I'm hoping someone can help me with this issue, as I'm not sure what to do. I requested a book recently, and the sender accepted the request and printed the label. However, the sender never marked the book "sent," so the request timed out and I got my credit back. One day after the request timed out, I received the book in the mail! I'm not sure what to do...technically, the sender was in error, as he never marked the book "sent," but I'd like to give him back his credit, since he did, in fact, send the book. Is there any way to do so after a request has timed out? I suppose I could "buddy" him a credit, but I'm not sure if there's a PBS-approved way to handle a situation like this. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Unless you received a 2nd copy of the book (or another copy is on the way too you) you need to mark the book received through your transaction archive.  It'll be there because the request was accepted by the sender. 

Please be VERY careful in your transaction archive.  It has both canceled orders (folks who never responded) and active orders. Always double and triple check the sender before marking a book in your Transaction Archive.

Anytime we mark a book received here, a credit is deducted.

We need to mark canceled books (such as the OP) and lost books there.  But be careful!  Once we mark a book received there, we cannot undo it.

What they said

Then check and see if the book was placed back on your wishlist, if so you will want to delete or hold it or the system will order you another copy when it becomes available.  Or does the system do this automatically when she marks the book received from her Transacton Archive...anyone know?

From the Help Docs, step by step instructions regarding what to do in this situation:

You should FIRST check your My Account main page to be sure there are no currently ACTIVE requests for the book in your account.

• If you DO NOT have an active request for the book on your My Account page (check all tabs there)
  • you should mark this book received as described below.

• If you DO have an active request for the book on your My Account page:
  • and it has the Cancel Order button on it, you should cancel the new request and mark the canceled copy received as described below.
  • and the sender has printed but not marked mailed yet, you will not have the Cancel button.
    • You can contact the sender using the PM button on the request and ask her NOT to mail
    • If she has printed with postage or has mailed, she cannot cancel (postage will not be refunded), and you will end up with 2 copies of this book.  In this case, you MUST mark the second copy received when you get it; you should NOT mark the canceled copy received. (Please see I received 2 copies of the same book! for more information.)
    • If she agrees not to mail, she should contact us to ask us to cancel.
      • If she clicks Cancel herself, this will only pass your request to ANOTHER sender.
      • We can be contacted using the feedback link at the top of the Contact Us page (accessible from the bottom of any page on the site).
      • You can read more about cancelling requests in How do I cancel a request?.

• Once the new request is canceled (so that you will not end up with 2 copies of the book), you can mark the canceled book received from your Transaction Archive as described below.

To mark a canceled book received and give a credit to the sender:

• Go to your Transaction Archive:
  • Place your cursor over My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site and click Transaction Archive in the menu that drops down
  • You can also get there by clicking the link "Transaction Archive" at the top of the My Account page
• Scroll down to find the canceled transaction for this book
  • Be sure it is the correct transaction: sometimes there are several canceled transactions for one title
  • Check the sender name against the return address on the package
  • To find the request easily, sort the transaction archive by "Requested by Me" - "All" - "title" - "descending" and scroll down to find the transaction(s) for this title.
    • Again, there may be multiple transactions for one title: be sure to choose the correct one!
    • You can compare the name of the sender on the transaction with the return address on the package
    • You can also click the link Request Details on the right of the transaction to see more information about the transaction (the dates it was requested, printed, mailed)
• Click Was Book Received? on the transaction
• The usual Book Received screens will come up.
  • You will have a chance to send a message to the book-sender during this process.
• Marking a canceled book received will take a credit from your account and give it to that sender.

Thanks for the help, everyone! I read through all the instructions, and made sure to follow the procedures, so I'm back on track. The sender has his credit, I have my book, and we're both happy :)

Glad it worked out, Tonya!