When someone takes the trouble to send me a book, I mark it received as soon as I can.   Lately, when I send a book, sometimes its days or more, before the receiver marks it.   I realize that I get my credit instantly when I buy the PBS postage.   But the book stays in my "books I've mailed" tray forever.    Anybody else obsess over this?

I noticed this lately too. I always mark mine as I am opening them. I have one in my mailed that DC says was rec'd on the 6th and another on the 7th. I am trying to be patient, but I hate the clutter on that screen. Guess they must all be out holiday shopping and to busy.

:-)  I feel your pain. 

Some people only have computer access once or twice a week, so if the book arrives the day after their on-line day, it could take a while.  And then we have an amazing # of folks who are enduring electricity outages right now because of the ice storms. 

I generally just tell myself that the person's computer is on the fritz and he is suffering terrible internet withdrawal, poor thing.  It calms me down.  Chamomile tea is nice too.  Or chocolate.  Chocolate can cure most of what ails me.

ETA: And of course when the DC says it has arrived, that generally means it has arrived at the last Post Office.  It doesn't mean it got to the right address yet.  Back when we had a string of substitute mail carriers, my mail would often end up two streets over, at the same street number.  Sigh.  No problem now, though, with my wonderful new carrier who has taken on our very long route.

I generally mark books received the day i receive them. It might not be till later at night, but it is the same day. There was once I realized a week after I got the book, I got it. Don't know where my head was!

I open my packages as I'm sitting at the computer and mark each one as received right after I open it.

How do you know it's been received?  Just because the post office has it marked as delivered doesn't mean it's gotten to the requestor yet. Also some people don't log on every day. Or they may be looking the book over carefully before they mark it received. I've started examing the books I get more carefully before marking them. I received 2 WL books and didn't notice they were really unpostable until after I had marked them received. There were still people on WL for them too.  So now I take my time and check them carefully. Also media mail can take 2 or 3 weeks to be delivered.

I mark as soon as I can, in the evening after I've opened the mail.  I have 3 that are about to be "lost"--all hardcover--to one person.  I've PMd the person, and the books haven't shown up yet. 

I once forgot to mark one mailed (don't know why).  I was going over my transaction archive (I had done a 2fer deal, and needed to buddy a credit to the recipient).  A book I had ordered for my neice had a big red X over it.  I asked her if she had the book, and she said yes.  So, a good 6 months later, I marked it received, and sent a PM to the sender.  I felt so bad.

I mark mind received as soon as i get them out of the mail box.  i open them and check them out then mark received.

I mark mine right after I open them to make sure they are as requested. 

I open them immediately and check them thoroughly before I mark them, but I mark them as soon as I get them - I can't stand waiting to mark them.  I love opening the packages and letting the sender know I got them so they can get their credit.

I mark them right away.  Why wait?

I mark them immediately.  I just open the package, do a quick flip through inspection, and mark it recieved.  If I waited, I'd probably forget, what with having other things going on.

I have had one not marked as recieved after the DC confirmed delivery too.  She didn't answer my PM either, although she was on line to post books and post in the forum. 

I usually don't get the mail until I go out to walk the dog at midnight. I don't open it until the next after noon and then I mark them received the next time I sit down at the computer.  I am a little slow.......

I hate making people wait, but sometimes I have to for a few days. Reason being because I have the books shipped to my parents house. I live in an apartment and am not sure they would get to me here the right way with the P.O. Box. So unless I talk to my parents or during the weekly visit, I don't know that they've arrived.

As Mary said, sometimes the PO will mark it received when it reaches that PO, not when it is delivered to that address. They have been known to wait another week to 10 days before actually delivering the pkg to the house.

Also, it may well have been delivered, but WHERE was it delivered? To the house with the transposed numbers from the house it was supposed to go to? Remember, it only says delivered. And LOTS of postal carriers are new or subs that don't care.

They also might be out of town for a couple days, or even sick or in the hospital, and relying on someone else to take care of things. Or maybe worse, a tragedy, and someone passed away? Marking that book immediately is the last thing on their mind! A member just recently went to have her baby instead of taking care of PBS mattes  ;)

And sometimes the packaging is better than usual and I have to wait until DH can open it for me, and last night he was busy, and didn't get to it until tonigh hahahaha  So, they might have a reason, or it might not be their fault. Sometimes you just have to wait a little more than others.

Before we all run to our transactions archive to mark books received there, take a look at the help doc called "Why are there canceled/lost books in my Transaction Archive that I know were sent/received?"

link

I currently have an active transaction for a children's book I just mailed, and just noticed that there's a cancelled transaction for the same book in my archive.  I checked and realized that the cancelled transaction is from the same person to whom I'm mailing my book!  I'll admit I did a major doubletake, but I checked the info in the transaction details, and realized she had ordered the book, then cancelled the order, then ordered it again a few minutes later.  (The times are all listed.)

So say she marks the book received normally, and then a few months down the road, while sipping her double latte, she's looking through her archive, sees the cancelled transaction and shouts, "OMG, I received that book months ago and never marked it received!  It was a brilliant book, and my dear child loved it!  I am a bad, bad person!"  Then, pounding her chest with her dainty fist, she marks the cancelled transaction "received" from the archive.  Well, she has just given me a second credit for the book, and I probably won't even notice it to correct it.  

And the moral of the story is: "He who enters into the archive after too much caffein, will surely give credit to others."

I always mark mine as received as soon as I get them,if I don't ,I'll forget.Right now I have several books that I have mailed out marked as delivered,they have been that way for about a week.Luckily I already have the credits but what if I was sitting here waiting for those credits? I would be out 4 or 5 credits.One of those books says they tried to deliver  but they left a notice,they did that 2 times,so now there is a book at the post office that nobody will pick up.What happens if that book doesn't get picked up?Will it be returned to me? Will I have to pay return postage?

I usually go right from the mailbox, to the kitchen drawer for scissors to remove the tape (carefully).  I've noticed the more tape on the package, the better condition of the book.  Then - right to the computer to receive it.  I enjoy letting the other person know I received their book and - in exchange - they can get another!!

I also mark mine received as soon as I open the package and check the book out for problems. I have noticed recently that many books sent to me with the PBS DC are listed as "delivered" DAYS before I actually get the package--so don't be too impatient or blame the recipient...it's likely the USPS's fault and not theirs in most cases. And as Sherry pointed out, when it's marked "delivered" there is no guarantee whatsoever that it was delivered to the RIGHT address or person, just that it was delivered 'somewhere.' I have had books delivered by a substitute mailman to a neighbor instead of me, and they were marked as delivered...but if that neighbor hadn't been honest enough to bring me the books, I would never have received them regardless of what the delivery confirmation information said!

Cheryl

I always mark mine received the day the get here, after a thorough inspection.  There are times however that I'm out of town.  I used to have my husband mark them, but he doesn't always know if it comes in postable condition, or if it meets my RC's, so he doesn't do that for me anymore, just tells me they arrived.  I will however, PM the sender to say that the book arrived, I'm out of town, and as soon as I return home on X day I will mark it received.  That way they're not wondering.

However, at this time of year, between the mail delays, and the weather across the country, and all the other distractions, I wouldn't even consider wondering why my books haven't been marked received.  I understand the anxiousness.  We all want a completed transaction, just saying, I would let it go, this month, of any.

Patty: I got a great chuckle out of your little story "pounding her chest with her dainty fist"-like out of an epic romance novel.

I normally open all my mail and then go to the computer to mark everything received.  Sometimes I forget and don't mark books received for a few days, but I never let anything time out.