I have a couple of wish list books coming from the same person.  They apparently used the PBS postage because they have the appropriate check marks next to the books.  But, when I look at the details, it says:

1/7/2010 12:00 AM - Electronic Shipping Info Received

That tells me that the person printed postage but never took the books to the post office because the next scan should say "Acceptance" to show that it was scanned at the post office.  If these books go missing or the person never actually sent them, what happens?  Do I have to wait the whole 28 days and if they time out, do I go back to the top of the line for the wish-listed book?

It doesn't necessarily mean that the person hasn't sent them, it just means they've not been scanned anywhere. For me, the reason for using the PBS postage is so I DON'T have to go to the post office, so my books never have an 'acceptance' scan. Sometimes there is an "enroute" scan a few days after sending (I drop them in a blue box) but not always. Sometimes there is no scan until actual delivery...which is really all that Delivery Confirmation is supposed to be. Any scans along the way are gravy. Many times my books are marked received before the "delivered' scan even shows up, because there is communication between the USPS and PBS computers only a couple times a day.

Edited to add--once the books are marked lost in the system, then yes you will go back to the wish list. But nothing can be done until that "lost" thing happens.

Cheryl

Different post offices have different policies about scanning.  And if the book is scanned before the box is checked that it has been mailed, then that scan sometimes does not show up.  

No data does not mean that the books weren't mailed.  Be patient.

Unless the sender PMs you and lets you know they didn't send them after all, there isn't a way of knowing why a book had not received any scans. I've found that they usually do get scanned along the way, but not always. In the past month, I've had one or two on their way to me that were not scanned at all until they showed up at my door.

I almost always use APC stamps to mail my books out, even ones with DC, and they never get Acceptance scans. Usually 2 to 3 days later, they get an "en-route" scanned at the regional sorting center, but not always. And a few times, it has taken 7 or 8 days for that "en-route" scan to show up.

Yes, unless the sender contacts you, you would need to wait the whole 28 days until they go lost. Although, you could PM the person a few days before the book is ready to go lost, just to let them know that you really haven't received the book yet, and you could ask politely if they remember anything about the mailing which might have made it later than usual. I usually get a good response to a PM of this type (meaning the other person responds with some type of answer instead of ignoring it), but you just have to make sure it doesn't sound like you are accusing the other person of not mailing the book.

Most PBS full postage won't have acceptance scans because they are not taken to the counter and many POs refuse to scan online postage paid packages even if they are taken to the counter. With the rearranging and mass closing of the USPS sorting centers, scans along the way are  becoming less of a norm. Where I used to see 99% of my outgoing books scanned in St Paul within days of sending, now I would say that's dropped down to about 60% scanned somewhere before the delivery.  

That tells me that the person printed postage but never took the books to the post office because the next scan should say "Acceptance" to show that it was scanned at the post office.  If these books go missing or the person never actually sent them, what happens?  Do I have to wait the whole 28 days and if they time out, do I go back to the top of the line for the wish-listed book?

If the books are not received by the date of "system action" then you get your credit back and you go back to the front of the WL line.

You're right--they probably didn't take the books to the post office.  The whole point of using PBS (or any other online) postage is for the convenience (plus quicker / assured credit with PBS postage). By the way, I've also taken packages to the clerk and she didn't scan them in -- the clerks are actually discouraged from doing so, because the discounted 19c DC is supposed to cut down on PO labor. DC is just that, and any en route scans are gravy. Plus it's only been 11 days. Media Mail can take up to 14 or 21 business days.

I would tend to think that if someone has gone to the trouble and expense of printing out a wrapper he is intending to mail you the books.

Good luck; hope you receive your WL books soon.

Over in the USPS forum, there is a thread  (PBS DC problem at the PO) where Diane L. (a postal employee) mentioned some new policy that was being rolled out. Hopefully, most POs will catch on soon. I still have a PO that refuses to scan if the postage wasn't purchased there.

"Originally, when electronic postage & dc first came out, we as postal employees were told NOT to do an acceptance scan on the eDC. 

 Then the postal service came up with the PS5630 Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice (SCAN) form.  If a customer printed their postage at the USPS Click-n-Ship site, at PayPal, Endicia, etc, they would get an option to print out the SCAN form that would link all their pieces and they would get an acceptance scan when the retail associate (clerk) scanned the SCAN form.  Even then there were problems getting clerks to actually scan the form, even with the instructions to the employee PRINTED RIGHT ON THE FORM. 

 Just recently we got an email stating that if a customer brought a parcel with eDC to the counter and rquested an acceptance scan, we were to do it.  There are going to be THOUSANDS of clerks all over the country who have not got this message yet, either because they didn't get the email, or their Postmaster/Supervisor didn't tell them about it.  I don't believe the new procedure has even been in the Postal Bulletin yet, so it depends on either getting the email (and not all the clerks have a postal email account) or getting the face-to-face direction from the Postmaster or supervisor.  And you would not believe the number of emails a PM gets during the day, so it would not surprise me to find that a PM had just plain missed that one, especially if it was buried in the middle of one of those "Retail Digests" where half the info only applies to certain offices, not all offices.

The counter people  don't believe they are doing anything wrong when they refuse to give a customer an acceptance scan.  In fact, they believe they are doing the right thing, that has been the right thing to do since eDC first started.   

This lack of communication is always a problem anytime the USPS introduces a new product or service.  I wish I had a solution for it."

If they put them in a blue box, they may not get scanned until somewhere along the way, or possibly not until delivery.  They don't always scan them right out of the blue box.

I find it's best not to even look at the DC number until it's been a couple of weeks at least.  Some get scanned at acceptance, some along the way, and some not until the package is delivered.  It's not tracking, it's simply confirmation of delivery and I'd never expect to see something until the package has actually been delivered.

Even though I mail almost all of my books from the Post Office, I hardly ever actually take them to the counter. Even with the PO allowing the acceptance scans, mine still wouldn't get scanned (I don't like waiting in the counter line!)

I mailed out a PBS DC book 01/07/2010.  It was dropped in the APC box and has yet to be scanned.  The estimated arrival date is 02/03/2010 with a system action date of 02/04/2010.

I'm not worried about it, books take time to get to their destination.  If I have learned nothing else from PBS, I've learned that patience is a virtue.  And I'm still impatient...but I'm working on it.

I also use PBS postage and DC, but drop my books into the blue box outside my work.  They usually don't show anything except the "Electronic Shipping Info Received" for the first couple days.  Then they usually--not always, but usually get scanned at the Bell, CA station in Southern CA (I live in Northern CA).  I've had a few books make it to the sender without ever being scanned--even at delivery.

Kate -- You can find out about your wishlist books by going to the USPS tracking site and putting the USPS DC# in the tracking space. It will tell you where your books have been and where they are going. I mailed a book last week that has only the USPS DC# and put it in the tracking site. I was becoming concerned as I have always seen more that that in the details like you have. On the USPS site, it showed the date it had arrived at the Warrendale PA sorting facility and the date that it left. I don't know why it doesn't show anything here in the details, though. But that did help me feel better about the book I had sent.

There is a reason it's called Delivery Confirmation.  Any scans before it gets to your mailman are just bonus scans.  You need to learn to be patient. 

Also I can't see anyone paying for postage and the PBS postage printing free and intentionally no mailing the books out. I mean that just doesn't make sense. 

I agree with Mary, it doesn't make any sense to pay the fee for PBS postage and DC and not mail the book. I have learned that patience is the thing to do here.

I use printable postage all the time, and it's mainly due to the fact that I can't make it to the PO during business hours.  I drop it in the blue box on the way to work.  The packages never get scanned at my local PO.  Many times, they are scanned several days later in Memphis (I assume the closest major sorting center).  Sometimes, they don't get scanned until their final destination. I've had times where I thought the book I mailed had gone lost, only to have it scanned & delivered 2 or 3 weeks after I mailed it, with no scans prior.  I try not to worry about the scans, now, and just focus on the PBS "gone lost" date.  The PBS system is really efficient, and it will let you know if a book is about to go lost. 

I concur with Mary.  DC is DELIVERY Confirmation - the USPS is only obligated to scan it at delivery.  If they scan it anywhere along the way it's just a bonus to you to see where it is.  Just be patient, they'll get there eventually. 

I mailed 5 DVDs at the same time from my office using printable postage and DC through the site.  Usually all my books/Cds/DVDs are scanned at Trenton, NJ that night.  But for whatever reason, 3 of my DVDs were scanned at Trenton that night while 2 were not scanned until they hit the regional sorting facility near the recipient clear across the country.  So no scan definitely does not mean it wasn't mailed.

I recently had a WL book reach me. When I marked it received, it was still listed as "Electronic Shipping Info Received".  It did not get scanned until it hit my door.

Thanks for all the great answers.  I went to the USPS site with the DC code number and it says the same thing, only that they have received notification about the book being shipped.

But, I now have another question about this subject.  The two books are both Lora Leigh books.  I sure hope they make it because they are hard to come by.  Anyway, one of the books is still listed on my wish list with a different ISBN.  It is highlighted in pink with a notation "this book is on hold".  What does this mean?

It means that this book cannot be offered to you right now. You'll keep moving up the line towards first place, but if you get there, the book won't be offered to you when it's posted until you take the listing off hold.

When a book is offered to you, the other versions that are on your wish list are put on hold. You can remove the hold if you like, but you are taking the risk of getting two copies of the book if you do.

This just happened to me and I was getting worried.  Nothing from USPS except: " Electronic Shipping Info Received" .

Today It was marked received and there is nothing else.  It's been almost 2 weeks.  They were mailed by Big Blue Box and not one at a PO.  I still have another out there mailed at the same time.  Still no word.  The one received went to Mass.  The one still MIA is going to GA.   I hope it gets there soon.  I worry!!

Ruth 

In the past month I have had 4 books not get scanned until they reached their final destination.  If someone went to the trouble to pay for the DC or the printable postage, it is most likely on its way to you.  :)