I've got 7 books that I mailed with PBS DC on 4/30.  It's now 5/2 and the PO still hasn't given them the initial acceptance scan.  My question is, will the requestor be able to mark them received if the PO never does the inital scan?  I know thru reading the help docs that I can notify TPTB when/if they go lost (pbs dc postage guarentee) and I'll receive my credits, so I'm not to worried about that.  Anyone know?

 If you mailed without taking them to the counter and paying for postage, they won't get an acceptance scan. If you took them to the counter, the acceptance scan should have registered in a day or two. You can look at the usps.com site to see if there is any scans there that aren't showing at PBS. I usually give it 24 hours from seeing the scan on usps.com for it to show here.

The lack of scans won't affect the receiver's ability to mark it received. Odds are it will get scanned before it gets there at a sorting facility or it will get a scan at delivery time.

you do not have to notify TPTB, as the books will automatically go lost when not rec'd (or marked rec'd) within the deadline.

DC is delivery confirmation.  sometimes you are lucky to get even that scan.  I have had many books sent & rec'd that never had 1 scan.

As others have said, those scans aren't a guarantee--I have often mailed half a dozen books at one time in the same blue box and had half get a scan the next day and half not. Occasionally the person marks them received before they even get a delivered scan. And yes, the person WILL be able to mark them received...they just use the tab on their main page to mark the book received like any book sent, with delivery confirmation or with none.

Cheryl

I always take mine to the PO and they get scanned right away.  I've never put them in the blue box.  The only time they've not gotten scanned is when I take them to a Contract Station (local grocery store) and they don't have a scanner there, but when it gets to the regular PO it does get scanned.

I'm presuming that if they go in the blue box and the additional $.19 has been added, they'd get scanned somewhere along the way, but not necessarily at the local PO as they get dumped in a canvas bag and get sorted at the center, but they don't have scanners there (at least they didn't when I was sorting mail).  Pat

Recently, I have had a number of books with DC from other members not be scanned until they get to my post office who will enter the scan numbers manually.

The post office put a sticker on one that said "no bar code data" (not at my post office)

I ALWAYS take my DC books to the counter & buy post age there. I have been told that even if I bring them to the counter, they don't have to scan them there unless I buy my postage there.

My regional facility is good about making sure books get scanned that come from my post office.

If the books aren't scanned, then you will get your point when the receiver marks them received.

Also, some ink-jet printers don't print precise enough for all of the post office scanners. and either tape over the entire bar code or not at all.

Jennifer, you asked "My question is, will the requestor be able to mark them received if the PO never does the inital scan?"  And  the answer is yes, no problem.

I had one package that I took to the counter and it was scanned. Then it sat at the processing center for 10 days before being sent out.

Media mail travels "As Space Allows" so it is not at all uncommon for it to sit awhile, whether at the initial post office or a processing center...that is the price of cheaper rates for media mail.

If you marked the package "mailed" then the receiver can mark it 'received' regardless of DC status.

OP stated "I know thru reading the help docs that I can notify TPTB when/if they go lost (pbs dc postage guarentee) and I'll receive my credits".  Is this so?  I have now had 26 books since September go "lost," and thus have started putting PBS dc on all media mail.

Some of those have not had even an acceptance scan (tho postage and dc were paid at the counter) and now have gone lost...so I received no credits.  Should I be asking TPTB to look into these? (and credit me....)

Purchasing counter postage is the one time (other than PBS postage) that you should be guaranteed an acceptance scan.  If your PO is automated, it's part of the purchase process (per my PO staff).  If this is not happening, you should talk to your local postmaster.

OP stated "I know thru reading the help docs that I can notify TPTB when/if they go lost (pbs dc postage guarentee) and I'll receive my credits".  Is this so?  I have now had 26 books since September go "lost," and thus have started putting PBS dc on all media mail.

Some of those have not had even an acceptance scan (tho postage and dc were paid at the counter) and now have gone lost...so I received no credits.  Should I be asking TPTB to look into these? (and credit me....) 

You paid for the DC at the counter and didn't get any scans reported into the system? That is something wrong with your post office. Are you going to a contract PO and not a real USPS retail counter? Credit Assurance can kick in if there are no scans if you have a good sending history. It wouldn't hurt to ask them about it, but it sounds like you have a lot of lost books without scans (?) so it may not work in your situation.

26 lost books is a lot and it might be worth the little extra fee to use full PBS postage where scans do not matter, you get your credit when you mark it mailed.

This is the section of the help docs that I was refering to:

If you sent the book with PBS-DC and it was never scanned (this does happen, rarely), contact us.   PBS could not give QuickCredit if our system was never notified of a barcode scan.  If your sending record is good, you will get your credit for sending the book.  This is the CreditAssurance part of PBS-DC.

If there is just a delay in scanning (not scanned until actual delivery), this wouldn't be an issue.  If there is never a scan even at delivery, I would of course notify both PO and TPTB.

Of the 7 books that I mentioned in my OP, 6 have been scanned now.  One of them wasn't scanned until today in 3 states away.

I wonder if there wasn't some delay with communication between the USPS computers and PBS' system this week at some time, because I just noticed I have several books I mailed that have one or two "enroute scans" timed FIRST, and after that, "Electronic Shipping Info Received" was listed, a few hours later. It's not always the USPS problem OR PBS' problem, but the communication between the two can go haywire too.

Cheryl

Thank you Jennifer, as the books I mailed which never received an acceptance scan, and subsequently went lost, have now been credited to me.

From Melanie: It wouldn't hurt to ask them about it, but it sounds like you have a lot of lost books without scans (?) 

It was because so many have gone lost that I now use PBS dc....since I started using it only one package of 2 books has not received the acceptance scan (and the PO clerk and I have now worked that out...), then gone lost,  and that is the 2 books PBS just gave me credit for.  Interstingly, when this subject was posted I pm'd all those lost book requestors and (ever so politely) asked them to check if the book had ever shown up.....and lo and behold, 4 of them marked the books received in the TA (leading me to believe that some of the others are not truly "lost.")  Yes Hawaii is paradise....but it's a LONG way by boat when sending media mail. (It's my habit to send anything less than 13oz by 1st class, just for my peace of mind.)

So...thanks for this subject!

Cheers.....and happy Mother's day!

Update:

I just got back from being away for 5 days and checked my account.  All the books from my OP have been "marked received".  Only 1 didn't have the initial acceptance scan before I left; when it was marked received, I did get the credit for it.