I had put my account on hold for most of December and January for a few different reasons, one of which was that I was so completely frustrated with members not marking books received in a timely fashion. It was taking folks ~1 week after the PO scanned delivered before the books were marked received and I therefor got my credit). In my almost 10 years here I had never put my account on hold before due to frustration, but I had hit a breaking point with folks not marking received and decided that the stress wasn't worth it.

I finally took my account off hold. The second book I sent out was scanned as "Delivered--left at front porch/door" early last week. When it wasn't marked received 3 days later, I sent a polite PM to the requestor asking if she had in fact received it and if so could she please mark it as such so that I could get credit. 

(At my previous residence, we used the back door, so for all I know that could be the case here as well, and the book could've been sitting there for days.)

The recipient answered my PM to say that the book was at her work and she'd mark it received on Monday.  The recipient admitted she received it and brought it to work with her, but refuses to mark it received until she's back at work (6 days after the book was delivered).

Again, more frustration with folks not marking received, although this is the first time a recipient has admitted that they have the book but won't mark it received yet. SMH.

Should I report this to TPTB?

That is super frustrating. I hate how people make up these stringent rules in life (reminds me of how in penpalling - a huge hobby still of mine - people would have these RULES like "no typed letters," "you must write me 3.5 pages," "no red ink" etc). The only thing I can think of to try to make sense is that maybe she doesn't have online access except at work. Seems unlikely, as she was obviously able to read and reply to your PMs. But, that's the only way I could see it from her side.

Unfortunately, if the book hasn't gone lost, I don't see why you would report it. PBS doesn't really care about these things, I don't think. She has until the book goes lost, I guess. Not that it helps your situation.

I was debating reporting it simply because she has admitted to receiving the book but, despite being able to log in to the site to answer my PM, has specifically decided not to mark it received yet.

I agree that TPTB probably don't care, but I don't think waiting for 6 days after a book was received--and acknowledged as received--would qualify as being marked received as promptly as possible after mailing. If she could log in to answer me, she could log in to mark it received, but chose to wait.

There were a number of things that irritated me about this site and the way people use it when I first started. Every time I complained about something that bothered me I was made to feel like the problem with me and my attitude toward the club and how the members use it. I have slowly learned to stop thinking about stuff that bothers me and just let things happen as they will. The slow marking of received books is an ongoing thing that has been there for as long as I have been here. I don't think it is going to change. It might be better to find something else to fret about.

Sheryl, you're right.

Charles is also right.  

It's irritating.

It will not change.

Try not to think about it.

Have a few spare credits on hand for yourself.  

maybe this will help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK7KtBRj-ps

Have a few spare credits on hand for yourself.  

I'm sorry, but this advice frustrates me as well. I try to do this, but sometimes I can go weeks without getting an order. Recently I had to put my shelf on hold, so there was no chance of earning credits. So the result is I'm low on credits. But whether my credit count is 2, 22, or 222, the receiver should mark the book received, not wait a week to mark it received, especially since they are already logging into the site.

Yeah, "promptly" means immediately...as soon as possible. Yet when I expressed an opinion in another thread that "you get the book, mark it received" I was chastised by other members that "life happens" and that people shouldn't be expected to mark it received immediately. Why? I was expected to mail the book within a certain timeframe and had to adjust my schedule (life happens) if I needed to take the book to the PO because of it being over 13 oz., and I always get the books out before the deadline. That was my part of the deal here at PBS yet receivers often seem to think that they can take their own sweet time to mark received, their part of the deal. Yet those same people complain bitterly if they perceive a book is mailed late. I know PBS's solution is to use PBS postage for instant credit, but I mail too many books to add a fee to the postage cost. I am as frustrated as the OP but know that I just have to accept it and often pester the receiver for my credit. What adds insult to injury tho is when I PM the receiver, not until just before it goes lost, and I get a snarky reply.

Sally, ITA. I was thinking today about how PBS is really skewed towards the requestor. When I mark a book received, there are a slew of questions I can answer about the postmark, the wrapping, as well as the box for any other comments. But as senders, there is no recourse for us if a receiver decides not to mark received. And in a case like mine, the receiver is obviously active, as they are replying to PMs, so the system wouldn't even mark my book received automatically once it timed out.

Sheryl, I once had a member send me a multi-paragraph PM about how "crazy busy" she was and filled me in on all her excuses why she hadn't marked the book received...must have taken her 5-10 minutes to write it, but she still didn't mark the book received. I did not hesitate to send that PM to PBS and they did suspend her account. Yes, you are right, it is definitely skewed towards the receiver and we are left fighting for our credits and it is so annoying and frustrating. Most of the time when I have to chase a credit down, the excuse is "I forgot"...yup, that's exactly why PBS asks us to mark books received promptly, in other words, immediately or as soon as possible.

Sheryl,  I did not mention having spare credits to frustrate you.

 I have read your other posts about being frustrated with members not marking received. 

You have had more than your fair share of waiting on other members.

I'm sorry this keeps happening  to you.

I only say to have spare credits because it's stressful to me to be short on credits and things I need.  

I think most of us learned to keep enough gas in our cars and fill up before we run out of gas. 

That's my thinking, have supply of things we need like toilet paper, food, etc.  

Sally, I never really thought about that.  

 Maybe they should add a survey for the sender to fill out about the receiver.  

I hear ya! I have 0 credits at the moment but have 5 books out..

I usuallyhave to send a pm too only I wait a good week before the book goes lost. That's because pBS won't do anything even if you send them the tracking so even if they don't pm back, I still have to wait.

Yes, with the advent of tracking on media mail sent from the PO and the tracking stickers I got from the PO, I can track books sent from home with stamps, I am totally aware now of how long senders take after indicated delivery to mark books received and it tends to be 7-10 days. Even if a book is indicated as delivered a day or two before it actually is, receivers generally take more time than "promptly" and if you don't pay attention it would be easy to lose a credit or more thru a delivered book "going lost". We shouldn't have to beg for our credits!

Yes, with the advent of tracking on media mail sent from the PO and the tracking stickers I got from the PO, I can track books sent from home with stamps, I am totally aware now of how long senders take after indicated delivery to mark books received and it tends to be 7-10 days. Even if a book is indicated as delivered a day or two before it actually is, receivers generally take more time than "promptly" and if you don't pay attention it would be easy to lose a credit or more thru a delivered book "going lost". We shouldn't have to beg for our credits!

This is exactly what I do. I don't consider marking a book received 7 days after delivery to be prompt. And I find that in most cases the scans are pretty specific--"delivered at front porch/door", "delivered at PO Box", "delivered in mailbox", etc. If I see it was delivered to a PO box, I'm more inclined to be lenient, but when, as in the case I spoke of in the OP, the book is scanned "delivered at front porch or door", I can be pretty confident that it's been delivered. In this case, the receiver admits it was delivered, that she is a school librarian and took it to work with her, and said she would mark it received from work today. Except that it's now 4 PM here (and where the recipient lives and works), the school day is over, and the book has yet to be marked received.  This is also the 4th school day since the book was received iin which it wasn't marked received. really not fair to me. I did my part--I mailed 2 days after getting the request, and a week after delivery I've still not received credit for a book that the requestor admits receiving a week ago.

PBS will not do anything as it is not in their interest to do so. They offer, at a cost, their own postage and if you want prompt credit they would like you to pay them for it. They could, as most websites do, allow imput of DC# and provide credit upon delivery. The economics of PBS postage was voided with the advent of DC for media mail but they are not going to give. From USPS web site

Media Mail^®

2-8 Business Days4

Media Mail is a cost-effective way to send educational materials. This service has restrictions on the type of media that can be sent. From $2.63 at a Post Office.

How about PBS update their expectation to reality!!!

As usual it is about the money!!

Sheryl, While I do think you have an excess number of books that aren't being promptly received and I try to promptly receive mine, I can see how it might take a few days in several cases.

1.  I have books sent to my 91 year old mother in a different state.  She has to wait for one of my nieces to get her mail.  She then has to call me, sometimes this whole process is at least 3 days.

2.  Person could be in the hospital or on vacation.

3.  Person needs to take some time to look through the book to make sure it isn't stained or marked before marking it received.  I've failed to do this on several occasions and then regreted it.

4.  Person may have mail delivered to post office or other postal facility that uses a regular street address and they only get their mail once or twice a week.

The lady who said she took her book to work may have grabbed it from the mail man, took it to work unopened and forgot to bring it home.  She probably wants to open and inspect it before marking it received.  I would.  I doubt she would think you were so anxious to see it mark received that she had to do it by 4PM. 

I also had the situation where a book was left at a door I never use.

So I wouldn't give you a flippant "life happens" answer by any means.  I am retired now and it is easy for me to review my mail everyday but I know it isn't for everyone.

Ugh. I think in this case I would report it. She's acknowelged that she has it and apparently she is reading it if she took it to work. She had a chance to dust it for prints and run the blue light over it if she wanted to. She needs to mark it received.

Report.  She physically had the book in her posession and chose not to open it.  It's not like it was a situation where he/she was in the hospital/left at back door/ate by a racoon.  He/she had it in their hand and chose not to open it, forgot, whatever. 

We mail out these books on trust here.  We trust that we will get our credit when the book is recieved.  At what point does the reciever need to just open the freeking book and look through it.

That's pretty sad that she won't mark it received.  I'll bet if it were her credit at stake, she wouldn't be so lax about it.  Maybe after she marks the book received, you can PM her a message (in a nice tone, of course) that it was very inconsiderate of her to wait so long, and if the situation were reversed, she might not be as patient as you've been in waiting for your credit.  I don't know if it will get the message across, but it might.  Good luck.

Mary: With PBS postage you are paying for the intant-credit feature and credit guarantee.

Generally: I know it's not the popular opinion in the thread but, personally, if I don't have the credits on hand to request something when it's posted to me I see if there's something that I can post that's on Auto and then use the PBS postage or occasionally ask to borrow one while I'm waiting on a credit or book I've posted to clear. I don't get worried if the person receiving it doesn't do it until close to the deadline, especially if it's an audio, because they might need to inspect it and there can be extenuating circumstances. The person doesn't need to tell me what's happened, even if they do, a person can just as easily downplay a reason as play it up ("I've been sick" could actually mean "I've been in the hospital" or vice versa), and it really doesn't matter as long as they mark it by the deadline.

Going back to the instant-credit/guarantee thing, and continuing with unpopular opinions - I understand that members want insurance against inactive members auto-requesting, but it always tweaks a nerve for me when I see the occasional post that TPTB has granted a credit based on posted DC that wasn't bought through the site because PO tracking and PBS credit insurance are completely different things. The money paid to the PO includes services provided by the PO, money paid to PBS includes services provided by PBS...

I understand that members want insurance against inactive members auto-requesting, but it always tweaks a nerve for me when I see the occasional post that TPTB has granted a credit based on posted DC that wasn't bought through the site because PO tracking and PBS credit insurance are completely different things.â

I have to present the other side. As others have pointed out in this thread, PBS is definitely skewed towards the receiver...they have the survey to fill out about whether the book was mailed in time, but the senders have no place to record that someone didn't mark the book received until they PMed them a few days before the book went lost. And members don't always reply to that PM, meaning that I have to contact PBS with proof that I sent the book in a timely manner, the PO shows it as delivered and the receiver was unresponsive and PBS has to look into whether they are active. Or the members, as the OP stated, received the book, acknowledge that, but still don't mark it received. There is no way for PBS to know that the receiver is not fulfilling their part of the bargain unless we let them know and it is only fair that senders get their credit for a book sent in good faith to a member who neglects their part of the bargain. I have to do this frequently enough that I would be out a significant number of credits if PBS didn't help us get our credit. Without PBS releasing those credits that I earned but didn't get I would have left by now...I am not a charitable organization, I cannot afford to send out books and not get anything in return! Not to brag, but I am a top 100 swapper so I have to deal with this far more often than the casual user of PBS.

Most of us wait until just before the book goes lost to contact the other member...yes, all sorts of things could get in the way of their responding promptly, which is why I wait, to give them a chance to mark it received. But it tweaks MY nerve to see members complaining about books mailed late, but find it perfectly acceptable to not fulfill their part of the bargain and mark books received when they receive them. We are complaining because it is becoming the norm to have to wait long after the book is received to get our credits!

I want to thank everyone for weighing in. I have to agree with Sally's post immediately above mine. I was ready to leave PBS over this issue, but a kind and generous member gifted me a membership and I'm here another year. And then the second book I mail out after taking my account off hold goes to someone who admits receiving it but won't, for whatever reason, mark it received. It's been a week that they've had it--and they admit to having it--but won't mark it received. How is that OK? To repeat what Sally said: There is no way for PBS to know that the receiver is not fulfilling their part of the bargain unless we let them know and it is only fair that senders get their credit for a book sent in good faith to a member who neglects their part of the bargain. I have to do this frequently enough that I would be out a significant number of credits if PBS didn't help us get our credit. Without PBS releasing those credits that I earned but didn't get I would have left by now...I am not a charitable organization, I cannot afford to send out books and not get anything in return! And in my case I will add that the book in question was actually my son's. He gave it to me to swap out so that he could trade it for something better suited to his current age and interests. By denying me the credit, the receiver is actually denying my son his credit and his ability to order a new-to-him book. And yes, my children know all to well that life isn't fair, but they also know that when things aren't fair there are peaceful ways they can go about trying to correct the situation. Hence my question about reporting it.

One of the good things to come out of this thread is that I am again reminded that the vast majority of folks here are sweet, generous, and kind. As much as the credit situation was frustrating, the goodness of other members has far outweighed a bad egg.  You know who you are. Thank you.

Sheryl, in a case like yours, I would most definitely report it. 

If this was just a one-time thing with this sender, then what is your message going to hurt?  If it's this member's practice to have no consideration then maybe they need a good scolding (or booted off!). 

I would never feel badly about reporting something that could not get to TPTB in any other way.

FYI, book was finally marked received.