Is it rude or wrong to send a message to the recipient of the book you sent out asking if they received  the book after two weeks?  I did that and also explained that I was just wanting to make sure that they got it.  NO ANSWER!  I sent out another one 5 days later.  Still NO ANSWER!   Am I wrong in doing this?  I personally would be happy to know that the person was concerned about it getting there and would answer but maybe I am wrong about this.  Help please!

There is no need to do this, the system sends out reminder messages for you. Keep in mind that they may also have limited access to a computer. It could be that they wont be on again to even see that they have messages until they do receive the book and go to the library to mark it received or something. 

Thanks!  I guess I think of computers like toasters.  Nearly every household has one and I forget that not everyone does.  My bad!  I need to be more patient!  Plus, I didn't know that the system sent out reminders.  Thanks again. 

Liesel is correct the systems send out reminders for you.  Delivery confirmation is just that - grantees delivery.  It doesn't grantee that the book will be delivered to the correct location.  Also, if it is being delivered to a PO or for some reason the member is asking for their mail be held at the PO the member may have not be in to pick up their mail. 

Personally,   I will send a PM just before the books is about to be marked lost.  If the member didn't receive it because it was delivered to the wrong location, then I would like to open a ticket.  If someone doesn't answer the PM then there isn't much you can do but go ahead and open a ticket with USPS and hope you aren't wasting their time.  Then....I move on to my next swap.   Good Luck

Although, I have to say... I sent out a polite little PM to another member after sending out a book to her First Class, & it hadn't been maked "received" after 2 weeks.  (Because that usually only takes 2-5 days, tops!)  She was very nice, apologized, and thought she'd marked all the books she'd gotten in that day... so you never know.  We both chuckled over it.

Most people are very nice about a reminder PM like this...  but if I got 2 or 3, I think that even I might get annoyed if I hadn't received the book yet!  (I agree, it is rude not to at least acknowledge a PM that needs a response!  Give a little leeway, though... the person could be on vacation, or be in the hospital, or something, too!)

(Edited to add second paragraph, & for my lousy spelling... yes, I know...spell check!)  :P

I also pm to assure them that I did send the book out when I marked it sent.

I personally would feel a little harassed if you contacted me at 2 wks and then again less than a week after that.  PBS sends reminders as well. IF they are ignoring the PBS reminders it's likely that they will ignore yours as well. And sometimes books take that long. I had one take 3 wks to go from CT to MD 1st class.  You just never know.  If the account looks inactive PBS will mark it received instead of lost.

When I've had a book go close to going lost I wait until maybe the day before to remind them. 

Personally, I agree with "be patient, the system is already sending out reminders".    However, the Help Center does say that after 2 weeks, which you did wait, Sheila, you can PM if you like.

If your book has been longer than 2 weeks in transit, and has not been marked received:

• Remember that the requestor may be away from home and unaware if the book has arrived. 

• If this is the case, he or she can mark it received when he or she returns home. 

  • If the book transaction is still active, he or she can mark it received from the En Route to Me tab in My Account.
  • If the book has been declared lost in the mail, it can be marked received from the requestor's Transaction Archive

If you want to discuss the book, you can contact the requestor using the button on the transaction on the Books I've Mailed tab in My Account. If the book has been declared Lost in the Mail, the transaction can be found in your Transaction Archive, linked from the top of your My Account main page.

• If the member does not respond to your PM within a week, contact us and let us know.
• Be sure your PM to the requestor specifies the title of the book.