If you are at an APO/DPO/FPO address, you should also read Information for members at APO/FPO/DPO addresses

If you are sending or requesting a book from outside the contiguous US please note...

Your book may be declared "lost in the mail" at PBS before it arrives.

• that doesn't mean it is actually lost, of course
• it just means it may be delayed in transit
• this is certainly not true for all "distance mailings"; it varies widely
• if a book is declared "lost" before it arrives, it's easy to mark it received when it gets there, from the Transaction Archive (please see I received a book that was 'lost in the mail' for detailed instructions about this).

PBS allows 35 days for a package to get from the sending member to the receiving member if one of the members is outside the contiguous US (for packages traveling within the contiguous US, 26 days are allotted).

• After 35 days*, the shipment will be declared Lost in the Mail if it has not been marked received by the requestor

• If this happens, both sender and requestor will  receive an email notification with more information and instructions.

• You should contact the other member involved in the transaction, using the PM (Personal Message) button on the transaction, to let him or her know about your long transit times.
  • That way a requestor won't reorder the book you've mailed , and
  • The member who has sent a book to you won't worry that it is actually lost in the mail.
• If the book was sent using PBS Printable Postage, you can also track the book on its journey, by clicking on the en route transaction for the book.
• We'd like to help, but if a book you sent has not arrived, or a book you requested has not arrived, we don't know where it might be any more than you do. If it does not arrive on time, it will be declared lost in the mail automatically by the system.

*26 days if both sender and requestor are using addresses within the contiguous US

If you are the sender:

It is a good idea to notify each requestor after you mark a book mailed that the book may be delayed in transit - you SHOULD do this if your mailings have long transit times

• This is helpful to the requestor because it prevents him/her from thinking your book is really lost, and re-ordering another copy.
  • You can send a Personal Message using the PM button on the active transaction on your Books I've Mailed tab.
• You should also ensure that the requestor knows how to mark a "lost" book received from the Transaction Archive
  • You can include this information in a Personal Message if a book you have sent is declared Lost in the Mail
  • You can send a Personal Message using the PM button on the Lost transaction in your Transaction Archive.

If the book is declared Lost, you need to contact the requestor again, assuring him or her that it was mailed, so that he or she does not re-order the book.

Also - when you contact the requestor about the "Lost" book, don't forget to tell him or her to put that Wish on Hold.

• If the book went onto the other member's Wish List when your copy was declared "lost", the other member should go to his or her Wish List, click the box to the LEFT of that item on the list, and click the Hold button at the top of the page. Doing that will keep the member's place in the Wish List queue in case your book actually doesn't ever show up, and it will also prevent the member from ending up with two copies (a real possibility if she or he is using auto-request on the Wish List).
• If you used PBS Printable Postage and the book is scanned as delivered after having been declared "lost", you should contact the requestor to remind him or her to mark the book received from the Transaction Archive.
  • It's important to keep your account record updated in this way - even if you got Quick Credit or Instant Credit. Accounts whose books ARE delivered but don't get marked received (= they stay "lost") risk losing Instant Credit privileges, and could even be terminated (it messes up the "credit economy" to have delivered books listed as lost).
  • Books mailed from outside the contiguous US are not eligible for Guaranteed Credit if there is a high rate of "loss" in that account - in that case, your books need to be marked received in order to get credit. If your record is good you can get Instant or Quick Credit ( = you don't need to wait for the book to be received to get credit), but if the book is never marked received that credit may be taken back from you. This is true even if the book was delivered - that is why it is important for the sender to follow up with the requestor to ensure that the book is marked received from "lost" in the Transaction Archive .

If you are the requestor:

• If a book is declared Lost in the mail, it may not actually be lost.
  • "Lost" books often are only delayed in transit, and often arrive.
  • We generally recommend that the requestor wait 2 weeks before re-ordering a book, to minimize the risk of ending up with (and having to pay for) 2 copies.
  • The "lost" book will also go onto your Wish List if there is no other copy in the system when it is declared Lost.  If it was on Auto-request on your Wish List originally, it will go back on your Wish List set to auto-request again!  This can mean you will end up with 2 copies of the book.
    • If your incoming packages have long transit times, you should not use the auto-request feature on the Wish LIst for this reason
    • If a book is declared Lost en route to you, you should be sure to check your Wish List and put the Wish on Hold for the time being (or at least disable the auto-request on that Wish) so you don't end up with 2 copies.
    • When the "lost" book arrives, you should mark it received from your Transaction Archive as described in I received a book that was 'lost in the mail'.
• If a book you ordered arrives after it has been declared "lost", you must mark it received from your Transaction Archive
  • You can do this by going to My Account and clicking the Transaction Archive link
  • Sort the list by "Requested by Me" - "lost in mail" - Date requested" - "Descending"
  • Locate this book in the list (check the sender name on the right side of the request to be sure it is the correct sender)
  • Click on the transaction.
    • The usual "book received" screens will come up.
    • Proceed through them until you see the "thank you for telling us that [this book] was received..." message
  • This MUST be done to keep your account in good standing--and so that the sender gets credit for sending the book!
• We recommend that members requesting books to be sent outside of the continental/contiguous U.S. NOT use the auto-request feature on the WIsh List, to avoid getting extra copies of a book.

Quick Tips for Those Using PaperBackSwap from Outside the Contiguous US:

• Mail promptly!  If you have long transit times, you may need every bit of those 39 days. So you want to mark mailed only after having mailed.
• Do NOT use auto-request on your Wish List.  You don't want to get a second copy of a Wish List book sent to you when the first one is about to arrive
• Use the Hold function on your Wish List to put a Wish List book on hold if it is declared "lost" en route to you - that will prevent you from getting another offer of a Wish List book that is already en route to you. This will keep your place in the queue if the book actually does not arrive.
•  Communicate well in PMs with other members
  • so that they understand not to reorder the books you have mailed, and
  • so that they know how to mark your books received from "lost" in the Transaction Archive when they do arrive.
• Familiarize yourself with marking "lost" books received from your Transaction Archive (it's very easy to do), so that you can do this if needed for your incoming books, and so that you can tell the requestors of the books you send how to do it. Here are instructions: I received a book that was 'lost in the mail'

If you have VERY long transit times (for example, from Guam or the Virgin Islands, some places in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Alaska, and many APO/FPO/DPO addresses), you will need to take some extra measures:

• When you mark a book "mailed" you need to send a Personal Message, explaining that you are mailing from [your location], and the book may take some time (weeks) to arrive -- and that it may be declared "lost" by our system while it is still in the mail.
• When a book is declared "lost" by the system, you need to send another Personal Message to the requestor, reminding him or her of the information you sent in the previous personal message, and saying that she or he should NOT consider the book lost, and should NOT request another copy of the book.
• When a "lost" book is scanned as "delivered" after having been declared "lost" by our system, you need to send a third message to tell the other member to mark the book received from his or her  Transaction Archive. (If you do not get a reply to this PM and the book is not marked received within 4 days of sending the PM, you should contact us to let us know.)

You need to send Personal Message #1 for every book you mail.

You need to send Personal Message #2 for every book that is declared "lost" from you.

You need to send Personal Message #3 for every book that is scanned "delivered" after having been declared "lost" from you.

Membership from places with very long transit times does mean some extra work on your part (in the form of the extra messages), but that work is necessary to keep things working for everyone!

Related Links:

I received a book that was 'lost in the mail'
I haven't received my book yet. Is it lost in the mail?
My requested book arrived with a late postmark!
I received 2 copies of the same book!