hi there. this is my first time actually posting a question here...

i sent a member a book on october 19. i'm in ohio, he's in indiana. i've not heard from him, though i have sent friendly messages a few times. i tried to look at his profile, and he doesn't seem to have one yet. then i looked and noticed he only has his initial 9 books posted and no books on the wishlist...

my questions are 1) do i get credit when the book goes lost? 2) is it possible i just got 'taken'? 3) does this book going 'lost' affect my status at all?

thanks in advance! :)

no you will not get credit for a lost book, yes it is possible that you were taken, and a book going lost will not affect your status unless you have quite a few of them occur.

From the help center:

• However, this does not mean that the book is definitely lost.  Sometimes it is merely delayed en route.
• If the book arrives after it has been declared Lost, the requestor must mark it received from the Transaction Archive.
  • At this time, the credit will be taken back and given to the sender for sending the book.

• Contact the sender, to find out if Mailing was delayed for some reason.
  • you can do this from your Transaction Archive, using the PM button on this Lost transaction in that list.

• If the mailing was not delayed, the sender should call 800-ASK-USPS or go to https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MLNtRcvd.aspx (the Postal Inspection Service's website) and input the information online there . This will help USPS try to recover the book if it truly has been lost in the mail.
• Don't re-request the book for at least 2 weeks, unless you are willing to run the risk of getting two copies (and paying a credit for both).

• You should investigate this.  Excessive unreceived books may jeopardize your membership.
  • Numerous books sent separately but not arriving at your address implies that something is wrong with your mail delivery.
  • Requestors are responsible for providing correct, dependable mailing information to senders.
• Check your address in your Account Settings, to be sure that it is correct.
• You can send a PM to the sender of any or all of the lost books, to ask if the book was mailed late, by any chance, as described above.
• Talk to your PO and mail carrier to see if the book might have been misdelivered to a neighbor.
• Consider using a PO box or alternate (ie, work) address until the matter is sorted out.

I hope that answers your questions :)

Megan,

From the Help Center:

If your book does not arrive by the 26th day after you marked it mailed, it will be declared lost in the mail at PBS.  This does not mean that the book is actually lost; it may simply be delayed en route.  Also, the requestor may be away from home and unaware if the book has arrived.  If so, he or she can mark it received from his or her Transaction Archive when he or she returns home, and credit will be granted when she or he does that. A book sent to an active member at PBS will not earn credit until the requestor marks it received, unless PBS Delivery Confirmation is used to send the book.  

If a book you sent is declared Lost in the Mail at PBS:

• As the sender, you should call 800-ASK-USPS or go to https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MLNtRcvd.aspx (the Postal Inspection Service's website) and input the information online there . This will help USPS try to recover your book if it truly has been lost in the mail.
  • This form at USPS is titled "Mail Theft"
  • This does  not mean only theft of mail.  USPS categorizes any mail that does not arrive or that is tampered with as "mail theft".
  • The choice that should be made under "Class" if Media Mail was used is "Parcel Post"
• You can get the information about the transaction from the Transaction Archive:
  • Click "Transaction Archive" in the menu under My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site
  • Click the Request Details link on the right of the "lost in mail" transaction
  • If you need more information (such as requestor address) you can ask the requestor in a Personal Message for that information.
    • We are unable to provide member address information outside of the duration of an active transaction, due to the PBS Privacy Policy.
    • You can use the button on the transaction to contact the requestor.
• If USPS does return your book to you, and it is undamaged:
  • You should ask the requestor (using the button on the Lost transaction in your Transaction Archive) if she still wants it. 
  • If she does, you can re-send it.  If she does not, you can repost it.

thanks, michelle & rebecca. thanks for that help center bit, i'm going to head over there and see if it says anything about when you're the sender instead of the receiver. :)

ETA: Haha, so quick! Thanks Marsha - You found it before I could even click over...

I think if the requestors account is declared inactive you might get your credit back.  But you'd have to contact R&R after it goes lost if the person does not respond to your PMs. 

If the requestor's account is inactive, then the system will automatically mark the book received instead of marking it lost.

You shouldn't have to contact R&R unless the system actually marks the book lost and you believe it was not lost.

I sent a book and it hadn't been marked received yet so I clicked on the guy's profile and he is no longer a member.   So the system should mark the book received once it goes "lost" since he is not a member any more. 

well. he's still a member, he's just -never- responded to anything. oh well. time will tell.

Just an FYI - I've had two books that I've sent out go lost in the mail only to turn up a week or so after the deadline.  So, just because you are creeping up on the deadline doesn't mean that the book won't make it there.  Some people are slow to respond to emails or are not on their computer a lot...so try to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.  Worry about this only after it officially goes lost.

Speaking from experience, do not wait for the book to be declared "lost".  You've already PMed the requestor to ask if the book has arrived, but you should also copy down the requestor's address.  If you wait until the book is declared "lost" by the system, you will no longer have the address info available to you and will have to rely on the requestor giving you that info, and you already know that person does not respond to PMs in a timely manner. 

thanks for that suggestion. i am going to copy down the address, but i will give them the benefit of the doubt here and just hope it's going to arrive a little late.

You may also want to PM PBS and ask if the individual has logged into his account recently. They can tell if he (or she) has even seen your messages.

If the account has been abandoned, then you will get credit for the book when the "lost in the mail" deadline is reached.

This has happened to me a couple of times in the past month or so with newish members who seemed to register, order a few books, and then forget to come back.

Megan;  Since you sent the book and have tried to PM the requester but have not had an answer, on the 26th day, if the account appears inactive to PBS, the book will be marked received by the system, not lost, You will then get your credit back.

good, i will keep you all posted on how this goes... i think the 26th day is the 15th.

case closed! he didn't reply to any of my messages, but i logged on this morning to see that he did mark it as received. thank goodness, as it would've been marked lost tomorrow. thanks all!

Was it marked received just after 3:00 AM? If so, then it was marked received by the system.

cathy,

Date Received: 11/14/2007 3:06 AM ET

yep, i guess it was. funny, i didn't think it was due to go lost until the 15th.

Well, cool. The system worked. I've noticed before that stuff usually happens a day before the "system action date" on the screen.