I requested a book over 2 weeks ago.  The request was accepted and the book was marked mailed on the 23rd.  Since they purchased DC or PBS postage, I can see where it is already.  I had been worried since it hadn't been scanned or arrived yet and books have been coming fairly quickly for me lately.  Tonight however, I noticed that it had finally been scanned for the first time, stating that it had been accepted at the PO that it was being sent from.  I know that if you are going to have to mail late you are supposed to let the recipient know but I'm not sure that this qualifies for that.  Any thoughts?

So the book arrived today, with counter postage dated 8 days after the book marked mailed.  My question now is, this is a keeper book for me and the cover has a spot that looks as though it had something spilled on it that stuck.  Almost like it was stuck to something then pulled apart.  It isn't a noticable stain and I don't have an RC for this as I would feel it was unpostable.  So am I right, is this unpostable? Am I just being picky and need an RC??

This could have been sitting at the bottom of a mail bag, overlooked, or even sitting in the back of a post office. Media mail travels as space available. DC is Delivery Confirmation and many books travel without any scans. Patience is a virtue here at PBS.

It can depend on the size of the post office and the volume of media mail they get. Often smaller POs especially don't send media mail along to the distribution center until their media mail bin is full. That might take a few days. I have sent books (I send all mine with PBS postage and drop them in a blue box) that have gone several days without a scan.

But honestly...even if the person did mail the book late, what are you going to do about it? Unless there is a metered sticker from the post office with the mailed date on it, there isn't any way to 'prove' anything. As long as you get the book before it goes lost, why worry about it? Sure, it would be great if everyone followed all the PBS rules all the time. It would be nice if everyone actually stopped at stop signs and used their turn signals too....but...that's not going to happen either. I try to spend my 'worry' on things that are worth worrying over. Just my opinion.

Cheryl

I have been wondering about this lately myself. It seemed the last couple people to used PBS postage marked the book mailed and then it took forever for it to show up as being accepted at the Post Office. I was sure that they people were marking them mailed but sending them out late. But then it happend to me! I paid my postage, brought the book to the Post Office and handed it to the guy so I know he had it. Then days went by without it showing any movement. 4 days later it is showing two of my books almost to their destitionat and one my books is now just showing being accepted at the post office. So, I think it really does depend on how busy certain post offices are at the time.

Also, it's Delivery Confirmation, not tracking, so it may not be scanned until delivery.

I understand that in this case it was scanned earlier, but I would never rely on a DC to refelct accurate information about when the book was actually mailed, that is not its purpose.

Late mailing, though frustrating, doesn't  have any consequenses as long as the book it get to you by the lost date or if it does go lost you don't get a second copy. Since you know this one is now on the way by the scan you shouldn't get a second copy; so even though they technically broke the mailing rule, there isn't anything that you would do different other than noting a late post mark if it has one when it arrives.

I've had a couple of book not get scanned for a full week, so it does happen.

Although there may be exceptions at some of the very small PO's, for the most part I thought "acceptance" was only noted when purchasing counter postage?  It should therefore be a valid check for late mailing.  IME the 'enroute' scan is used at sorting centers.  All my DC's receive an 'acceptance' scan because I purchase counter postage, but many PBS postage packages only receive 'enroute' scans b/c they are blue boxed.  A few only receive a "delivered" scan.

As Melanie mentions, this rule is not enforced unless the book goes lost and you receive a second copy.  BUT remember many areas are fighting bad weather, and if the sender was having difficulty getting out to mail your book she should have pm'd but sometimes they don't think of it.  I had a member pm me last winter that due to extreme weather she was having difficulty getting to the PO, I suggested she mark the book mailed before the transaction was cancelled and just mail when it was safe to go out (per PBS IIRC).  A few days later she pm'd the book was in the mail, and it then arrived in a timely manner.  When the sender follows PBS guidelines for these situations, it's much easier for the receiver to understand the situation and practice patience.  Otherwise senders can look uncaring and sloppy and it's easy for receivers to become cranky.

DO wait until the book arrives, and carefully inspect the mailing information.  If the book was truely mailed late, note it on the log-in page (use the comment section to note the type of postage used and why you feel it was mailed late).  Unless the sending member has a history of mailing late, not much will be done at this point.

Although there may be exceptions at some of the very small PO's, for the most part I thought "acceptance" was only noted when purchasing counter postage?  It should therefore be a valid check for late mailing.

My books from the blue box get acceptance scans more than half the time, when I use paypal or PBS DC.  I live in a smallish town, but its no means tiny or rural at all, so I'm not sure its a good check for late mailing, at least in my experience.  Sometimes they would get acceptance scans even when I was in the actual city (Philadelphia).

Also, with all of the storms, if the book was put in a blue box, there might not have been pick up if the carrier couldn't get to it.  With the snow piles, we haven't been getting mail everyday, and I'm sure the Blue Box down the block is not getting emptied every day either.

I mailed a book to AK on 1-15 and I am still waiting for it to arrive. I worry just as much when they are being sent as when I am waiting for them to arrive. Maybe more. I don't want people to wonder if I mailed on time.

Thanks Karen, can learn something new every day around here    If 'acceptance' means the sender used counter postage, the sticker date will be the most accurate mailing date option.  Otherwise the requester can look for other mailing clues.  But yes, with so many severe weather problems nationwide, extra patience is required.

Fara, for books traveling to and from Alaska & Hawaii, senders report average mail times of 21-28 days.  Some are shorter, and a number seem to arrive the week after the PBS system marks them late.  Members living in those states are well aware of the mail times, and probably don't think you fibbed the mail date.

I just had a book go lost that was sent with PBS postage. It was coming from California to TN (reverse Beverly Hillbillies?). The little mail truck is stuck up in Canada and never moved. I have another book that's coming, that shows the progress. Don't know what's up with that.

Obviously, the person sent the book. I've never had one go lost before, I don't think. The system gave me my credit back and put the book on my wishlist. I put it on hold. I figure, surely, the book will come eventually, and I'm in no particular hurry.

The person sending doesn't have a profile. I wish they did. Somehow a profile always makes me feel better... more trusting.

They're probably wondering if I got the book and I'm just not marking it received. Why do I feel guilt about this situation??

another discussion covered this recently too---   I have only used DC 3 times (all in past month) and always take my books to PO and buy postage there-- they were all immediately scanned so I think it has something to do with using PBS postage/DC.

Glenda, don't take that little guy in the mail truck seriously -- he frequently takes a "Martini lunch" and drives around in the Atlantic or out to Hawaii.  He's there to entertain, not give accurate tracking data. ;-)

for the most part I thought "acceptance" was only noted when purchasing counter postage?

I never buy counter postage, I always either mail from home or drop it in a blue box and mine always get an acceptance scan.  Sometimes really fast and there have been times it was scanned accepted a week after I mailed it.

You can't depend on the scans.  There are times that even the "delivered" scan is wrong.  My PO scans delivered a day or two before they actually deliver it.

Please see the original post for update! TIA!!!

Hey Becki!  The rules in the Help Center state that NO stains are allowed, so if there is a stain on the cover, I would interpret that to be unpostable.  When you say that it looks like something stuck and was pulled apart- do you  mean that some of the cover came off?  Or is there residue left?  I would think that either way it is unpostable.  A stain is a stain, and according to the rules, if it's stained it is unpostable.  I would mark it RWAP, and make sure that when you fill out the questionnaire, you do put in the date it was mailed.  I would also use the comment box to note that the book was mailed 8 days after the date it was marked received, AND that the book was RWAP due to a stain on the cover.  Furthermore, I would recommend that you request your credit back from the sender (don't mention the fact that it was mailed late) and explain that you wanted the book for your keeper shelf, it is unpostable according to the site rules because of the stain, and you will have to order another copy so would like your credit back to do so.  You can offer to send the stained book back to them if they want to give you an additional credit for postage.

Good luck!

question now is, this is a keeper book for me and the cover has a spot that looks as though it had something spilled on it that stuck.  Almost like it was stuck to something then pulled apart.

Is it a stain or something stuck to the book? If it is something that is just stuck and can be scraped off or wiped off with a damp cloth without damaging the book, I would not call it a stain. If it is a stain that cannot be removed, mark it  RWAP and describe the damage. I myself don't explain what I am doing with the book I just say the book was unpostable and ask for my credit back so that I might re-order the book to get a postable copy.

Ok..first I would see if the residue will come off- just try a damp cloth to remove it.  Second, cover tears under 1" are allowed, so where the top layer of the cover was pulled off, that might be ok if it is under 1".  If it is under 1", then you can't use that alone to mark it RWAP, so I would focus on the stain.  If it can't be removed, or if it leaves a stain once you do remove the residue, then that would be a RWAP.

I personally would not consider a quarter sized pealing of the surface of a book cover unpostable. IMO unles there is still residue of something staining the book, it would be no different than the cover pealing when a price tag was pulled off and that's postable. 

Is it possible to take a picture of it post it? You'd need to load the pic to the web somewhere first. It really is hard for anyone without the book to determine whether it is postable or not.  It sounds like the book is a disappointment to receive and many of us wouldn't send one that we wouldn't like to receive, but that doesn't always translate to an unpostable book.

I have never heard that a Post Office kept their media mail around.  That is actually against regulations.  I worked for years at the Post Office and you cannot knowingly delay mail, any class.  That is a firing offense although they don't usually fire anyone.

Sounds to me like she mailed it late maybe due to the weather or she forgot it.  I go by the postmark and if it was at the office of mailing, they did right by postmarking that "stale" postage with the date of acceptance. 

As for the stain, I would need to see it to make a judgement. 

Well, if any part of it is ripped off, I consider that a tear.  Per the site rules, I would measure it, and if it is less than 1x1 inch, I'd let it go (assuming there is no addiitonal staining).  If it's more than that, I'd RWAP.  The site rules clearly state that tears up to 1 inch are OK, beyond that they are a problem.