When are we supposed to mark a book RWAP, late postmark? Is it intended to use for when a book goes lost then arrives with a late postmark or use it when the book is still in your "books enroute to me" tab, but the postmark is 2 weeks later then it was actually marked mailed without being notified by the sender?  

I ask because 3 of the last 4 books were postmarked 12 to 24 days later then the date they were actually marked mailed. So far I've just marked them as received without a problem & noted the late postmark date in the box. I'm ok with the postmark being off by a few days because I realize stuff comes up, but 24 days is a little much imo. 

If a postmark shows a date that is more than 2 days past the date the member says they have mailed then yes you can mark RWAP - late postmark.  I generally will give a few days, because sometimes the PO makes a mistake, or life happens, or a book falls under the car seat, etc.  If you are getting books that are mailed nearly 2 weeks after the date the book mailed button was clicked by the member, that certainly is not acceptable and you need to use the RWAP feature in order to let PBS know of the problem.  The other member would be given a warning email, but if the problem continues for that member their account could be suspended.  

Accurately makring the books that arrive with issues really helps to weed out the members that aren't following the rules, or who don't understand them as they are written.

What Jaynessa said   PBS guidelines allow 2 days after the date to actually mail the book(s), althought there's not point in being nitpicky about a day or two (and counter postage dates are more likey to be exactly accurate than cancellation/postmark).  But definately RWAP over a week or two.  After 4 days, the sender is supposed to contact the requestor and get permission prior to mailing.

Help Documents under 'Can I Sent a Book Later?'

• If you accepted a request and something comes up unexpectedly, contact the sender to let him or her know that mailing was delayed, as soon as you have mailed the book. Most requestors don't mind a little delay, as long as they are kept informed of the situation. 

• If you do arrange late mailing with a requestor, you must mark the book mailed before the deadline to prevent the transaction from being canceled.

If you marked the book mailed but did not mail it and you want to mail it late (more than 4 days after the date you marked it as mailed),  you MUST contact the requestor using the PM button on the transaction, to be sure that the requestor still wants the book.  (If the book has already been declared "lost", the PM button is on the "lost in mail" transaction in your Transaction Archive.)

I'm much more likely to use it if it is a counter stamp rather than a postmark.  No wiggle room there.  It does mark books received as normal, but in addition, flags them in the PBS archive and sends the reminder email.  Why not?