It would seem that I am getting a tad more books mailed much later than the day the member claims to have mailed the book.  When I mark it late postmark, I have gotten some very nasty PMs.  The last one was rather scathing from a woman who asked me if I thought I was so perfect.  I really hate it.  I am not speaking of a day or two but 5-7 days late with no PM sent to me.  What happens to a member when they continue to mail late?  Is it worth the aggravation to mark it late?  I really dislike it when they get nasty.   ***SIGH***

They are dishing out nasty rather than admit their own error.  The guidelines say 48 hours, the button says "Book HAS BEEN mailed" and I don't see it just now, but there used to be a guideline if mailing more than 10 (?) days late the sender actually had to PM and receive permission before mailing.

I was going to suggest if the senders don't like PBS rules they can trade books elsewhere, but are there any other book trading sites still in operation?  Which kinda prooves the point.

ETA - don't feel guilty or change your ways.  If RL happens, it's really easy to send a quick PM as required.

And keep in mind, that TPTB recently added the RWAP/mailed late option.  So it is not their intention to ignore or sweep these under the carpet for habitual late mailers.

Copy the nasty and send it to PBS.   PBS is rather strict about rude behavior.  And here is the PBS policy, to reassure you.

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.

Priscilla, did you use the RWAP for late mailing, or did you just enter the postmark and mark it received in good condition?

I'm just curious because I'll use the latter option if I notice a late postmark. I've done it many times and never received a PM from the sender, so I'm wondering if that even does anything any more.

I mark it RWAP, received with late postmark.  I have not gotten any PMs from senders when it went over 4 days.  Usually the book shows up a day or two before being declared missing.  I even send a nice PM asking them if they mailed the book out and sometimes I get a reply, but usually it was mailed later than claimed.  Some folks never reply at all and often the book goes missing.  Oh, and after they get the late postmark notice, they PM me and always finish with..."and please do not ever request another book from me in the future."  Like I can tell it is coming from them or even remember them.  Thanks for the help and support everyone.

Are you talking about a postmark on printed postage or a postmark on stamps?  If it is a postmark on stamps, it can be days after they are mailed before they are postmarked.

For example, if I put a book in the blue mailbox on Friday or Saturday, it could easily be Monday before it is collected and postmarked.  I have received packages without postmarks and some that were postmarked locally instead of at the origin.

I don't think I would RWAP for late postmark unless it was on the printed postage.

PVI=Postage Validation Imprinter.

I received a book Friday with a meter strip showing a date of 6/14/1/2.  It was mailed on July 31st.

like Lisa, I usually just mark the late postmark and let PBS deal with the sender's inconsiderateness.  So far, I haven't gotten any nasty PMs doing that.

PVI = commonly referred t as counter postage.

In spells, I've received a number of books with counter postage dated one to 3 weeks after the book was marked mailed.

Diane, what do you think happened with that meter strip?  Was it a private meter, or USPS?

Just received a book that was marked mailed mid-July and had started getting "has this book been received" emails...book had postage strip bought on August 4th. I did enter the postmark date in the received box, but I wouldn't RWAP for this. It did get here before the lost date and the book was in excellent condition. perhaps a gentle reminder from PBS will be enough for the member to be quicker about mailing in the future. I'm not in a hurry to receive books because I've got plenty here, so mailing a little later doesn't hurt me. The only time I was annoyed was one time when a person mailed me a book MONTHS after it had gone lost. At that point i didn't even want it anymore and it ended up being a wasted credit for me. I think a lot of people panic when they get an RWAP. That's why you are getting nasty emails. Not to say that you are wrong for marking them that way, but people do panic when they get that email.

There is a Problem - Late Mailing set up for a reason. I don't think it is a problem to use it.

I thought I have seen that the emails on late mailing (if the received with a Problem isn't used) doesn't go out unless the date entered is at least 8 days late. Anything less is just recorded on their account.

If someone wants to get bitchy about getting the notification, well mail their books on time - problem solved.

Wish I had seen this post earlier, I did not know there was a problem received book late option.  I received a book yesterday that was mark mailed 7/21 and the postmark date was 8/2.  Book was fine and for reference so not a problem, but it is irritating - all I did was point out the date discrepancy and ask if there was a problem, but didn't get a reply.