I just need to vent.  Of the last three books received, two were postmarked more than 10 days after they were marked mailed in PBS.  Why would someone to do that?  And when the book goes lost in the system, why not send a PM saying, "hey, you know that book you have been waiting for for a month?  Well, if you are offered another copy, don't accept it because the book I sent is probably on the way."  Thanks for listening.

Common courtesy was lacking there. The sender should have sent you a message that something came up and the book will be sent late. The sender should have given you the option of saying that was ok, or refunding your credit so that you could get another copy.

I have also had this happen to me. Not much gets me angry but when someone lies I get angry.

There is no reason for lying. Even if someone marked it mailed then something came up they should have emailed you to let you know.

Were they printed postage or stamps with postmarks? I've had a few complaints about late postmarks since I've been using $1 stamps on my books lately - my post office never postmarks anything, so the stamps often don't get cancelled until they reach the receiver's PO. I tell them to look at the zip code of the post mark and 100% of the time it has been their zip code, not mine, which puts the postmark date only a day before the book is actually delivered.

The sender should have given you the option of saying that was ok, or refunding your credit so that you could get another copy.

WEll, it's not quite that simple.  Once the book is marked Mailed the sender cannot cancel anymore, either, and the PBS Team has to be contacted  This sometimes takes a day or two, depending on their workload.  By the time the PM's go back and forth and the PBS Team is contacted, well, it might have been better just TO mail, really.

I know late mailings are frustrating, I really do.  However, as Bren points out, postmarks actually mean very little.  The book can sit several days before BEING postmarked or it might not get marked until several days into its journey.  Also, while surely some people mail late due to lack of courtesy, not everyone does.  Some people have true emergencies that demand their immediate attention and the books are forgotten for a time.  The problem is, we have no idea who is being, well, rude and mailing late and whose child had to go to the emergency room or whose parent passed away.  Those are extreme examples, but crisis come in all kinds and you *just never know*. 

When I was very new here I antiicpated a book and was really ticked when the marking (I think it was metered, not a postmark, but it's been a long time) showed it was mailed more than 2 weeks late.  I sent off a message to the Founders venting my frustration that a member should be so rude. They sent me a very kind, rather lengthy reply.  It acknowledged my frustration, then went on to point out what I basically just said above...... that we can never know what's happening in another person's life.  I figure if that's how they want me to look at it, maybe I need to take a deep breath a little more often. ;-)

Now, you do have the option of filling out the survey and I encourage you to do so.  That IS why it is there.  If a member comes up with a pattern of late mailings, the system will bring it to someone's attention.

It's been a couple of days and I have cooled down.  Both of them had postage printed from the post office with the date on it so it wasn't postmarked later than it was mailed.  I did fill out the survey on both of them.  Thanks everyone for letting me vent.

Also who knows. The book could have come back to them for some reason and they had to remail.  A pm would have been nice and maybe you would have gotten one if the book were about to go lost.  Back when I first joined, I ordered some books from a lady running a deal. She gave all her deal orders to her husband to mail.  He put them in the trunk and forgot about them.  She mailed them a week or 2 late. I didn't get a PM until a day or two before they were about to go lost.  She was hoping they would get to everyone quickly. 

I'm just happy to get the book before it goes lost.  It will only offer you another copy if it's a WL book.  If I had a WL book go lost, I'd probably put my account on hold for a bit to hold off any offers for another copy while still holding my place in line. 

Fill the survey out.  If it's a chronic problem with this person on not just a local PO that doesn't stamp the books-then PBS will send them a warning. 

Life does happen.  My stepmother passed away recently.  We were very close. I had a book order pending. I cancelled it because I just didn't want to deal with mailing it out.  I had to make an unplanned out of town trip.  PBS was low priority.  In fact I completely forgot to notify the hostess of a game I was doing and missed my turn.  I came back to several PMS wondering where I was.   A few people had to wait for credit refunds on a game I was hosting because I lost track of it while I was gone.  Everyone was very understanding though. So I can see how easy it would be to forget to mail a book in an emergency. 

There's another perspective here - was the "postmark" from PBS postage?  Because I always try to put a "postmark" on the latest possible day available so that if there are problems with people who have to do the mailing for me are late - the book will still be accepted.  If it's PBS postage - there won't be a postmark by the USPS most of the time.  Some of us can't get out to the post office and the carriers don't have to pick up mail you are sending out.  And, as  Mary L. said above, real life intervenes sometimes.  Right now my Dad is dying in TX and my MIL just fell in the bathroom and has not regained conciousness nor do they expect her to survive since her organs are failing.  So I'm looking at 2 family losses plus Christmas and I'm not a physically able person.  We do the best we can.  Some of us don't and are lazy - but you'll most likely get your books and soon have way more to read than you can imagine right now!  Hope all your future books are sent the same day you order - that's happened to me several times and it always surprises me more than late books do!  ;D

Ruth

I recently recieved a book that was mailed not a week or so after it was marked mailed, but 34 days after it was marked mailed.  I know it wasn't just that the post office didn't postmark the postage until it got to me, because it was metered postage from the post office.  It was mailed, finally on the 16th of December according to the postage on the package, when PBS says that the sender marked it mailed on the 12th of November.  I know that things come up in life, but a PM saying, hey, don't re-order this book (It was a WL book, but thankfully no other copies had been posted yet) would have been very nice.  Okay, I feel better, I just had to vent a little.  Overall, I've had great luck with getting and sending books, of well over 100 transactions only two have actually gone missing...one on it's way to me and one on it's way to a new home. 

Erin

I think we all know that things can come up, but where is the common courtesy to PM when you do mail the book (because my guess is that things have calmed down by that point) to say hey, life happened (whatever the reason) and I just mailed your book so look for it shortly.  That way the receiver knows what has happened.

the other thing would be for people to NOT mark it mailed until it has actually been mailed.  If you give it to a spouse to mail, check with them and make sure it was mailed, don't assume (because we all know how spouses can be at times!)