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Help Center - My requested book arrived with a late postmark!

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Books that arrive with a late postmark should be marked "received with a problem" and the late postmark can be noted. (there is one exception to this, as noted below)

  • Providing the late postmark while marking the book received will generate an auto-email to the sender of the book, reminding him or her that late mailing is not acceptable at PBS.
    • The email includes the information that the late postmark could have been entered in error
    • The email includes the information that sometimes postmarks are delayed a few days, even if the book was mailed on time
    • The email includes the information that if the late mailing was agreed to by the requestor, this is not a problem
  • You can contact the sender using the text box provided while marking the book received
    • Please be gentle!  You can't know what might have delayed this shipment.
  • If the book was declared lost in the mail before it arrived:
    • You need to mark it received from your Transaction Archive. Lost books must be marked received when/if they arrive, to keep your account in good standing.
    • Please note the one exception to the above rule::
      • If the book has a very late postmark on it AND it was declared "lost" by our system AND you have re-requested it AND you will end up with (or have already ended up with) 2 copies, then you do fo not have to mark the book received, and you should  contact us to report the late mailing .
      • TO RECAP:
      • For it to be OK not to mark a late-mailed book received, ALL of the following must be true:
        • The postmark on the package must date to 18 days (or more!) after it was marked "mailed", AND
        • You must have received no notification from the sender that the book would be/was mailed late, AND
        • the book was declared "Lost" by our system, AND
        • you re-requested a second copy of the book and that request can't be canceled, then:
        • If all four of the above are true, you do not have to mark the book received and you should contact us to let us know about the late mailing.
    • Again, the above is the only circumstance in which you do not have to mark a "lost" book as received.
       
  • If you receive a book that was mailed very late without your consent, you can also contact us to alert us to the incident.
    • A pattern of late mailing will cause account suspension and possibly termination of membership
    • Sometimes late mailing happens for very good reasons, but chronic late mailing will not be tolerated.

Related Links:

I received a book that was 'lost in the mail'
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There is a problem with a book I received!
Can I send a book later (later than the available dates OR after the date I said that I would mail)?
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