This has probably been asked before, but is it that the DC from printable postage users can't be tracked by number on a USPS track & confirm site?

I've had this happen more than once now. The PBS data shows the packet was scanned in the sender's state but nothing more and when trying the number via the USPS site the resulting message is that the packet can't be tracked on that site.

The reason I was looking it up is that it's not far from being marked lost in the mail and the little truck shows that it's in my area. It might well have been misdelivered but there's no USPS indication that it has been delivered even to the wrong address/location.

It's the numbers that begin with 9452, and yes, those come with the printable postage.  You can track it here at PBS, though:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/track/

It is the Media Mail packages that get the 9452 DC with printable postage and they can only be tracked on the site (and then only if there are scans).  All PBS DCs will show any scans on PBS, the MM that are not paid for (the ones that come with full printed postage) just won't show on the USPS.com site.

The little truck really doesn't mean anything it is merely a depiction of the estimated travel unless there are actual scans. If there are scans it will reset to the actual location, but if there are no scans, then it won't really reflect anything but an estimate.

Julie, to my knowledge it's not really published on the site anywhere.  It became an issue in the games forum when we all had to mail out our swap books with DC and then the DC wasn't trackable if they used the media mail printed postage.  People could not longer prove they mailed (which is the reasoning behind the DC), so we needed a way to track those numbers.  So, the games moderators were in contact with the PBS folks, who shared the tracking link with us.  Since I hostess several games, I keep the link at the top of my mailing pages.  Maybe you could bookmark the page?

Is this something new, or new-ish? Because a few months ago, I had sent out a few books and there seemed to be some sort of glitch between Endicia and PBS...there were NO scans showing up here even after several days...which happens sometimes, but not with every single book...so I checked at USPS and input the numbers there and they tracked fine with multiple scans showing. (I always use the printed postage, and many of my books are hardcover, so would have definitely been media mail...) If this is new...why is it done that way now? Just wondering what the rationale is for changing it? Anyone know?

Cheryl

Cheryl, we are talking about the media mail printed postage numbers, those that start with 9452, not being trackable at USPS.com.  If you click on your DC information here, it will usually have the information, but not always.  Also, in cases of shipping to a friend, game swaps, book bazaar deals, etc that may not be going through the system, using the above link is the only way to track the package on the receiver's end since those 9452 numbers are not trackable at USPS.com.

ETA--Some people prefer entering their DC numbers into the USPS.com tracking anyway, as it's usually more up to date and detailed that what's provided here.  You can't track those 9452 numbers, though.

Thank you  all for the information. And thank you for the link, Sheila. It is indeed a 9452 number and doesn't track on PBS either beyond the initial scan when it was mailed.

If there are scans on the books, they should be visible on the details link for that transaction from your main My Account page. They would be the same scans as those in the link. If there are no scans there, then PBS has not received any information on any scans, either because there haven't been any (very possible there is no guarantee that books will go through a facility that scans before they reach their destination) or because there was a glitch in the communication between Endicia and USPS when those scans were transmitted.