I sent out 14 orders about 3 weeks ago and only 2 have not been marked received yet.  Both of which went to PO Boxes.  I'm in PA and the one PO Box is in NY so it shouldn't take that long I wouldn't think.  The other is AZ.  My question is:  if a person has a PO Box, does the PO notify them of a package if it's too big to fit in the box?  The one should fit in a PO Box, the other was a rather large PB.  There's still time before they goes lost, I was just curious to know.  Never had one go lost, either.  Thanks!

if a person has a PO Box, does the PO notify them of a package if it's too big to fit in the box? 

I imagine they do but please don't quote me on that. I don't really know.  But note that most people go and check their PO Boxes once a week. So it may be that the book got to the PO Box but they just haven't gone and checked.

Did you use some form of DC?

Plus keep in mind that the inclement weather recently has slowed mail delivery down in some parts of the country.

I rarely use DC for single books.  I've never had a problem with anything getting received.

I have a post office box and yes, they give me a slip to let me know that they have a package for me. Most of the time, I just get a key in my box and there's an area in the post office where they put things that won't fit in my box. If I remember right, they will give you three notices and if you don't pick up the package then, they take it and return it to the sender.

Because people with PO boxes don't always pick up their mail every day, I do a DC for PO boxes, as well as books going to APO/DPO/FPOs, Hawaii, Alaska, PR, etc.  That way I know I'm going to get my credit, no matter how long it takes the book to get to its destination.  I also use DC if I'm shipping more than one book to a person.  Pat

Oddly Forrest,  distance isn't always an indicator with Media Mail b/c MM travels on a space available basis. 

Been awhile since I had a PO box, but IIRC packages received one of those salmon colored 'pick-up' slips.  But then the receiver has to come in while the window is open to pick up their package. 

My brother lives in NY and we have a lot of customers in NY.  NY was hit bad by more than 1 snow storm recently.  My brother was basically stuck in his apartment and whatever he could walk to sometimes for several days at a time.  He lives in NYC and his car was literally buried for several days.  We had issues with shipments we sent beign held up because of the weather.  So please keep that in mind.

I have a PO box and when something doesn't fit, I get a yellow card I take to the counter.  Also, due to my work schedule and the PO's lobby hours, I can only get to my box on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and due to counter hours can only get large items on Fridays and Saturdays.

Depending on the size of the lockbox(es) in question, one fiction-size (as opposed to a smaller category romance) could fit in the box unless there was a lot of other mail for the recipient.

I've had a lockbox since 1979, there's always a yellow card to let me know there's something waiting for me. On some occasions, I've gotten a notice when not expecting anything - or never received one when I *was* expecting a package. Sorter error. It's easy to put a notice in the wrong box, the one above or below. I always PM a sender if they're used DC to let them know I haven't gone to the p.o. yet and to not worry that I haven't marked the book received.

I can only get to the post office on Saturdays, sometimes can't even then, so even though the lobby is open for people to get their mail, they won't always answer when I ring the bell for a package. My branch shortened their hours in March 2009 when the USPS began cutbacks and I miss having the windows open til 6 p.m., when I could mail books and pick up packages after work.

Having the lockbox is a safe and convenient way for my packages to get to me, but sometimes there's that little bit of INconvenience if getting there while the window is open is impossible.

Gail

I had a PO box for a few months at at least once a week, I'd find someone else's mail in my box.  My PO put a key in the box if something didn't fit.  They seemed to be key happy. More than once, I found only the key in my mail box only to find a small mmp in the other box which would have easily fit in my box.