So I requested a book in January:

Request Date: 1/30/2010 8:05 PM ET
Date Accepted: 2/3/2010 11:18 AM ET
Wrapper Printing(s):

• 2/7/2010 11:21 AM ET

Date Mailed: 2/7/2010 11:22 AM ET
Date Canceled: 3/5/2010 3:13 AM ET

I actually got a PM from the member on Feb. 21 saying oops, sorry, thought I mailed it but just found the envelope, it's going out now.  I responded and said "Thanks for the heads up!"  Because of that, I waited a couple of weeks after the book was "canceled" by the system, and then ordered and received the book in the middle of April.

You guessed it - yesterday I received a copy of the book from the original member.  She purchased postage from the PO, and the postage is marked paid June 21 (the postage is also canceled the same date).

So I know according to the rules, I don't have to mark received the book that is mailed late - even though technically she did PM me to say it was going out that day, right?  Because clearly it didn't go out that day?  Do I need to PM her and tell her I got the book but I'm not marking it received?  Do I just ignore it and go about my day?  The whole thing seems strange (why did she even mail the book - in June, almost 4 months late - without any further communication?) even though I know I did nothing wrong.

You don't have to do anything...she totally messed around with the rules and is not entitled to a credit.

If you want, you can PM her to say "I've received the book _____(name of book)______. I waited several weeks after you said you were mailing the book and when it didn't come, I ordered a copy from someone else. The metered postage sticker says you actually mailed this book on June 21, which means it was MONTHS after you said you would mail it. Basically, you sent me a free book--if you read the help documents, you will see that you are not entitled to a credit because you didn't follow the rules. Thanks."

What would I do? Depends on what kind of mood I was in. I would probably not acknowledge it at all unless she PM'd me and then I would say what I said above.

Cheryl

I'm with Cheryl, I probably wouldn't say anything unless I received a PM asking if I'd received the book. Then I would say something along the lines of what Cheryl said.

What Cheryl said....she said it better then I could.

Thanks!  Good advice, and thanks Cheryl for the suggested wording (which I will definitely refer to if I hear from her).  Now, I'm off to post my "free" book....

I would just post the extra copy and not mention it unless she asks.  My guess is she mailed it off late hoping she'd get lucky and you'd mark the book received and she'd get a late credit.  Personally I was the sender-I'd chalk it up to a learning lesson and just repost the book rather than spend the postage money on the off chance it would get marked received. 

I marked a book RWP. The sender refunded the credit but wanted the book back.  I told her fine if she gave me another credit to cover postage. I'm a single mother on a limited postage budget and when I marked it RWP it went back on my WL on autorequest and within a day I had another copy enroute to me.  That one also turned out to be unpostable but I didn't notice the stain until after.  So now I have 2 unpostable copies of this book.  I held onto hers for a month  with no credit refund.  I finally posted it on another trading site where it had a long WL.  If she pms asking about it, I'm just going to tell her that I'm moving and got tired of looking at the book so I got rid of it.  Yes I got a pt on that other site but I would rather have been able to post it on PBS.