Hey all!  I've been here for years, but need a question answered! LOL!

A book I sent may go lost.  I didn't use DC or PBS postage.  Will I get my credits?

Edie

Generally no, unles the member is inactive. Although, I've found some members don't appear to mark their books received until pbs' reminder emails are sent.

I've recently had three books that I ordered go lost .  I got all three credits back.  You can check Credit Registry on your main page to verify.

I have never had a book go lost until this week when two went lost.  What's up with that?  I've been reading a lot of posts here lately about a rash of lost books.

I have reported my lost books to my local PO in case they have an employee who is stealing books.  This happened to me once with Netflix movies.  They caught the employee and fired him.

If books you are requesting get lost, you get your credits back.

If books you SENT go lost and you didn't use PBS DC or postage, then you won't get your credit. Under special circumstances the Team may get involved, but if these conditions don't apply, then you are out of a credit.

I sent out a small box of 12 books that the requestor said did not arrive -- I never got the 12 credits.  :-(

Edie, when the book is about to go lost, it's okay to send a PM confirming to the requestor that you did mail the book on time, and suggesting that he wait to order another copy, since yours may still arrive.  I'd also suggest asking him to confirm for you that the book hasn't arrived yet.

If your PM asks for a reply, and he doesn't answer (give him 5 days at least), you can then contact the Admin Team and ask them to check to be sure he is still active.

The Help Center has a good document on this "A book I sent is lost in the mail!".  It includes a link to the USPS form to use to report the lost mail, in addition to guidelines for PMing the other member, etc.

I sent out a small box of 12 books that the requestor said did not arrive -- I never got the 12 credits.  :-(

Oh that's too bad, Sue...you should have used PBS Postage or DC. That's what I do with orders of 2 books and more so I'm guarantee to get my credits.

How long should you wait before pming the person you sent a book to to ask if it has arrived?  I would not want to irritate someone by sending them a message too soon.

They will get emails from the site when the book is due already. I'd wait until the book goes lost then PM them and ask.

At the earliest I'd never PM much before the lost date. I find it's really annoying to get PM's asking about arrival of a book that is still in the delivery timeframe. I can't control the P.O., media mail is the slowest delvery there is, and I will mark it when I get it. After it's lost or within a day or so, I don't mind a PM asking, just to make sure. Before that, don't bother me about it.