The sender didn't use DC or printable postage. How the heck can it be mailed in the middle of the night?  I'm in the central time zone, so it's well after business hours no matter where the sender is....

This probably doesn't mean they actually mailed it in the middle of the night. More than likely they are mailing it in the morning and don't want to forget to mark it mailed. A lot of people do this while there are people who will only mark the book as mailed after they see the mailman pick it up or actually mail it at the post office themselves. It's all about what makes it easier for the sender to make sure it is marked mailed.

My husband used to work nights, so I would give him books to be dropped in the blue box in front of his work. I would mark the books mailed when they left my house at 10:40 pm.

Cheryl

When you mark a book mailed, it doesn't mean you just did it that second -- It means you mailed it and now you are back at your computer, marking it mailed.

Actually, you can mark it mailed before you mail it too.  I have a book to mail today.  I just marked it mailed a couple of minutes ago and will drop it in a blue box sometime before 3:30pm today so it gets picked up today.

I've also put stamps on a book, put in my mail box in the evening and marked it mailed before.

Also they could have used paypal postage. 

And I think in some big cities there are 24hr post offices.

I'll do that sometimes if I know I"m going to stick it in the box the next day and won't have the ability to get to a computer and mark it mailed. 

My experience suggests there actually is a good sign - when another trader responds/prints so promptly I find I often see that book lickety split.    I do understand your wonder at it - I certainly would not be mailing anything in the middle of the night Sunday - but as other posters have pointed out there are lots of plausible scenarios all within the rules. 

Good luck!

They could  have also mailed it at their regular time, morning, afternoon or evening and was busy and didn't get a chance to mark it mailed here on PBS until that time of the night. 

I don't mark mine mailed until I know they have been picked up, We received our income refund Friday in our checking account.  Hubby and I went to the mall (half an hour drive away) and did some shopping, taking breaks for me to sit for a while, came home, grabbed our son and went out to eat. 

By the time we returned home, it was after 8 pm.  If I had mailed a book before I left, it would be way after the normal time when I marked it. 

Found the cutest doll, an Asian girl (little kid) in blue dress with flowers decorating it, and she is holding a panda bear.  We get our daughter a doll every Christmas. 

Janette 

I mail in the middle of the night all the time. Stamps, PBS postage, APC stamp on the book - stop at the PO on the way home from work and toss it in the bin - mark it mailed when I get home. Just because there isn't a person at the PO doesn't mean someone can't mail something.

I mark mailed in the middle of the night pretty much always.

I'm on the West Coast, too, so I think, if it occurred to people to look at the time mailed, they would frequently see their book mailed at 2 or 3 AM. Which is, of course, only 11 or 12 my time.

Anyway, I always wrap the night before, and mark my books mailed, before I mail them the next morning.

Another possibility is that they are mailing from an APO or Hawaii so it might not be the middle of the night for them.

I sometimes use stamps and put them in the blue box at all times of the day and night.  Even on Sundays.  I never thought of it before, but I bet it does look strange when I mark a book mailed at midnight on a Sunday.

well i first set my postage to printed for monday morning yet

i mailed my book (or rather DVD in case) on Sunday morning,. at  a blue collection box near my post office

(i did that knowing i woulldnt be near my zip code come monday morning)

and then i maked mailled because its no longr in my hands

I marked a book mailed a couple days ago at night, because I had a wedding to attend and the reception was at my house, so I couldn't just hop on the computer to mark it mailed.  It's when the member marks that they mailed it, not necessarily the second it was mailed out. 

I don't think business hours are relevant. If I pop a book in the mailbox at 6pm on a Saturday I consider it mailed then, not on Monday. Once I've deposited it in the mail and it's out of my hands, it's been mailed. PBS doesn't expect us to post the exact time the post office starts to handle the book - that would be impossible to know, anyway, unless you waited in line to post the book, which I don't do.

Big cities have 24 hour mailing?  I live in the suburbs of a major west coast city, we don't have 24 hour USPS service.  The closest I've heard is the main branch downtown stays open a couple extra hours on April 15th, tax day.  Blue box would be the only other 24 hour option.

We have a APC that is 24 hours.  The lobby is open 24/7. 

"We have a APC that is 24 hours.  The lobby is open 24/7".  We also have that option in some locations Emily, but like a regular blue box (and lobby stamp machines) I wouldn't consisder that 24 hour mailing service.  OTOH maybe it just means I've been living in the city too long lol!

I for one put no credence in the automated time stamps I see anywhere on line.  My Yahoo email account says messages were sent to me or from me at times that I know simply are not right - like in the future even in another time zone.  I wouldn't fret about it, it's a waste of stress.

We've got at 24 hour post office at the airport about 20 min from me. I actually did mail a PBS book at 11pm one night when I was there to pick up my SO.

We have one in Atlanta, too.

Here is a discussion about others that are also open 24 hours a day:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/297198-24-hour-post-offices.html

I just got done marking books mailed that are still sitting right here. I use Paypal, and the postage is all paid for, the wrapping expense has been used, so I've got an investment in the books, therefore in my mind, it's ok to mark them mailed now, even tho they won't actually reach the PO until the morning about 7:00AM.

I always mark my books mailed before I go to the post office. Once I get back home I usually forget to get on here for a few hours so I don't want to forget.

I mail my books in the evenings all the time. In fact, apart from mailing books on the weekend, I ALWAYS mail my books at night because of my schedule. All of our post offices have unlocked doors 24/7 and I can go in and buy postage from the machine and put my mail in the box.

In the past I used to purchase postage online, and then walk my books down to the blue box next to my apartment. I'd usually do that in the evenings or late at night after work.

Why is it such a big deal that they're mailing things in the middle of the night? I'd be happy that a member is so on top of things! At least they'r enot waiting until the book nearly times out before marking it mailed.