Today, I used the last two of my trial DC's. I took the books to the PO because they are over 13 ounces. The clerk started to get out the PO DC and was going to charge me another 80 cents. I asked her what she was doing because I was going to pay the 19 cent charge for the DC with my postage as indicted on PBS wrapper. She told me I would have to do that online. I explained to her what PBS says as indicated on the wrapper. Anyway she went and asked someone else and they told her what to do. I also asked her to scan it as I don't think she would have. Why don't the PO clerks know what to do with our books? lol

Connie I had a postmaster do the same to me.  If a postmaster doesn't know you can't expect the clerks to know either.  I also was fur babysitting a couple of weeks ago and I used their local PO - I had to tell the clerk what to do.  I am starting to find it amusing.

Jubead, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. It is still showing Quick Credit pending. I saw her scan the DC so does that mean that it is just waiting for PBS? How long does it usually take for that to happen?

If she scanned it and you were charged the 19 cents - then it may take a few hours depending up on when PBS updates it's system.  I dropped some off one morning  ( I use DC alot) and around 8:00 pm it updated.  Another time I dropped off around 2pm and around 5pm it was updated.  Now I did read that someone else was waiting a of  couple of days -they contacted PBS and PBS manually gave them the credit and said they would look into it!  I think that was on the Q&A - not to old.  I think she may have been using the free trial.  Hope this helps.

Thanks, PBS gave me my credits tonight at 10:00 p.m.

I actually stopped using PBS DC unless I use printed postage for this reason.  Unfortunately my Post Office scanned it fine.  The local sorting center kept sending them back as having insufficient postage and cited the amount for the 80 cent DC.  Since I have no access to the sorting center, I gave up.  I hope you have better luck, since it's a feature I really like.

Karen, I would find access to the sorting center.  If they're going to weigh and complain, USPS can at least get their facts right.  Sounds like your local sorting center is in need of additional training.

I just used the DC for the first time this week, and when I went to the PO, the clerk was very happy to see that I had the DC on there already, and knew he only had to scan it.  At the next window was apparently a "regular" that comes in every few days to ship eBay things, and he ALWAYS needs to pay for hte PO DC, this one clerk prefers those of us that come in with the pre printed stuff....(of course I didn't like my $35 bill when he was done though)

My postoffice told me they weren't allowed to scan it if I bought it online, it would have to be scanned on the delivery end. Kind of defeats the purpose. They also told me the place I bought it was responsible for scanning it.

Harry, that depends on where you purchase the postage itself.  I buy PBS DC and purchase postage at the USPS counter, and when done correctly, scanning the barcode is part of the transaction (there's a computer prompt on the screen).

OTOH, if you purchase PBS postage with DC, a scan at your local post office is considered gratuitious and is actively being discouraged by USPS.  For this type of postage, you need to wait for enroute scans, or oaccassionally only the Delivery scan itself will show up.  It's my understanding tho, your credit has already been transferred when using PBS postage.

I bought postage at the PO and told them that if they scanned it, the 19 cents charge for DC would show up on their computer. They told me they were not allowed to and would charge the 19 cents and see what happened.

Unfortunately Harry, many postal employees are inadequately trained :-(   If your post office has the standard USPS computer/cash register, they just follow the prompts and scan the package when indicated....works every time!  My receipts list the addressee zip code, postage cost, and DC is listed seperately at .19.  Any chance of trying a different post office?  Otherwise you may wish to discuss the procedure with the local post master.

PS - Welcome to PBS Harry!!!

Hi everyone!  I sent out my first book today at the PO and encountered a PBS DC problem as well.  I had the PBS DC on the package and was going to pay for the postage at the PO.  I informed the postal worker that I already had PBS DC and all I wanted to do was pay the postage.  However, I was told that the online PBS DC is not a real DC and that I would have to pay the 80cents DC at the PO.  I told her that a scan of the bar code would indicate so.  However, she said that was not the case and did not scan it.  In the end, I paid for the postage.  Also, the postal worker scribbled the bar code with a marker since she did not want it being scanned along the way because I had not paid for the 80cents DC.  Is there a solution to this problem?  Hope my future experiences are better.

Nina -- you need to read this Help doc:

• My PO says that I can't use PBS-DC! How can I prove that I can?

Welcome to PBS Nina! 

Unfortunately, you also experienced an inadequately trained postal worker.  The pre-printed DC on your PBS label is 'real' and 'valid'.  In the future, do not let the clerk mark it out., as this not only requires additional cost but voids your credit transfer guarantee.   If the clerk cannot or will not properly complete the transaction, request to speak to her supervisor or the postmaster.  If the local postmaster doesn't know how to properly process pre-printed DC's, I would contact the regional postmaster and become very cranky until adequate training is provided.  Depending on your location, is it possible to try a different post office?

I've mailed hundreds of books with DC barcodes pre-printed on PBS labels (and purchased postage at the window) and every single one of them has scanned into USPS perfectly.

Thanks for the help, Cathy and Denise.  I'll print out the useful info from the help link for my next trip to the PO for PBS.  The post office that I currently go to is the one that is the closest to me and I have gone there for other purposes before.  Hopefully, I will encounter a postal worker who knows the ropes better the next time I PBS.

Good luck Nina!!

The second time I mailed out a book with PBS DC, the process went very smoothly.  The postal worker took my package weighed it, scanned it, and then I paid for postage.  Different from the first time with another clerk, but a whole lot better! 

Did you note the name of the clerk Nina?  If you run into the uninformed one again, you might say "Jane did this exact transaction last week with no problems, maybe you can ask her how it's done?"

Oops, I didn't.  I'll make sure to look for a name.  Thanks for the tip.

Darn, I wish I had read this before I went to the PO today. I got screwed out of my prepaid PBS DC and ended up paying the .80 for the PO DC. GRRRRR!!!!! I'll be prepared next time!!!

This is what you will need to print to prove that it is only a .19 charge and you don't need the .80 one of theres. Meter stamps are the ones they print off for the package.

http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/503.htm#wp1100825

9.0 Delivery Confirmation

9.1 Delivery Confirmation Fee

9.1.1 Fee

Fee, in addition to postage and other fees, per piece:

9.1.2 Fees and Postage

The applicable Delivery Confirmation fee in 9.1.1 must be paid in addition to the correct postage. The fee and postage may be paid with postage stamps, meter stamps, or permit imprint. Precanceled stamps are not permitted as postage payment.

I've done a lot of mailing, but using pre-printed DC labels is a new experience for me. Am I right in thinking that if the Post Office does not scan when I bring the package in for mailing--regardless of whether I've purchased the postage online or not--then my package will not be trackable in the system until it arrives at some transit point or the final destination, where I presume it gets scanned before actual delivery?

Our big airport post office cheerfully scans the packages I drop off. In fact, they ASK if I want them scanned in. My local post office tells me that they 'cannot' and will not scan in my pre-printed DC packages, because, they say, the packages are already in the system. I've asked about this now on three different occasions, and the answer 'no' is now embedded into the regulations lore of this particular post office facility. They act like I'm asking them to do something illegal. Another small post office about 8 miles from my regular small town post office scans the DC barcodes without batting an eye.

What is the official rule about this? The big airport post office guys seemed to think I simply and unfortunately had one of those local post offices where 'rules' were a sort of aphrodisiac. And it is the case that my local post office makes a fuss about things that I've never had other post offices fuss about. I'm going to try to use alternate post offices, just because the local one increasingly tends to leave me feeling infuriated, but that isn't always convenient. I'd use the self-mailing unit if I could, but my post office doesn't even have a stamp machine in the lobby.

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.

"I've done a lot of mailing, but using pre-printed DC labels is a new experience for me. Am I right in thinking that if the Post Office does not scan when I bring the package in for mailing--regardless of whether I've purchased the postage online or not--then my package will not be trackable in the system until it arrives at some transit point or the final destination, where I presume it gets scanned before actual delivery?"

Yes, Patricia, you got it!

The only time the P. O. is required to scan it would be upon delivery at the address - if you've paid the postage + DC online, owing no more money, they have every right to refuse, and are doing you a specific favor when scanning it for you at drop off.