If you received a book you didn't request ( = a title you don't recognize, and there is no corresponding transaction on your My Account page or in your Transaction Archive), most likely the sender put the wrong book into the PBS wrapper with your address on it. 

If you received the wrong version of a book you requested read There is a problem with a book I received! for instructions.

If you received an extra copy of a book you did request (two copies of the same book) read I received 2 copies of the same book! for instructions.

If you received a book you don't recall ordering and there IS a transaction for that book on your My Account page, this is a book that was on your Wish List set to auto-request - it's important to check over the Wish List periodically to ensure that all items are ones you still want. The book does need to be marked received, and you can Post it to your account Bookshelf if you no longer want to read it. 

If you received a book you don't recall ordering and there IS a transaction for that book in your Transaction Archive, this is a book that was marked mailed to you in past and declared "lost in the mail" or a book that was not marked mailed and was canceled in the past. You can use the PM button on the past transaction to communicate with the sender, and you can use the "Was Book Received?" button to mark the book received. See I received a book that was 'lost in the mail' and I received a book from a canceled transaction! for more information.

If you received a book whose title you don't recognize (you did not request any version of this book) and there is no transaction for the book on your My Account page or in your Transaction Archive, read below:

• If this was a single-book shipment, the book you received may have been requested by another member, who may have gotten your book.   It is also possible that the sender reprinted a wrapper she or he used to send you a book in the past, and sent this book to you instead of to its proper requestor. 

• If this is a multiple-book shipment, the sender may have sent you a book (or books) intended for another member, or may have mixed up a Box-O-Books shipment. 

• Other possibilities include: the book did not come from PBS at all (it could have been an online purchase), it was sent as part of a Game swap, or it was sent to you as a "gift" from another member.  If a PBS wrapper was used to send the book, then the "outside PBS" possibility is not likely.  For a gift or a Game swap, the member could have used Send to a Friend or Custom DC to generate a PBS wrapper.

If the book was sent to you in place of one you requested, do not mark the book received until you get the book you requested.

• Once you find out who sent you the book, you should not mark it received until you receive the correct book.  That may mean that the book you requested is declared "lost in the mail" by the system before it arrives.
• If the book arrives after it is declared "lost in the mail" you need to mark it received from your Transaction Archive, as described in I received a book that was 'lost in the mail'.
• If the sender cannot send the correct book to you,
  • the sender should contact us (using the "send us feedback" button on the Contact Us page) to ask us to cancel this early (without having to wait for the book to be declared "lost" by the system)
  • if the sender does NOT do that, the system may eventually declare the book lost OR it may not (and will *not* give your credit back ) -- so to be sure this is handled properly, the sender needs to contact us to confirm that the correct book(s) won't be sent, and we'll cancel

How to find the sender of the book to sort the situation out:

• Go to the En Route to Me tab in My Account.   You can get there by clicking My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site, and then clicking the En Route to Me tab (behind the Books to Mail tab).
  • Compare the state of origin on the package return address with the state of origin of each book on your  En Route to Me tab in My Account.  The state shows on the right of the transaction, in the "speech bubble" containing your address.
  • If there is a book that is listed there as coming from the same state, click on the transaction and send a Personal Message to this sender asking if she sent you this book by mistake.
  • • If she did,
    • • and sent your book to another requestor, she can offer each of you credit or postage to send the books to one another; the sender can provide the addresses in Personal Messages.  When each of you get the correct books, you can mark them received.
      • and she still has the book she was supposed to send you, she can offer to send the correct book to you. You are not obligated to send the extra book back to her, but it is a nice thing to do if the sender is a new member.
    • If she didn't send you this book, check your Transaction Archive, as described below.
  • If there is no "matching state" on your En Route to Me tab, go to your Transaction Archive, as described below.
• Go to your Transaction Archive, by clicking the link at the top of the My Account page, in the yellow bar.
  • Scroll down the list of recent transactions to compare the senders' states of origin with the state of origin on the return address on your package.
    • This may be easier to do if you sort your Transaction Archive to show Completed Transactions only, in Descending order.
  • If there is a book that is listed there as coming from the same state, click on the transaction and send a Personal Message to that sender asking if she sent you this book by mistake.
  • • If she did,
    • • she can offer you credit or postage to send the book to the proper requestor.  The sender can provide the address in a Personal Message.
      • If this book was sent to you in place of a book you requested, then when you get the book you requested,  you can mark it received:
        • Do this from your My Account main page as usual if the correct book arrives before it is declared "lost".
        • Do this from your Transaction Archive if the correct book arrives after it has been declared "lost" (see I received a book that was 'lost in the mail' for more instructions). 
        • Be sure to remove the book from your Wish List after you have received it (it will have gone onto your Wish List if it was declared "lost").
    • If she didn't, and you are a Boxer, next check your Box-O-Books transactions.
• Go to Box-O-Books by clicking Box-O-Books in the dropdown menu under Community in the toolbar at the top of the site.
  • Check your Pending Boxes list for a Box swap that matches the number of books you received.
  • Click your name or the other Boxer's name in the list to bring up the Swap Details.
  • Check the address of the other Boxer to see if the name/state of origin matches the book(s) you got.
  • If you find a match, click to send a PM to the other Boxer to ask if she sent you this book.
    • If she did, you can make arrangements as above to get it to the proper requestor if someone else is waiting for this book.
    • If she did not, and you are stumped, you can contact us to ask for help.

• There is also the possibility that you ordered a book online (e.g., from Amazon.com), and this was an incorrect shipment. 

•  There is also the possibility that you received this book from a Game swap you are playing
  • You can ask the moderator(s) of any Game swap(s) you are playing about this
• There is also the possibility that you received this book as a "Random Act of Kindness"
  • In this case, you generally have to wait until the kind person reveals him/herself.

If you are not able to figure out who sent you the book, you can contact us (using the button on the Contact Us page) and provide the information from the return address portion of the package and we'll look into this for you.

• The Request ID # is very helpful if it is on the package. If not, the name and return address are very helpful.

What to do with the book:

• If it is truly a book sent to you in error (it was not an auto-request made by your Wish List, or a book someone else in your family requested using your account, or a book you changed your mind about after receiving, or a different version of a title/author you DID request), and no one else is expecting the book (it was not mixed up with another outgoing shipment by the mailer), then you can decide what to do with the book.
  • You can repost the book to offer it for swapping again
  • If the sender wants the book back, you can send the book back to the sender (if you two agree on that, s/he should compensate you for that postage - for example, with PayPal funds). Note: You should ask the sender if s/he wants the book back before mailing it back, of course.
  • You can give the book away.
  • You can give the sender credit for the book (if you think it is one you would like to read), using the Give credits button on the Profile or Bookshelf of the sender, as described in How do I give credits to other members?.  You are not obligated to do this.

Related Links:

I sent a book to the wrong person!
I got a book I requested, but I can't mark it received!
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