I use the one page postage printout for all of my labels. Just recently I used PBS postage with DC. I noticed the "receipt" box with the member's address did not include the tracking number the way it has in the past. I have one book on it's way to me that's showing it has arrived on the map but, I haven't received it. I would like to have the numbers available to check them directly. But if the sender didn't make the effort to write the numbers down from the label, they won't have that information. Why did PBS stop including the numbers on the receipt for reference?

And what is this about 9452 (Media) numbers not being trackable on usps.com now? We pay for the media mail DC and get DC free when we ship First class using online postage. First class is trackable but not media? This doesn't make sense. I noticed with online postage they stopped including the zipcode as the second set of numbers.

Why fix something if it isn't broken? I think the tracking map is "neat" but not 100% accurate or useful.

This page discusses what is trackable where:

I think the tracking map is "neat" but not 100% accurate or useful.

The tracking map is meant to be entertainment. It is not and never has been accurate.

The map is only accurate where you see "points" on the map where scans happened. So, the line will zig zag to show scan locations. But in between scans, the system just calculates how long the book "should" take to get somewhere and moves an appropriate distance each day. Like, if it normally takes 5 days from Chicago to LA, and the book is scanned in Chicago, then every day , the truck moves 1/5 of the distance between Chicago and LA, until and if a scan is registered, in which case, the truck "snaps" to the scan location.

But unless you have a scan, the truck is just "making it up".

If you click on the truck, it honks. That's the entertainment.

Thanks Sara. That clears things up about the truck making things up. Lol.

Thanks Patty. I'll go to that link.

If you use Paypal postage I think DC is free for First class and  .19 for media. The answer to my question of why doesn't PBS put the tracking numbers on the receipt is because you can't track with the numbers anyway. I'd rather pay 19 cents and have a fully functional tracking number.

Why would you need a tracking number for a book you sent using PBS DC? You get the credit when it is scanned at the post office...

why doesn't PBS put the tracking numbers on the receipt is because you can't track with the numbers anyway.

You can always track the PBS DCs in the PBS system. Any scans that would have shown up on USPS.com will be on PBS in the Details attached to the transaction. Maybe they no longer include them because if you have to come to PBS to track them, you can just link off of the transaction anyway, IDK, seems a little redundant to print them out when they are always right here anyway to me.

The fully functioning tracking number may seem important, but it is the credit assurance that comes with the PBS generated number that I like. 

You can buy your postage elsewhere, but PBS will not honor the DC if the receiver doesn't mark it received, even if the DC shows the book was delivered.  

You can always go to http://www.paperbackswap.com/track to get your package information for the special DC#s.

 It's embarrassing that I had never clicked on the details button. Had I done that previously this whole discussion might have been avoided. But I learned a lot. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the information gathered in this thread.

I will most likely go with PBS postage from now on. I avoid using the P.O.. The last few times I tried to purchase postage, they attempted to overcharge me. One time, because of some bizarre weighing error. Usually clerks will have some clue how much something weighs by the feel. If something doesn't look right with what the computer is coming up with, they know. The clerk tried to argue with me that the item was weighed correctly. She was trying to charge me $5 for a package that weighed under a pound. Eventually another clerk came over and caught the error.  I know exactly how much I will be paying, because I weigh everything beforehand. I feel sorry for the people who just take a clerks word for it. 

I have a mailbox at a UPS store and it's closer to my house than the P.O. They offer usps mailing as a service to their customers. They don't make any money on it (if the postage is calculated correctly.) One time they tried to charge me over 9 dollars to mail a two pound package via media mail. I said: "No thank you."

With PBS postage I can take care of it at home and not have to face the battle zone of postage incompetence I have encountered since moving to FL.

Better to ask a question and learn, then stay quiet and never know :)  I am sure others who read it without responding might have learned something also.

Question-  I use pbs dc all the time, but not postage.  Should I still be charged the 19 cents at the post office?  Also with custom it says

Please Visit Post Office
For Correct Postage
Delivery Confirmation $0.00

but I am still charged the 19 cents.

Question-  I use pbs dc all the time, but not postage.  Should I still be charged the 19 cents at the post office?  Also with custom it says

If you print postage, DC is included free.

If you print DC only, the DC is free if your book is mailing first class. If you are mailing media mail, it's 19 cents.

So, the answer for you is, it depends.

On the PBS DC on Media Mail, I may be wrong here, but I'm getting charged $.27 by PBS to use this feature, as I don't use PBS Postage.  Then the PO charges me $.19 additionally for a total of $.46, which is still less than PO DC (which I think is about $.80, but am not sure).  It seems if you send a book with PBS DC and it goes 1st Class, the PO doesn't charge the additional $.19.  At least that's the way it works at my PO.  Pat