question -had some books sent to my niece but niece gave birth  so i'm not sure if she recived the books or not

because the sender did not use DC  so should i assume she got the books even   they would not be consider lost

 4/13/2011 since i'm betting the sender is dyidng for their credits or should i wait until closer to the 13th

Is there anyone else at the house that could check to see if there is a package there? Just getting confirmation that there is a box with a PBS label sitting in the house would be good.

I know some would say to just mark them received, but I'd say try to find out if they are there first. Definitely mark them received before letting them go lost though if you can't confirm one way or another. If the sender was dying for their credits they should have used DC.

"Definitely mark them received before letting them go lost though if you can't confirm one way or another." 

I would have to disagree with this statement.  If a book hasn't arrived, even if it is about to go lost why would you mark it received.  If it never arrived you'd be out the credit without that person you sent it to receiving it.  A book can be marked received after it has gone lost...

If a book hasn't arrived, even if it is about to go lost why would you mark it received. 

I say that because he's had them sent somewhere other than to himself. If it is the requester's fault that he cannot confirm the books were not received, and not the sender's, then the receiver should be assume that risk. The sender certainly should not be penalized for a requester sending books somewhere and then not being able to find out if they got there.  I would tell that to someone who requested the book and then left home for a really long time too.

This is the part of the Help Center that my recommendation is based on when a requester can't confirm a book has been received It is part of the I will be away from my account for a prolonged time; how should I handle this? section:

Other Important Things to Consider

• If you WANT books to be auto-requested for you from your wish list while you are away, and you will be away longer than three weeks, we suggest one of two things:

1. use Requestor Conditions that explain this "I am away from home so the system will mark your book received 26 days after you mark it mailed. If you don't want to wait 26 days to get your credit, please decline this request"  (you can read about using Requestor Conditions in How to Use Requestor Conditions  OR
2. log in periodically while you are away and mark all incoming books received although you have not been home to mark them received.

It is not fair to ask senders to wait a very long time for credit, so if your planned absence will be longer than a month you must do one of the above: (1) put your Wish LIst on hold with NOTHING set to auto-request or (2) use Requestor Conditions as above or (3) log in periodically to mark the books received while you are away, even if you have not been home and even if you do not know if they have arrived.  (Yes, this means you may mark some books received that do not actually arrive, but this is fairer than asking senders to send to you in good faith and then wait an extremely long time for credit while you are away.)

"Definitely mark them received before letting them go lost though if you can't confirm one way or another." 

I agree.  When a baby is due, things can get a bit crazy in the household.  Someone who might normally call you and say "Thanks so much! The package arrived" might instead be focused on how far apart the contractions are.  If this were your own household, you're a member here and could check to see if the package arrived.  But since you can't check yourself, give the sender the benefit of the doubt.

That said, I like Melanie's idea of calling to find out if anyone sees a package sitting on a shelf somewhere.

Ah come on, having a baby is not that tough.  Surely someone in that household can tell you within 26 days if a package was received.  

And, if for some reason you can't ask, the sender should not have to bear the burden. 

problem solved my niece just called me  they got the books