I have a book that mailed 5/3  that still hasn't been marked rec'd, the PBS date is 5/30 but I couldn't wait and PMed the person a few days ago - no response.  If  the 5/30 date comes will it be marked as lost and I will lose the credit for good?  Does the person have to respond to PBS or does it just go lost? 

Yes, it will be marked as "Lost" automatically and the requester will get their credit back. 

That is a little worrisome because if they can't answer PMs why should I believe they are logging in to make off books received. If it is lost and it shows up later, is it on them to give me a credit if they want to?

Since there isn't a flag icon by your name, I'm assuming you are not using PBS postage or DC.  In that case, it's "on them" to mark a book deemed "lost in the mail" received, just as it would be if the book is on time.

From the help docs:

When a lost book arrives, you must mark it received.

To do so:

• Go to your Transaction Archive:

  • From My Account: click the link "Transaction Archive" in the yellow bar at the top of the page
  • From anywhere on the site: place your cursor over My Account in the toolbar at the top of any page on the site and choose Transaction Archive from the menu that drops down
• Sort the Transaction Archive by "Requested by me" - "Lost in mail" - "Title" - "Descending"
• Locate the Lost transaction for this book in the list.
  • If there is more than one Lost transaction for this title, check the sender's name on the right of the transaction against the name of the sender in the return address on the package you received.
  • Click on the transaction.
  • The next pages are the regular Book Received pages:
    Click on the next page
    Provide more information about the swap on the next page
    • you will also have the option to send a message to the sender of the book
    • you will also have the option to provide comments on the swap that only we will see
• Both your account and the sender's will be updated when you have done this.

The book will have been placed on your Wish List when it was declared Lost, so you should remove it from there if you do not wish to be offered another copy when it becomes available.

Lost books must be marked received when/if they arrive, to keep your account in good standing.

When the system action date comes, the computers will determine whether the other member is still active or not. If the account appears to be abandoned, then the book will be marked received and you will get your credit. If the other member appears to be active, then the book will be marked lost in the mail and the requestor will get her credit back.

If it has been more than a week since you PM'ed the other person AND she hasn't responded AND the book has been marked lost, then you can contact the PBS Team by using the link at the bottom right of the screen and ask them to investigate.

Just because they don't respond to PMs doesn't mean they can't, or are not logging in. 

I don't believe TPTB will get involved if you sent the PM before the book goes lost.  Why would you do that anyway?  PBS sends emails asking us if books have been received or not.  I have a book coming my way that was mailed May 7 - it's not here yet and I've had one email from PBS already.  If the sender PMed me, I would ignore it until the book has gone lost. TPTB DOES get involved if there is a problem transaction and you ignore the PM.  THIS however is not a problem transaction.

I also get annoyed when people PM well before a book goes lost to ask why I haven't marked it received. I don't mind a PM so much like the day before. But more than a week would be annoying.  Also not everyone comes onto PBS everyday.  They could have read the PM in the email and if they didn't receive the book-didn't log on to answer the PM.  You don't say how many days ago that you PM'd but keep in mind that some people have limited computer acess and aren't on everyday. 

Sometimes the mail takes a while. I've had books take 2 days to go media mail cross country and I've had books take 3 wks to go 1st class 1 state over.  You just never know.

I personally think paying the DC fee is a waste of money-but if you stress out about credits and books being marked received than it might be worth it to you to use.  PBS only acknowledges DC when you buy it through them.

I believe PBS sends at least two, if not three, emails asking if a book has been received yet, so the sender asking on top of this, prior to the lost date, does cause a lot of people to get a little frustrated. I also would not contact the requestor until after the lost date (actually, I wouldn't contact them until you get that email from PBS that says "we're sorry but the book has gone lost" or similar to that :)

I always PM several days before the book goes lost, when I am the sender. I have had 4 or 5 transactions that went that close to the lost date ... and in every case they were marked received either that day or maybe a day after my PM. I also got responses with various excuses in them for not marking received. I think they were: "Sorry, I forgot"; "Sorry, I've been really busy with final exams", and "Sorry, I thought that book came from Amazon", etc.

So, obviously the email reminders were not working on those people. (which I actually understand, because I route all PBS emails right to the trash, and I log in to PBS every day to administer my account. So, I for one, never see any PBS emails at all. Ever.)

So, I don't worry too much about having books marked received, I've mailed more than 600, most  without DC and I have only come close to having an issue with receivers 4 or 5 times, and all of those books ended up being marked received before they went lost. So, a 100% marked received record.

But, I am definitly an advocate of a polite PM, just before it goes lost. If I hadn't done that, I am pretty sure I would never have seen those credits.

If your book has been longer than 2 weeks in transit, and has not been marked received:

• Remember that the requestor may be away from home and unaware if the book has arrived. 

• • If this is the case, he or she can mark it received when he or she returns home. 

    • If the book transaction is still active, he or she can mark it received from the En Route to Me tab in My Account.
    • If the book has been declared lost in the mail, it can be marked received from the requestor's Transaction Archive

• If you want to discuss the book, you can contact the requestor using the button on the transaction on the Books I've Mailed tab in My Account. If the book has been declared Lost in the Mail, the transaction can be found in your Transaction Archive, linked from the top of your My Account main page.

  • If the member does not respond to your PM within a week, contact us and let us know.
  • Be sure your PM to the requestor specifies the title of the book.

Thanks - I was starting to feel bad about PMing her, but I personally don't mind getting PMs from other members.  Anyway, I guess I will just wait and see, I am not freaked about a losing a credit, I am just still new here and this is the first time I have had this come up.

 **** She just Pm'd me and said sorry it took her so long to mark it received - so It's all good*******

Thanks again for the response.