So I've been a member for over a year, but am using PBS printable postage with DC for the first time.  Now, I've used DC at the USPS a number of times, so I'm confused by what printed out.  My books are going media mail, and weigh between one and two pounds, so the postage rate is $2.77.  And I'm getting DC, which is usually $.80.  But the postage on the printout reads $2.96, and includes the DC number.  So did I pay for DC and it's not reflected on the printout, or is the package going to arrive postage due?  And what's the other $.19 for?  I'm totally baffled....

The DC is cheaper when you get it from PBS.  The PO gets .19, PBS gets a fee that they share with Endicia which is the online postage company.  So it will only arrive postage due if the weight of the book was wrong in PBS.

If you just print DC through PBS and add your own postage you have to add the .19.

Paying for DC through the post office for PBS books is a waste of money.  PBS will not honor the DC bought somewhere else. They only honor it purchased through PBS because that extra fee they collect helps pay for the credit refunds as well as the fee to Endicia.

Any online DC is going to be only .19 as opposed to .80 from the PO.  When you use the PBS printable postage, there are actually 3 different fees:

1) the actual postage, based on weight--this is the same as you'd pay if you brought the book to the PO to be weighed and had a metered sticker on it.

2) the DC fee, which is .19

3) The PBS fee, which is .43 for the full printable postage. That is the 'credit assurance' fee--when you mark the book mailed, you will instantly get your credit, regardless of whether the book ever gets scanned or arrives where it is supposed to go.

The DC fee and the PBS fee is a per-transaction thing, so you could send a package of four books and while the amount of actual postage would change, the .19 and .43 fee would stay the same as for a one-book package.

Cheryl

Thanks, this all makes sense.  I am used to what the PO does, so was baffled by what my total printed out to be.  Now that my local PO is closed "temporarily" for an undisclosed period of time, I may be making more use of printable postage!