On 10 DEC I mailed a WL book out to someone who lives 2 hours away and doesn't seem to be admitting she rec'd the book (based upon

the fact she removed it from her WL and has not requested it again and has been hesitant to respond to PMs once every 2 weeks). If I had

paid for DC at the post office, would this be proof to the PTB that she indeed did receive it?  Or is it only beneficial if I pay for DC thru PBS?

I sent out another highly desirable book today (posted only 2 hours before being req'd) and paid for DC at the PO.  thanks for any insight

You would not get the credit with a USPS retail DC even if it shows it delivered. That doesn't guarantee that it was delivered correctly so they won't take the credit from the receiver to give to you. PBS-DC fees insure you credit and PBS will cover it if you use that so it is the only DC that will help you with the credit. A PO DC might help you if the receiver is being untruthful, since you could it delivered somewhere.

It would cost you more to buy DC at the PO (.80) than the PBS-DC only fee (.27) and its already on the label so its quicker and cheaper to just get the DC here.

I'm wondering why you are using the USPS DC, when PBS DC is less expensive, and a portion of the fee goes to benefit the site.  Not to mention that you are guaranteed your credit when you use PBS DC, and not when you use USPS DC.  (So, the answer to your question regarding proof to TPTB is actually, No.  They typically do not wish to get involved with disputes between members regarding books and credits and generally let the automated system handle these as it is set up to do.  And the system is not set up to recognize USPS DC.)

The number of books that go lost and/or unreceived is actually quite small, not worth the cost justification of ANY type of DC, however for peace of mind and benefits listed above, it is worth it to me to use it every time (it is included with the Preprinted Postage service I always utilize).

Part of the PBS DC goes to support the site.  And it costs less. 

But you can contact PBS with the DC number and ask for them to record the lost book as received.  They will do this for accounts that are not active.  They may do it because the receiver has not responded to your PMs.  This is NOT a service that you should ever expect them to do.  

Jeanne - PBS doesn't grant credit for DC purchased outside of PBS so even if you had bought it at the USPS and it showed as delivered, you wouldn't get the credit if the sender doesn't mark it received. Now, the Team could look into the matter and see if the requestor has a pattern of not marking books received or is inactive.

The good thing of paying DC at PBS is that you get your credit as soon as it's scanned and if you buy PBS postage, as soon as you mark it mailed.

You are making a lot of assumptions there...first, DC is just that, confirmation that the book was delivered "somewhere." It does not mean that the book was delivered to the right person. If you have ever had a book you're supposed to be getting scanned "delivered" but you have no idea where that book is, because you have NOT gotten it, you would understand what I mean.

Second, just because the book doesn't show up on her WL does not mean that "proves" she really did get the book. If PBS put the book back on her WL automatically when it went lost, she may have put it on individual hold, thinking that the book may still make it to her. If she has it on hold, you just cannot see it on her WL.

DC from the PO won't do you any good as a credit guarantee, only PBS DC does that. Plus, as other said, it costs more. I personally don't think DC is necessary as very few books do go lost, but if you are going to use DC, certainly PBS DC is the way to go. As soon as it's scanned anywhere, you get your credit.

Cheryl

I had a book go lost enroute to me that shows it was delivered. I have never seen this book-well not that copy anyway.  So dont' assume that this person is lying and is trying to scam a book out of you. They do go lost once in a while.

To me DC is a waste of money.  Yes it helps support PBS. I chose to donate credits and pay for a BOB membership I don't use to help support the site.   I also donate my time editing listings.   I buy DC through PBS for game books even though Paypal is cheaper to help support the site.  I've sent out over 500 books haven't had a single one go lost.  If I had used DC on all those-I would have spent over $230 just in DC/PBS fees.  I could buy a lot of books and credits for that. So not a financially sound move for me since I have time to go to the post office.

Buying DC from anywhere but PBS just for proof of delivery is a waste of money (unless you are using Paypal postage for the convenience-it's cheaper than using PBS).  The only reason PBS guarantees the credit when you purchase it through them is because of that extra fee they get which covers the cost of the occassional lost book. 

Anyway-don't assume that this person has received the book.  They should respodn to your PMs though. Have you checked to see if their account is on vacation? 

One  benefit of using PBS DC is that the details show up on the requester's Account page so they can see where all it gets scanned along the way.  I have to say that a couple of times a PBS DC book made it to the requesters without ever being scanned anywhere at all.  But that isn't bad out of 226 books.  And they knew I'd bought the DC and its number. I don't think  anyone would pay about $3 for the postage+DC if it wasn't going to be mailed.  I use the PBS postage + DC because I'm basically homebound and can't go to the PO so that this method allows my family members to mail them at a Big Blue Box.  Painless.

Ruth

ETA - if the 200 miles was a situation where the book was trucked to her area instead of being flown (distance makes the difference) then it would make a lot of difference in what happened to the book.  Sometimes sending a book across the nation is faster and better than sending within the same state.  Depends on airports available.  In Texas there aren't airports close enough to many areas if it's being sent from within Texas.  Overnight delivery isn't possible to some places because there isn't an airport within close enough distance.