against the rules but IMO it isn't right. 

Thanks Barb. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I really don't feel comfortable marking it "mailed" until it is completely out of my possession. 

yep what Mary said---we live in a planned community that's out in the boondocks so  I don't make a special trip out just to mail books, I add it to errand list when I'm already out-- on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Lately, I've decided not to lock myself into those days in case of car problem or illness so I  have been marking WED or FRI as my mail out days.   But then I mark it mailed as soon as I return from PO.  So usually I'm mailing out at least one day before promised.

No snickering or pointing, it's actually a good question LJ.  Yes the PBS system counts Sundays and holidays, and I was a member several years when I learned this the hard way...assumed that Sunday's wouldn't count (b/c mail doesn't go on that day) and had a transaction time out. 

I almost always mark my books mailed after returning from the post office, but my rare exceptions are when the date falls on a Sunday or holiday.   Then if the book is wrapped in in the car, I'll go ahead (gag my conscious) and use the 48 hour window PBS allows.

No snickering from me!  It is a good question.  And like it's already been said, yes, PBS does count Sundays & holidays.  I guess it's mostly because if you print postage & actually mail your book (even if it's just putting it in your mail box), then you can even mark it mailed on weekends/holidays.  I tend to mail a lot of books on the weekends due to being off work & it is just convenient for me.