I am having some trouble with my books not getting post marked for several days (up to 4) after I mail them.  And you know if someone marking them received put down that late PM date, you get the evil glare email about late mailed books. 

I can't afford the extra charge of the printed postage and I can't go to the PO constantly (the lines are horrible as families que up to mail packages to their military spouses overseas).

I guess there really isn't a solution, but it felt good to vent.   :-P 

how are you mailing them ?

if you go to the APC you are not paying extra! its the same price and you can buy extra "stamps; for the next time you need

to use them and then you can mail them at any blue mailbox as well

It cost .25c extra over the .18c of the DC.  Plus you have the .50c hit every time you add money to your account to pay for the postage and DC.  It adds up.

However I have switched to doing it for the time being, until I can evaluate it out. 

R&R are pretty understanding about situations like this. If they do end up contacting you about mailing too many books late, just explain to them that you always use stamps and that you have no control over when they get postmarked. I've had books come all the way from CA that didn't get cancelled until they reached my home post office, which meant the postmark date was 3 weeks later than the book was marked mailed. I think R&R recognize that this happens A LOT.

Maybe someone should put a note in the "suggestion box" that it would be nice if there was a checkmark on the survey for "stamps" or "metered" postage....then they could ignore the postmark dates on stamped mail since it obviously isn't accurate.

Teri, I also have a suggestion on how you could attempt to find out what is happening. PM the people who are receiving the books with the late postmarks, and find out what zip code they are being postmarked in. If it's consistently NOT your zip code, you know your post office isn't bothering to postmark your mail. If it IS your zip code, and it is consistently 4 or 5 days AFTER you mailed the book, you know they are holding your outgoing mail for an inappropriate amount of time. I don't think they are supposed to hold even media mail that long and you might want to talk to your post office manager about it.

Are you selecting the "will mail in 2days" button or the "will mail later button". If doing the first, try selecting the "later" button and then choosing the last possible mail by day.  This might cover those days it takes to get post marked.   I live on an island and everything gets sent up to the main PO on the mainland. Even stuff that's going to someone else in town.  Unless you specifically ask them to post mark it, it seems like everything gets post marked a day later.  But even when I've mailed books on the last day and dropped them in the blue bin after pick up time-I've never gotten a notice about late mailing. 

I have received some books with NO postmark but I never assume it is the sender but the PO since it was never marked at all.

Mary, as soon as she marks it mailed (which should be done as soon as you drop it off) then the details will show that date and the postmark won't match.

Maybe someone should put a note in the "suggestion box" that it would be nice if there was a checkmark on the survey for "stamps" or "metered" postage....then they could ignore the postmark dates on stamped mail since it obviously isn't accurate.

I do my own version of this when I fill out the survey.  If it's a meter postmark I put in the date.  If it's a stamp postmark and something seems "off" I just leave that part of the survey blank.