i received a wishlist book in the mail today that the sender marked as mailed on the 29th of August. The Postage label from the post office says that this book was actually mailed on the 15th of September. is there a way to mark this as a problem? I mean they marked the book mailed on the 29th of August and then didn't mail until this past Monday. i got no pm from this member letting me know that there would be a delay in mailing. so what can i do? this book was due to go lost on Monday the 22nd according to the system. i mean i know there was a holiday weekend right after the date marked mailed but that still doesn't excuse waiting 2 more full weeks to take it to the post office and mailing it.  i mean according to my calculations this member took 17 days to mail this book with no communication to me letting me know that they would be doing so. would you mark it mail with a problem for late post mark can you even do that? what are my options for this transaction?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. thanks for looking.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/search.php?terms=book+mailed+late

For me, personally: if the book was in PBS postable condition, etc., I'd just mark it as suggested by the help document. This may just have been a one-off situation, but if the member has a history of doing this you're helping weed out the problem members.

I'd write to the sender and ask for an explanation first.

Yes, mark it received with a problem (RWAP).  Go to the Help Center link book mailed late and click on "My requested book arrived with a late postmark!", then follow the directions.

The only way she would have gotten instant credit would be if she used PBS postage on the printed wrapper. The postage date on the wrapper would be August 29th. How would there be a postage stamp from the Post Office dated September 15th? Are you sure this book is from the same sender?

She didn't say the sender had used PBS postage. She said the sender had marked it mailed on 8/29.   But even if they did use PBS postage printed on 8/29 then the post office would have "refreshed" the "stale" postmark by postmarking it with the current date.

I have a similar situation right now.  I have started receiving the automated emails asking if I received the book. The request does not have the indicator on it that she used e-DC or PBS postage so I PMd her to ask if she took it to the post office to mail it or if she used stamps. I requested her tracking # or PID# from her receipt if she went to the post office. I thought I could look into it and see if I could get it moving again. I haven't gotten any response to my PM yet. So now I'm wondering when (or if) it got mailed.

The original post mentioned instant credit.

Yes RWAP.  Sender is not supposed to send that late without notifying you and receiving confirmation that you still want the book.

The original post does not mention instant credit nor that the sender used PBS postage. It says only that the sender marked the book mailed on 8/29 and that the post office sticker on the package is dated 9/15. The book should be marked RWAP noting the date that the sender marked it mailed and the date printed on the post offices sticker.

The original has been edited once.  I sort of remember it mentioning Instant Credit, as well.  IFIRC, the OP said something about being annoyed because the sender received instant credit as soon as the book was marked mailed, but it was actually mailed much later.

Thank you, Debbie, that helps to clarify the posts in this thread. I did not see the original post before it was edited.

I am sorry I noticed a few spelling errors in my orginal post so I went in to correct them. while I had the screen up I got distracted by the phone ringing. I got up to get the phone came back and the screen was empty. and my darling orange cat sleeping on my keyboard. I think he hit something because my whole post was gone. I had to retype it from memory. if I missed something that was in the original post I apologize.

There is going to either be a post office postage sticker with a late mailing date, or PBS postage earning them the instant credit that has the original date on it. Rarely is there both. Did they get a zero strip? If they used PBS tracking without PBS postage, that will be quick credit and they would have only gotten the credit when the book was scanned by the PO.

Logging a book in shouldn't be an emotional thing and it isn't "mean". Its a recording of the transaction correctly. If there is a post office applied date stamp on the book that shows the book was mailed late, then there is a late mailing option that you select and put in the date. Life happens, people mail books late on occasion. The system isn't going to penalize them if its not a habit.

A late postmark should be noted when marking a book received but, as Melanie said, life happens and people do mail books late on occasion. The system is forgiving and understanding about unusual circumstances that result in late mailing and won't penalize members unless late mailing becomes a habit or pattern.

There comes a time/date that TPTB require a late sender to contact the requester prior to mailing late.  From Help Documents:  "...If you marked the book mailed but did not mail it and you want to mail it late (more than 4 days after the date you marked it as mailed),  you MUST contact the requestor using the PM button on the transaction, to be sure that the requestor still wants the book. ..."

I personally wouldn't worry about it. I care more about the condition of the book. I can't get too upset if someone wants to wait to save the gas and mail it when they go out anyways.

True Jane, but there's waiting a few days and waiting 3 or 4 weeks.

Mark it down. If it is a one time thing, then it will not count against the member. PBS only cares if it is a repeated pattern. They can only tell that if we record the date. Either in the RWAP form or in the box.

How you record it is up to you. Just record it.

definitely I would RWAP it.  esp if they did get instant credit when they really did not mail it.  that's like cheating the system.  and not fair to the requestor.

Here's my feeling about this: I am receiving books for free, that people are sending me out of the goodness of their hearts. Everyone is busy. If I receive a book for free from someone at PBS, I mark it received, regardless of when it was sent.

I appreciate the effort and expense that you all go through to send each and every book.

Sure, sometimes it takes longer to receive a book. But if I need a book immediately, I'll go to a brick and mortar store and buy it, leaving with it in my hands. From strangers on the internet whom I am not paying, I'm willing to give a little leeway.

Lynne , I totally feel the same as you.  and would only RWAP if something is wrong with the book.