I got two of these gems this morning. I feel like PBS is accusing me of something, not checking books in and scamming the system. Believe me when I say PBS is my life - has changed my life for the better - over three years, it's made my life so much better. This must be a new change but I don't see anyone else posting about it. These books have not come, period. The email insinuates I have a problem with my mail. I don't. In fact, two days ago I received a book marked posted 4/19, which the sender told PBS she mailed 4/4. I received a TON of "did you get it yet" emails (though not this new kind) because PBS thought, indeed, I was being lazy about checking it in whereas she hadn't even mailed it yet. Now this? I wish there was a way to respond to this emails - could be the same exact situation. USPS may say it was delivered, but it wasn't. Period.

The emails are sent just to make sure your account is active (I learned this from swapadvd a few days ago).  Just be sure to login to your account, so they know you're active.

I've had a few go "delivered" but they never actually get to my mailbox.  I assume they get misdelivered or fall of the truck somewhere.

The emails are automatically triggered "x" number of days past the mail date. They are sent to everyone who has not marked a book received "x" number of days past a mail date.

They are sent from a machine. Nobody is deciding that you need one personally.

Don't take it personally, Heather. As Sara explained, the emails are triggered messages that are automatically sent after certain thresholds. Emails are sent X days after the book has been marked mailed and I imagine they also have a triggered one after books with PBS DC have been marked delivered by the USPS. We all know that sometimes the USPS marks packages delivered before they actually do but this is not a person making that decision of whether to send you an email, it's done automatically.

The Team has implemented those emails because they help the site work better for everybody. So you just have to learn to live with them.

Uh, I've been here three years. I've gotten plenty of the "Did you receive this book..." message. In the past, they've been worded just fine. My point is, this is a completely new email. There has not been an email titled "USPS SAYS YOU RECEIVED THIS BOOK" and within the email, the wording "You must get your mail carrier to track down your package." Does anyone other than me realize the FAIL this is? I live in an apartment complex with 200+ people. I work full time. While getting the mail IS the highlight of my day, I don't have the ability to "chat" with my mail person "while my packages are fresh in his mind." (As if.) I *know* these emails were auto-generated. My problem is, this is a NEW message, and it specifically says "THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR MAIL." I know it's not PBS choosing me (Heather, personally) to mail it to. They even responded super fast this morning to my feedback about it. But I know not every single person on this site is a stay-at-home-person who does nothing all day and can keep an eye out for the mail carrier (even if the mailboxes are nowhere near their apartment) and that the mail carrier would even know who they are. Or worse, go to the post office, where the postal workers are barely alive, where the line is so long and disgruntled that if I roll up and want to "have a chat about where my packages are," I wouldn't get stoned. My whole point was solely that this is a *new* email, and I felt that it was accusing me by it's tone. To recap: I am aware they sent out similar emails before, and I am aware they are auto-generated. Thanks.

Ugh, I got one of these a few days ago, but just deleted without reading it, since I hadn't received the book yet. I saw the message line had changed though.

Do you still have yours? I'm curious about the new message wording.

Heather- I had issues with packages not fitting in my box and needing to pick them up from the PO. When I spoke to the apartment office manager, she claimed the new mail carrier had not even come in the last 4 days to drop off packages like the old one did. The PO required them to then install package sized post boxes that were lockable by the mail carrier. Before that our packages would be left in the managers office, we;d get a phone call and a slip in our mail box telling us to pick it up. system worked fine, never had anything go missing.
Stupid thing was, we got many packages that were too big for even these package post boxes (bout the size of 3 medium hardcover books in size) and the mail carrier left those in the managers office just fine.

ANYWAY my point is if you have an apartment manager who could catch the mail carrier on your behalf, I;d do so.  PLUS USPS would always mark the item delievered on the FIRST try leaving the slip with us, not when we had the package. The new mail carrier was just annoying.

I have also left notices in my mailbox for the mail carrier and he has replied and looked for my package :)

So .... my Mom believes that people working at Farmville are "doing things" to her Farmville account. Like looking at it and then not giving her a cow. Or whatever. No matter how many times I explain to her the concept of things happening in an automated way, like if the software knows you have 5 cows, it wants to give you a goat instead of another cow ... no, she thinks that there is an employee of Farmville choosing whether or not to give her a cow.

And, she uses a computer every day. It's not like it ought to be so mysterious to her.

So ... I never really know what people understand or don't understand about how software works. I've learned never to assume.

I auto direct all my PBS email right into the trash, so I never see these email messages anyway. I just log in every day.

But ... they word these messages so that the people who need the message know what to do. It's the people who have 5 book transactions a year that need these reminders ... not the people who are active on the site.  Just ignore them and remember that they are for the benefit of those who are less active members ... which is most of the membership.

I also get these regularly, and they seem to be new (I don't remember ever getting them this frequently in the past).  I tried to find a way to turn them off, but there is no option for us for that.  I don't want to get these emails either, especially since it seems the habit that the USPS scan data is arriving to PBS much before I actually get the books delivered to me. 

I'm with Heather, I -know- they are automated, but I don't like the implications of the email and I don't appreciate receiving these! *wry grin*

Heather, if your books are not being delivered properly, you should call your PO branch and talk to someone (preferrably the postmaster). It is then their responsibility to track down the mail carrier and try to track your packages, much more effective if it comes from their boss than yourself.   If they are having delivery issues, they cannot correct it if they don't know it exists.  Also talk to your apartment management (or whoever handles mail delivery).  That's about the extent of what you can do from your end.

Xen, if the mail carrier leaves a 'pick-up slip' the scan should say 'notice left' not 'delivered'.  USPS is in serious need of some standardized training.

OK -- I'm going to stop here because I'm afraid I'll do something to endanger my account here. They actually turned off my account because of what was happening, and I spent a few (shhhh--- Xanax-filled) hours panicking. I think -- esp on the forums, the people on PBS LOVE IT. It's a huge part of their lives. The WL offers, the forums, the book requests. They shut down my account right like that. I panicked! I was able to contact via email my apartment manager, who tells me I do have 3 packages. I can assume they are these books plus a package of stuffed mini Hello Kitties I ordered (and can really use right now!). In our system where I live, we get a package slip that says "Come to the office for your package." (I miss the old days of owning my home in NC where packages were left on our doorstep!) Obviously, this was a huge FAIL on the mail person's part for not putting the slip in. I was horrified, though, that this turned my account off. I couldn't see anything - forums, messages, and was terrified that one of the WL books I'm #1 for (about 50) or a gold key friend posting something would miss me. Getting that "WL Granted" email makes my day more than anything in the world! After I relayed this info to PBS (I have to say, they responded to each of my 4 or so emails within MINUTES - great service), they turned my account back on. As soon as I can get over to my apartment complex, I will check in those books. (I am making the assumption that's them since I'm expecting about 7.)

Oh silly me, my ENTIRE point was to caution against the wording someone wrote about totally ignoring the messages from PBS -- autodirecting them into the trash. I don't know whether my account was turned off because I sent in feedback about those emails OR whether it just happens automatically when you get those emails. I just suggest NOT auto-deleting them. You don't know what could happen if they're ignored.

Could you copy and paste this message you've been getting.  I haven't seen it.  Doesn't sound like PBS.  Maybe one of the moderators could tell us how and why it was developed. Do you think they could be some type of SPAM?

The message she's getting is probably like the one I've copied below.  The OP may have never had a book that had DC on it that was not marked received within 4 days.  The DC message is different than the "Has this book arrived yet" messages that you get at 2 and 3 weeks, as the delivery confirmation claims it was received.

Frankly, I find these messages helpful.  While I do like watching the DC scans, if I get busy then I'm too busy to stalk the mailman.  It alerts me that the package has supposedly been delivered and that I should look for it.  9.9 times out of 10, the kids or DH grabbed it and stuck it somewhere.  In the below case, the kids found it when they got home from school and left it under their backpacks and coats. 

If the DC is marked as "delivered", but no one remembers it here and I can't find it, then it's time to start asking around.  A few months ago a sub left a box of contacts meant for XXX40 in our box.  We're XXX30.  What's interesting is that our boxes don't have our street address on them, they're numbered 1-8.  We are box 5.  I assume XXX40 is box 1.  We've also started getting letters intended for the home next door, so there must be another sub.

It's not meant to be a personal hand slap.  It's meant to be a "hey, the USPS claims they've delivered this.  if you've got it, please mark it, if not, then you've gotta start investigating to figure out where your package really is" message.  A heads up.  An alert.

A couple years ago I had one book w/ DC go missing.  I'll never know where it went.  No one remembered it specifically since I got so many books.  For all I know someone got it in their box (apartment block of boxes) and decided to keep it, trash it, whatever with it, or it was left in an unoccupied box which was later trashed by the new tenant.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Michelle,

Hello from PaperBackSwap! Have you received the book 'MY BOOK' by Not Me in the mail yet? The post office has recorded it as "delivered" on 4/23/2012.

If you have received this book, please click below and mark it received on your My Account page. Marking incoming books received as promptly as possible is critical to membership.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/members/index.php

If you have NOT RECEIVED this book yet, there might be a problem with your incoming mail delivery. You should investigate this by talking with your local PO and your mail carrier, as described in the Help Center information linked below:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/help_item.php?id=367

The OP said that PBS suspended her account temporarily. So, there must be something else going on. I doubt that would happen for books that have not been marked received yet, that have also not gone lost in the mail yet.

I think that PBS might be doing some work on stopping "credit insurance" loss ... based on this thread and one other that was posted recently, I think they may be taking a look at accounts where the account holder hasn't marked books as received, but DC shows them as being delivered. (And, where they may have had to pay a credit insurance credit to the sender.)

I'm not saying that I know this for sure, or that the OP did anything wrong. I once had a book shown as delivered to me that actually arrived at my house about 15 days after the "Delivered" scan. So, I know they are not always correct.

But it wouldn't surprise me if PBS is taking a harder look at situations where they are paying out more than the ordinary "credit insurance" credits, for both senders whose receivers are not marking books received, and for receivers who have more than the average number of "DC - Delivered" books that were never marked received.

They suspended my account because they said my mail was not working. I haven't had a book gone lost since probably two years ago, AND I have checked in about 5 books this week alone. There's not "something else going on" - but thanks for that assumption. Because I reported I had not received two books that said they had arrived, my account was deemed a risk for other senders and shuttered until I could resolve the situation. The two books hadn't even "gone lost" - that's weeks away. I am not in the "receiver with more than the average number of "DC - Delivered" books never marked received" category. Every book I've ordered on PBS - hundreds - has been marked received. These books didn't even go lost. Because two books that showed as having been received (and technically were received by my apartment complex without the usual slip in the mailbox telling me to come get them), my account was deemed a problem.

Heather,

If your postal carrier and complex are not going to communicate with you in a timely manner about packages, it might be worth the investment to pick up a PO Box for your mailings.  I ended up doing that my first year here on PBS and it's been so much easier than worrying about if an item is in the office or was misboxed. 

Glad it's all worked out for you now.  I totally can relate to the awesome feeling of those WL granted emails :)

Maybe the two books in a row showing delivered and not marked received was what caused your account to be above the average.

I often use DC, sometimes the site's DC but mostly PayPal DC. And I notice that fairly often books aren't marked within a few days of the USPS saying they were delivered. Sometimes it's the postal service but sometimes it's the members - people get busy, go on vacation, only check their PO box once a week, or may only be able to get to a computer once a week. I'm sure TPTB understand this, but maybe they're trying to stop what they see is trend before it gets out of hand.

They suspended my account because they said my mail was not working. I haven't had a book gone lost since probably two years ago, AND I have checked in about 5 books this week alone. There's not "something else going on" - but thanks for that assumption.

So, your mail not working (or PBS thinking your mail isn't working) IS the something else going on.

I wasn't saying you are doing anything wrong. Really and Truly.

What I actually meant is that I was not sure that the emails that you were talking about in your OP are really the PBS automated emails. Because when you explained that your account was temporarily suspended, that would imply that there is "something else" going on, besides whatever triggers automated emails. So, I was guessing that the emails you are talking about were related to whatever the other situation is with your account that caused PBS to temporarily suspend it.

I wasn't actually implying that it was "something else that is your fault" ... just "something else".

Anyway, I'm glad you have it straightened out.

Heather, I'm sorry you're having this trouble.  You mention working full time - can you change your mailing address in the system to your work address?

Check with your boss and see if that's ok.  My boss is a PBS member and she has all her books delivered at the office. 

A coworker and his wife both work, so when he orders stuff online, he has it delivered to him at work, too. 

This sounds like there's a problem with your local PO, so maybe if a different PO is delivering the books to you at a different address, it might solve the problem.

MaryF