Hi all,

I'm hoping someone will be able to point me in the right direction. I wonder if there is any way that I can search and see who may have requested the (wrong) book I received to see if they got the book I was expecting?

I had wish-listed the book "New Smart Approach to Kitchen Design" paperback. Someone offered it on October 14th.  The sender accepted it on the same date, marked it as mailed on 10/19,  it was postmarked 10/22, but then the system said that the wrapper was printed on 10/26 ?? The book did arrive with the PBS wrapper with my name & address on it - so I don't understand how that happened!

Anyway - the book I received was "The Sugar Solution" in hardback. I have PM'd the sender, but haven't yet heard back from them. The ISBN is not even close to the book I originally requested. I am hoping to try and find a way to locate the person who originally wanted "Sugar Solution" and see if by any miraculous chance they have the book I was expecting.

Many thanks for any suggestions! Melissa

Request Date: 10/14/2007 3:15 PM ET Date Accepted: 10/14/2007 4:20 PM ET Wrapper Printed: 10/26/2007 11:43 AM ET Date Mailed: 10/19/2007 2:58 PM ET Date Received: 10/29/2007 9:38 PM ET

All you can do is PM the sender and see if they accidently switched the books around.  Give it a day or two to see if they respond - some people only check in here once a day.  If they did just switch the books, then you will have the option of sending the book to the correct person.  If you both choose to do this, then the original sender should buddy each of you a credit to make up for postage.  Do not mark the book received until you get the book you asked for, even if it takes long enough for it to go "lost."

I already marked it "Received, but with a problem" -- I figured that was the proper thing to do. I'm guessing not? Oh well. :-(

If books have been mixed up and mailed to the wrong people, AND the sender works out an acceptable way to get the books to the correct people, then you should not mark the book as rec'd, wrong book. From the help section:

If there is a book that is listed there as coming from the same state, click on the transaction and send a Personal Message to this sender asking if she sent you this book by mistake.

• If she did,
• and sent your book to another requestor, she can offer each of you credit or postage to send the books to one another; the sender can provide the addresses in Personal Messages.  When each of you get the correct books, you can mark them received.
•  

In the future, PM the sender prior to marking anything and see if the problem can be corrected.

.

Yes, you are supposed to mark it received per PBS instructions. I'm a bit surprised a tour guide is advising you against doing that. Maybe they've  changed something!?!?

As for the printing label versus sending dates: the buttons on your account screen dictate when those dates show up. It looks like someone lost the original printing of the label and then reprinted it on the second date shown, which is way after they said they'd mailed the book. Someone clicked the print label button, clicked the mailed button and then sat on the book for a while. Then reprinted the label.

As for finding out what type of error it was and if someone else got your book - only the sender can tell you that. You're kind of at her mercy in a situation like this. If you don't get it resolved to your liking then I'd contact R&R to see what they can do to help.

THANKS to all for your suggestions, I'm just sitting here waiting to hear from the original sender. I'm hoping that they will PM me soon. I wish there were a way to expedite the process and just find out who wanted this other book I've got sitting here, and if they've got mine!

Could someone please let me know what R&R means -- that one has me stumped! On Craigslist, it's Rants & Raves, but I'm guessing that is not the same here! :-)

R&R = Richard & Robert (The Great & Wise Ones) our site founders  : D

LOL -- thanks! Quite a big difference from what I came up with!

It looks like someone lost the original printing of the label and then reprinted it on the second date shown, which is way after they said they'd mailed the book. Someone clicked the print label button, clicked the mailed button and then sat on the book for a while. Then reprinted the label.

Not necessarily.  They may have mailed the book, and later had some reason they wanted to check the label again.  Maybe they wanted to see where they had sent the book, and didn't realize that the address is given in the "Details" tab.  "Print Label" doesn't mean they had to actually print it -- it just means they pulled up that screen.

The help is not so helpful because it tells you two different things. When you follow the link, read down to the blue links before it tells you to mark it received, there is a link for what to do  "If you receive a book you did not request" (see below), and it tells you if you agree to send the book you received to the correct person, you do not mark it until you get the book you ordered. I think the key is thatif  you are not keeping the book you received you have nothing, someone else's book just happened to pass through your hands while you were waiting. This is exactly what I was told by a guide when I asked what to do, if I was sending the book on to the correct person, mark nothing received.

• If this was a single-book shipment, the book you received may have been requested by another member, who may have gotten your book.    It is also possible that the sender reprinted a wrapper she or he used to send you a book in the past, and sent this book to you instead of to its proper requestor. 

• If this is a multiple-book shipment, the sender may have sent you a book (or books) intended for another member, or may have mixed up a Box-O-Books shipment. 

• Other possibilities include: the book did not come from PBS at all (it could have been an online purchase), it was sent as part of a Game swap, or it was sent to you as a "gift" from another member.  If a PBS wrapper was used to send the book, then the "outside PBS" possibility is not likely.  For a gift or a Game swap, the member could have used Send to a Friend or Custom DC to generate a PBS wrapper.

• Go to the En Route to Me tab in My Account.   You can get there by clicking My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site, and then clicking the En Route to Me tab (behind the Books to mail tab).
  • Compare the state of origin on the package return address with the state of origin of each book on your  En Route to Me tab in My Account.  The state shows on the right of the transaction, in the "speech bubble" containing your address.
  • If there is a book that is listed there as coming from the same state, click on the transaction and send a Personal Message to this sender asking if she sent you this book by mistake.
  • If she did,
  • and sent your book to another requestor, she can offer each of you credit or postage to send the books to one another; the sender can provide the addresses in Personal Messages.  When each of you get the correct books, you can mark them received.
  • and she still has the book she was supposed to send you, she can offer to send the correct book to you. You are not obligated to send the extra book back to her, but it is a nice thing to do if the sender is a new member.

Mary H - You're right - I stand corrected. I should have also added that any time you pull up the address with the "print label" button it's going to look as if it was printed again under details. 

I was simply going off my own experience - I've had that happen twice to me ( date mailed listed as before the date printed) but for me the print label button was more accurate since I got the books really late.

I think PM'ng the sender was your best option.  She may be trying to figure out what happened, too--I'd giver her a couple of days to sort out where your book went, I'm sure she'll be hearing from the person who wound up with it shortly:)  I've goofed on books before, too, it's a rotten feeling, but so far, we've managed to work it out(with me giving up a few extra credits, but that's only fair since it was my mistake).  Hang in there, let us know how it works out:)

Hi,

I hate to bother you all again -- I was just wondering what you all feel is an appropriate amount of time to wait for a response from the sender regarding this before I contact R&R? A week? I contacted them on Monday and haven't heard anything - I know it is possible for them to be on vacation, or illness, etc. etc. I just don't know what is an acceptable amount of time to wait before contacting the higher ups.

Thanks! Melissa

In the Help Center, they ask that (1) the PM clearly indicate that you want a response and (2) to wait for a week before reporting the non-answering member.

Thanks! I have written again, saying that I specifically am requesting a response from the sender, and am specifically requesting my credit back for the mis-sent item.

I also mentioned that I would be more than happy to send it to the proper owner, and/or return it to them for either another credit, or reimbursement of shipping costs.

Hope to hear from them soon...  Thanks again everyone for all the helpful input! Sometimes asking the question gets a lot better answer than wading through the Help Center. :-)

Melissa

Just wanted to update, in case it matters. I did contact R&R and they let me know who was originally supposed to be mailed "The Sugar Solution". I have since contacted her and sent it on its way.

A few days ago, the original book I ordered from the member mysteriously arrived (with the postmark date of 10/26), as the details page showed.

I still have NEVER heard from the person who sent it after my many PM's requesting contact. I don't know if the person I sent the "Sugar" book to should mark it received by the 'original' sender or not ... any thoughts?

Thanks!

it is possible that they were sending out two books and wrapped the other book with your page but didn't get the other one ready to send until you PM'd them.  They may not have replied but they may have sent the book to you hence the reason for seeing another print date on the wrapper.

My original date of PM'ing them was 10/29, the receipt date of the Sugar book. The wrapper for the one I wanted was printed on 10/26. They couldn't have realized the error by my PM'ing them by the time they shipped the second one because I hadn't written yet. But, they must have realized some error in order to mail the correct book.

I just don't know if it is right for the person who will receive the Sugar book from me to mark it as received from the original sender or not ??