The DC says a book I mailed was received 12 days ago, but the person it was sent to hasn't marked it as received. What's the proper etiquette here? Should I PM them and see if they really have received it?

• 7/6/2010 8:55 AM - Electronic Shipping Info Received - sender's address
• 7/6/2010 1:50 PM - Acceptance - sender's address
• 7/11/2010 1:40 AM - Enroute - layover
• 7/12/2010 6:51 AM - Arrival at Unit - receiver's address
• 7/12/2010 2:46 PM - Delivered - receiver's address

Off hand, I would say they are on vacation......How much time is left before the book goes "lost". just before that time, drop the person a line to do a "just checking" PM.

Leah - If a book I mailed shows as delivered but hasn't been marked mailed in a week, I send a polite PM asking if they have received the book. I've done it several times and a few times a person forgot to mark it received, another they were on vacation as Sue said and another time they had a PO Box that they only checked once a week.

Of course, it also may be that the book was misdelivered and they actually haven't received it...but let's not hope for the worse. Hopefully once you contact them the requestor can mark it received promptly. :)

It means it was delivered someplace.....neighbors house......across town...next block over...you know, someplace!

I once asked at my Post Office why I had not yet seen a package that showed as having been placed in my P. O. box two days earlier - the supervisor found it later that day in a "to be delivered" bin.

I was on the other end of a similiar situation--a book a person had mailed to me showed that it had been delivered to me on the 12th.  I had left town for vacation on the 11th and didn't get home until the 22nd.  The sender PM'ed me to see if I had gotten it.  When I got home I marked it received.  Given the time of year, I would think it's very likely that the other person is on vacation and that's why s/he has not marked the book received.

Yes, send a PM -- "hope it arrived okay" works.  If you don't hear back in a week, you can go to the bottom right corner of any page, and under "company", click on "contact us."  Use the feedback option to let the Admin Team know that you haven't heard back in a week, and they'll look into it for you.

If that delivery info is from using PBS delivery confirmation or PBS postage, then of course you already received the credit for the book, but it's still good to have it marked received.

thanks! vacation wasn't even something I considered, but it seems like an obvious possibility now.

The date of system action is 8/3/10... so I think I'll give it a few more days and then PM.

I did use PBS delivery confirmation, so I have received my credit, but I'm less concerned about that and more worried that she hasn't gotten a book she was looking forward to.

thanks again for the advice everyone :)

I, too, send a polite e-mail after a week.  I ha ve never had anyone react negatively.  The books are mostly marked as received within a day.  Occasionally someone PM's me  back thanking me for the reminder.  I appreciate it when people do that with me.  I have occasionally forgotten to mark a book as received and was very grateful when the sender reminded me.

one i noticed a book was suppolsey deiver according to the dc  said left note

i pm the person he nveer got the note he checked his local post office and he had a ton of stufff waing for him at the post office

turns it was sub letter carrier  who didnt know what do with the bookks

I am on the other side of this - I am out of town and books I had wishlisted show as delivered to my house, for two of them I went ahead and checked them received but I know that is  a gamble.  My account is on vacation hold so hopefully people we see that if the look as to why I haven't marked them yet.

I am on the other end of this as well. A book I order says it was delivered on the 15th, I've talked to the PO and the mailman. My mailman said he did delivered it. Now the day he said he did, he handed me my mail as I was outside. The PO basically told me it was lost and they don't have it. I'm still hoping it will show but I'm not holding my breath.

I have been on both ends of this scenario as well...personally, I think sometimes the DC is more trouble than it's worth. I send all my books with PBS postage but if I could do that without the DC, I would. (I use it for convenience, not for any credit assurance or anything.) I very rarely even look at that DC information. When the book gets here, it gets here...or when it gets there, it gets there...and there is rarely a problem. But that is a hard-won patience that comes from almost 5 years as a PBS member and sending and receiving hundreds and hundreds of books. LOL

DC seems to cause a lot of fuss and worry--if you look at the number of posts here in the forums from people who've sent a book with DC saying, "It SAYS delivered, why haven't they marked it received??" you will find a lot of them. This feature does nothing to help people develop their patience, that's for sure! LOL As others have pointed out, the reasons are many and varied why someone may not have marked it received. I would personally wait until a few days before the book is due to go lost and then send a polite PM. Hopefully they just forgot.

Cheryl

I agree that a polite PM is never a bad thing.  But then I am the type that will be leaving the house, see the mailman, see that I got a book - and I will go back in the house the mark it received (after opening it).  I don't really understand how people go weeks and forget - but everyone is different.

+1 to Margaret. When I see the mailman come I go check. If there is a book I will open it check it over and make sure it isn't going to be a RWAP, then I will mark it received. I have 4 books right now that I sent almost 3 weeks ago, which I'm pretty sure have made it where they are going (one is in state) yet they still aren't marked so. I really don't start worring until it's about to go lost.

In my case that I said above, my mailman said he delievered it which I know he didn't. So it's just plain lost and now I wait for it to go lost with the system.

I recently had a book that showed it was delivered  to the sender on July 1, but a couple of weeks went by and they never marked it received.  I sent a polite PM inquiring as to whether or not they had received the book, but I never heard back from them.  The date of system action was July 26 and  after this point I noticed it was finally moved to my transaction archive instead of just under 'Books I've Mailed".  I assume PBS did this themselves.  I don't know if the receiver has been out of town this whole time and unable to mark anything received or if they just didn't know they should mark it.  Anyway, I sure was glad to finally see it off that books I've mailed list!