I ordered a couple of books which were mailed three weeks ago.  They are due to go "lost" at the end of next week.  The problem is that I'm out of town next week and the following week. 

I would feel bad if they arrived next week and I couldn't mark them received.  No DC on them so there are credits on the line.   What to do?

Pam

You can mark them received through the transaction archive when you return. (You could also PM the members who sent the books to let them know that you haven't received them yet, you are going out of town for XX days and you will be sure to mark them received when you return.) The problem is that if the book is marked lost in the mail, the system will automatically request another book for you. So if you do not have internet access while you are away, you could end up with two copies of a book. It is not the end of the world -- you just relist the extra copy.

Also, be sure and make note of the mailing dates on the books when you receive them -- if they have been mailed within 7 days of being marked "lost" you do not have to give the member who mailed the book late credit, especially if you have another copy on the way. When marking books received through the transaction archive, you will be given the option of "do you want to give this member credit" -- or something similar to that -- and that is why they are asking that, So be sure if you receive two copies of a book that you give credit to the correct member!

If they are not Wish List books, because the site knows that books sometimes take a little longer, the system won't automatically reorder when they go lost, it will just move them to your Reminder List. If they are Wish List books, you could end up with another offer in that time, can you log on while you are gone to see if they go lost and put the book on Hold on your Wish List.

I would just PM the senders and let them know you will be gone and will mark them as soon as you get back. I wouldn't mark them received at this point with no tracking or anything to tell you that they actually mailed the book and you don't know what condition they will be in if they do show up. It might have been bad timing if you'd ordered books a week before being gone for 2 weeks, but usually books arrive within 3 weeks.  People should be understanding and not expect people to not go anywhere for 5 weeks after ordering a book.

If you put your account on vacation hold before the books go lost, I don't think the system would order another copy for you, would it? Off to check the Help Docs to see if that's mentioned there.

Great advice here --

• PM the senders -- tell them you know how to mark them received from your transactions archive, so not to worried if they go "lost" while you are gone
• Place your account on Vacation Hold from the top of your bookshelf

As Melanie said, if these weren't wish list books, they'll go on your reminder list.  They won't be reordered. 

And DG and Jeri had good points: if they were wish list books, but not on AutoRequest, placing your account on vacation hold will keep them from being reordered while you are gone. 

If the books still haven't arrived when you get back, and they're on your wish list, you can place them on Individual Wish List Hold on your wish list first, then take your account off vacation hold.  That way you won't get offers for the books until you've had time to figure out what's going on, but you'll keep your spot in the wish list line, in case the books were not mailed, or were lost in the mail.

Thanks for all your good advice.  These were not wish list books.  I'll PM the sender if they haven't arrived before I leave.

Pam