I mailed a cd audio book and it was delivered on July 7th,. They have not marked it received or answered pm. I did get instant credit for it but what happens if they never mark it.

If they don't mark it, it will go lost in the mail.  The person will get their credit(s) back, but you keep yours because you used site DC.  Since it's a CD, they may want to actually listen to it before marking it received.  Here's some infor from the Help docs in case it does go lost:

If a book you sent is declared Lost in the Mail at PBS:

• First, contact the requestor (using the PM button on the "lost" transaction in your Transaction Archive) to confirm that the book was not received.

  • Sometimes the requestor just forgot to mark it received
  • Sometimes the requestor was away from home when the book arrived
  • If you don't hear back from the requestor within a week of sending a PM asking about the book, you should contact us to look into the situation.
  • You can contact the requestor using the PM button on the "lost" transaction in your transaction archive.

• If the requestor confirms that the book was not received:

  • As the sender, you should call 800-ASK-USPS or go to http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MLNtRcvd.aspx (the Postal Inspection Service's website) and input the information online there . This will help USPS try to recover your book if it truly has been lost in the mail.If the link above does not work, here are directions to find the proper page: go to the website www.postalinspectors.uspis.gov or https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/ and then select "Investigations > Mail Theft > File a Mail Theft Complaint" from the menus.
    • This form at USPS is titled "Mail Theft"
    • This does  not mean only theft of mail.  USPS categorizes any mail that does not arrive or that is tampered with as "mail theft".
    • The choice that should be made under "Class" if Media Mail was used is "Parcel Post"
  • You can get the information about the transaction from the Transaction Archive:
    • Click "Transaction Archive" in the menu under My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site
    • Click the Request Details link on the right of the "lost in mail" transaction
    • If you need more information (such as requestor address) you can ask the requestor in a Personal Message for that information.
      • We are unable to provide member address information outside of the duration of an active transaction, due to the PBS Privacy Policy.
      • You can use the  button on the transaction to contact the requestor.
  • If USPS does return your book to you, and it is undamaged:
    • You should ask the requestor (using the  button on the Lost transaction in your Transaction Archive) if she still wants it. 
    • If she does, you can re-send it.  If she does not, you can repost it.
    • If she does not respond to your PM, you should repost the book.

If you sent the book with Delivery Confirmation and it has been recorded as delivered by USPS but hasn't been marked received yet:

• Remember that the book could have been scanned as "delivered" at the local PO, before it went to the requestor's mailbox--the actual delivery can be a few days later  Also, the book could have been misdelivered.
• You should FIRST contact the requestor using the  button on the transaction on the Books I've Mailed tab in My Account when a few days have passed after delivery.
• If the requestor does not respond to your PM within a week, and has not marked the book received by a week after the delivery scan, contact us.  We will look into it.
• If you used DC purchased through PBS, or PBS Printed Postage, you will already have gotten your credit for sending the book.

Do you think they do this to get free stuff ?

Maybe they don't even have it. Delivery scans do not necessarily mean delivered CORRECTLY. Hopefully your PM didn't accuse them of trying to get free stuff. If anyone was trying to get free stuff, they wouldn't last on the site for very long.

As the Help Center says, if they have not responded to you within a week of contacting them about the DC scan, then you should let the site know. The Team will contact the member and find out if the member has it or if it was an incorrect delivery scan.

What if you hadn't used PBS delivery labels?  I found this in the FAQ's -

If you sent the book with DC purchased elsewhere and it has been recorded as delivered by USPS but hasn't been marked received yet:

• First, contact the requestor from the active transaction (in the Books I've Mailed tab in My Account), or from the "lost" transaction in your Transaction Archive if the book has been declared Lost in the Mail by PBS.
• If the requestor does not respond to your PM within a few days, contact us and we will look into it.
• We cannot grant credit for DC purchased outside PBS, but we can check if this requestor has become inactive.
• If this requestor is inactive, your book should be marked received by the system.

Isn't outside delivery confirmation still delivery confirmation?  Why can't we input a USPS DC number purchased either at the PO or at another online source and have it count?  When you are sending two dozen books like I have in the last few days, the extra money to use PBS labels really starts to add up.  Don't get me wrong, I want to help support the site, and will use their labels most of the time, but does anyone have any experience with how this works for "lost" books that have DC from another source?

Kay, I hope the audio book is marked received for you soon. You did get your credits. My old letter carrier would misdeliver my mail all the time and seemed to put it with the person's mail that was on hold. I eventually got my missing mail but it took some time.

Carole, when you buy PBS DC you are buying insurance essentially. The fee for the service offsets any credits that the owners need to return for the lost books. Also you could have any random DC number on a receipt. So it is setup to track the exact book you are sending. So if you buy DC from the post office or another online company if the book you mailed goes lost you don't get a credit.

Those that use PBS postage get the credit when the book is marked mailed and those who just purchase the PBS DC get the credit when the book is scanned. Any other shipping method gets he credit when the book is mark received.

I doubt very seriously they do it to get free stuff.  If it's done too often, the team starts to notice these things (if that is the case).  With DC from the site, they tend to take special interest in those, because they can track and see things.  I wouldn't worry too much about it.  You have your credits because you used site DC.  No need to fret about it now :)

Rebecca, not to be arguementative, but I understand all that.  That wasn't my question.  You can't have any old random number on a receipt.  It would show the address sent to, just like PBSs labels do.  If I can prove that it isn't 'lost' I think the site should grant the credit.  After all, the owners of the site have no vested interest in a credit, they can give them away as they choose because credits don't cost the site a dime.  The fees for service support the site as a whole, pay employees, server costs, etc, not for credits.  The cost is to the shipper for not only the postage, the DC but also the value of the book shipped (even if that is a quarter).  That is why I think that a credit should be given if it can be proved by whatever measure that the book was received by the person ordering it, whether or not that person is active or inactive.  Granted if no one used the site's labels, it would have a hard time staying in business, but that wasn't the point.   And I plan to continue using them. 

You can't have any old random number on a receipt.  It would show the address sent to, just like PBSs labels do.

My post office does not have the address on the receipt.  The receipt shows nothing but what the DC# is.  When my post office hands me the DC receipt, most of the time it has nothing on it, but sometimes they hand write the zip code.  Unfortunately, that does not prove anything other than you paid for DC for some package.  For the site, it's not proof enough of where you actually sent it.  Also, since the site does not get anything from buying DC at the PO, they have no way to recoup the costs associated with refunding credits to the requestor if it goes lost or credit the sender when shown delivered.  That's whay it comes down to.

because credits don't cost the site a dime

If that's the case, why don't they just give us them for free?  Why do we have to send out a book to get a credit?  Why do we need to buy them?  Sorry but I disagree with you there.  They can't just be handing out credits to everyone.  Sooner or later, people find loopholes and take advantage.  The site has decided that to prevent more loopholes, you can only use site DC to guarantee a credit.

After all, the owners of the site have no vested interest in a credit, they can give them away as they choose because credits don't cost the site a dime.  The fees for service support the site as a whole, pay employees, server costs, etc, not for credits.

You are incorrect on this point. For tax purposes this site must have every credit in the system backed by a book or a monetary reserve. So when they give out a credit that is not backed by a book, like the credit the sender would get in this situation, they have to place money into a reserve to back it -> it costs them money.

 You can't have any old random number on a receipt.  It would show the address sent to, just like PBSs labels do.  If I can prove that it isn't 'lost' I think the site should grant the credit.

That is why I think that a credit should be given if it can be proved by whatever measure that the book was received by the person ordering it, whether or not that person is active or inactive. 

You proving it was delivered does not prove it is not lost or that the person who requested it got the book. If it was delivered incorrectly (and I have had things scanned delivered to me that were delivered to someone else in my neighborhood) then that book is indeed lost. This is the reason I won't do business on eBay anymore because they take a USPS delivery scan as fact that I've received something and assume I am a liar when I say I did not. All a delivery scan is is a mail carrier taking out their scanner and scanning the book before they toss it into a box. There is no requirement that they confirm the address they are delivering it to. Some POs even scan the things delivered before they even leave the post office.

My postal receipts show both the DC number and the zip code the package is addressed to.

Kay, send a nice pm to the requester....looks like you did that already.  Sometimes packages are delivered to the wrong address (and end up lost) and sometimes people are out of town or get busy and overlook an incoming item.   If the requester does not respond withing 5 days, you can refer the transaction to TPTB...members are highly encouraged (required) to respond to pm's concerning problem swaps.  If the member develops a history of incoming 'lost' books, PBS admin may take action if necessary.

A book I sent went "lost", but showed it as delivered to her local post ofice.  I sent a message,asking if she had received the book, but the message is unread.  The lady has been a member since 2009, and has logged on since i sent the message.    I got my instant credit, and I hope she did get the book.  You can't really know what happens to a book even when it makes it to their home town.

Why don't they just give us them for free?  Why do we have to send out a book to get a credit?- Kellie S.

Think about it. If we could get credits for free, then tomorrow I would order all 5,000,000 plus books on this site.  You and everyone else would then mail them to me and I would open my own used bookstore next month and make a fortune.

The next step would be for everyone to work hard at their jobs and then send 15-25% of their earnings to me, so I wouldn't have to work. (Actually we already do this, but I don't get the money.  The people who do get the money we all send in are called Senators and Congressional Representatives.)

Except for the first two credits you get for free for posting ten books, you have to earn credits by posting books to others. If we didn't, then this site would have self-destructed two weeks after it went online, if that long.

Personally, I have no problems with giving PBS $0.27 for the DC and then spending another $0.19 at the Post Office. If I buy DC at the Post Office, it costs $0.80, so I am saving $0.34. Even with the cost of mailing Media Mail or First Class, I probably average about $3.00 or less for books I send out.  Now consider that just shipping at Half.com or Amazon.com costs $3.99 or more, then you add the price of the book you want.

Weighing all the above, I look upon PBS as God's Gift to this read-aholic!

Thomas, I was being sarcastic.  I was trying to make a point that the site can't do that.  That it was a ridiculous thought to even consider that credits don't cost the site anything.  Wow.

Hence the part you left out..."They can't just be handing out credits to everyone."

I sent it to contact and they said the account had not been logged in to for some time they went ahead and mard it recieved

If that's the case, why don't they just give us them for free?  Why do we have to send out a book to get a credit?  Why do we need to buy them?

Credits do not cost this site any money.  They are used as the currency, so of course, you have to earn them.  To extrapolate my example to get 5 million books for free and open a bookstore sounds as ridiculous as the congressional debate on the deficit.  Let's bring it back down to the real one item level.  The assumption by the site is that shippers cannot be trusted unless they use the site labels.  Maybe that was the case in the past.  I am saying that most people can be trusted.  And in the (what is probably) isolated instances of a book reaching its destination but not being acknowledged, I would think that a label in a pdf file from an outside source showing the address and DC number that could be checked would be enough for the site.   Why should the shipper be penalized?

But it is what it is.  Those are the rules.  I question them, but I am done with debate.  We all have our opinions.

The assumption by the site is that shippers cannot be trusted unless they use the site labels.

No, the site doesn't assume that at all. It just offers extra protection if you buy DC through them.

What it does do is offer extra protection to those who buy DC though the site becase the site gets a part of the DC money as a fee. They use that fee to help cover the costs of books that go lost and they have to not only give back the original credit, but have paid the shipper already for a book that has gone lost.

Here.

Can I get Quick/Guaranteed credit if I buy Delivery Confirmation elsewhere (not through PBS)?

No. Unless your Delivery Confirmation was purchased through the PaperBackSwap system, your books will not be tracked on the map nor will they be awarded QuickCredit or CreditAssurance.

• Making the system work that way would require additional programming that we have not written
• The fee for PBS Delivery Confirmation offsets the financial loss we sustain whenever we have to 'invent' credits to give to both sender and requestor when a book is declared lost in the mail (we have to put money into escrow for every credit that is not backed by an actual book, to satisfy our lawyers, accountants, and Uncle Sam).

If you purchase your Delivery Confirmation outside of the PaperBackSwap system, you may have paid more (80 cents at the PO), or less (19 cents for the DC alone), but you have not paid the slight upcharge for the Quick/Guaranteed Credit and tracking services. Delivery Confirmation can be purchased for $0.19 several places on the Internet.  What PBS provides, which justifies the additional $0.27 fee, is the service of mapping your books across the country, receiving 'quick credit', and being indemnified against possible misdelivery or loss of your book.

Related Links:

What is PBS Delivery Confirmation?
If a book you sent hasn't been marked received yet...

Kellie S.

If you were being scarastic then I apologize for my post. One of the biggest problems in electonic media is the inability to hear inflections in a person's text as you can with their voice.

On the other hand, I think I made a good case for using DC. I tried doing without DC, but lost credits when receivers never acknowledged the receipt of the books. This is a bigger problem with materials I sell on half.com and amazon.com. There I sell items for $10 and up, way up, and was shafted many times. Now nothing goes out without DC. Amazon charges a lot less for DC but I take a big hit when I sell something because I do not have a "Store" -- about $2.34 -- and that is before Amazon even takes its commission.

I have absolutely no problem paying for DC here as it costs less than at the PO and it helps pay the expenses of PBS.

Thomas, you made a great case for DC.  I was being sarcastic because someone stated that credits do not cost the site anything.  I was in disagreement with the statement.  If they don't cost the site anything, then why don't they give them free (enter my sarcasm here LOL)?  I was trying to give some food for thought on why they would not be free for the site.  Your post expressed in more words what I was trying to get across.  If the credits don't cost anything to the site, then they would get taken advantage of.  It's a type of "currency" but that doesn't mean it doesn't cost them anything.  Just like the US Government.  They print and mint our money, but it's not free to them.  We still have to work to get the money (or credits on this site).  I think both of us are on the same page when it comes to credits and DC.

I support the site in many ways.

But, I've never used and probably will never use PBS DC.  Why? because it's not cost effective for me.  I've had 3 books that were lost in the mail out of several hundred I've mailed.   The DC on those several hundred (504 books mailed) would add up to much more than the cost of 3 credits.

Since I don't fret and worry much about my credits, I don't need the DC for my peace of mind.  I just mail my books and trust the system and the USPS.  I have not been disappointed yet.

 The assumption by the site is that shippers cannot be trusted unless they use the site labels.

No, the site assumes everyone will be honest and the transaction will be marked accordingly and everything will be fine. The site provides a Credit Assurance option to be purchased because they know that the USPS does not always get the book where it needs to go. The existance of a delivery scan isn't really the issue at all it is the purchase of the Credit Assurance, the eDC is just the mode they use to sell that Assurance. On the CD site, since they can't sell the eDC, they just charge 0.49 for every request no matter what so be thankful PBS gives you the option to purchase the Assurance. As we've pointed out repeatedly credits are not free to the site. They must back them monetarily if they give them away and there is no book in the system to cover it. Credits cannot be repeatedly given away free or the site will go under.

Credits cannot be repeatedly given away free or the site will go under.

 Nicely said!

<<<<On the other hand, I think I made a good case for using DC. I tried doing without DC, but lost credits when receivers never acknowledged the receipt of the books<<<<<

Exactly what is happening to me.

Right now, I have one that is not marked received (even though 10 books before it and 10 books after it have arrived to other people)  AND the member is not answering any PMs as to whether they received or not (a gentle reminder).

It hasn't reached timed out day yet, but since this person is also not answering PMs, what should I do???

Laura, generally PBS does not recommend pm'ing the requester until shortly before the book is due to go lost.  Since this involves a potential problem swap, the receiver is highly encouraged to respond.  If they do not answer within a week, you can forward the situation to PBS admin.  If the book is traveling to AK, HI, PR, or APO you should give it additional time as many of those packages average 5 to 6 weeks enroute.  And also, it's summer vacation for many people so your receiver may be out of town, in which case they will log the book in when they return home.

Here's the Help suggestions for "If a book you sent hasn't been marked received yet..."