*Note: the "relaxed deadlines during the Covid Pandemic" are no longer in effect, as of May 17, 2023. They were in effect from April 20, 2020 to May 17, 2023.

Here is a list of deadlines associated with the PaperBackSwap swapping process:

• A sender has 4 full days* to respond to a request.
  • After accepting a request by clicking "I can mail", the mailby date is 5 days from the date of acceptance.
  • The sender has 2 days beyond the mailby date in which to return to the account and mark the book mailed.
  • So, when you accept a request, you will have a week in which to mail and mark the book "mailed".


• A requestor has 48 hours to respond to an offer of a book from her Wish List.


• A book has 26 days from the "mailed" date to get to its destination within the contiguous US before it is declared "lost in the mail" at PBS.
• A book sent from or to outside the contiguous US (AK, HI, GU, VI, PR, APO/FPO/DPO, etc)  has 35 days from the "mailed' date to get to its destination.

 *The PaperBackSwap system works on calendar --not business-- days. [Members need to keep postal holidays and their own schedules in mind when accepting a request and choosing the mail-by date.]
 

Related Links:

A book I sent has been called 'lost in the mail'!
I sent my lost book with tracking and the email says I didn't!