If your book does not arrive by the 26th day (the 35th day if the sender or requestor is outside the contiguous US) after you marked it mailed, it will be declared lost in the mail at PBS.  This does not mean that the book is actually lost; it may simply be delayed en route.  Also, the requestor may be away from home and unaware if the book has arrived.  If so, he or she can mark it received from his or her Transaction Archive when he or she returns home.

• You should contact the requestor to ask about this book
• To do so, go to your Transaction Archive (linked from My Account) and click the PM button on this "Lost" transaction.
• If you do not get a response from the requestor within 5-7 days, please let us know and we will look into it.
• If the requestor has gotten the book and does not know how to mark it received from the Transaction Archive, the instructions are in I received a book that was 'lost in the mail'.

A book sent to an active member at PBS will not earn credit until the requestor marks it received, unless PBS Printable Postage is used to send the book.  

• As the sender, you should call 800-ASK-USPS or go to http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MLNtRcvd.aspx (the Postal Inspection Service's website) and input the information online there . This will help USPS try to recover your book if it truly has been lost in the mail.
• If USPS does return your book to you, and it is undamaged, you should ask the requestor (using the button on the Lost transaction in your Transaction Archive) if she still wants it.  If she does, you can re-send it.  If she does not, you can repost it.

If you sent the book with PBS Printable Postage and it has been recorded as delivered by USPS:

• If the requestor has not marked the book received by a week after the delivery scan, contact us.  We will look into it.
• You should already have gotten your credit as Instant or Quick Credit.

If you sent the book with PBS Printable Postage, but it did not get Guaranteed Credit:

Did you forget to mark the book "mailed" before the deadline to do so?

• A canceled transaction won't earn Guaranteed Credit
• If this is the case, AND the requestor did not end up with 2 copies of the book, the requestor can mark the canceled book received fom the Transaction Archive, as described in I received a book from a canceled transaction!, and credit will be granted then.

Was the barcode scanned by USPS as having been mailed? 

• If not, your account may be ineligible for Guaranteed Credit
• This can happen if your account has more than a few instances of unreceived packages with unscanned barcodes. An unscanned barcode is particularly significant if your other shipments are scanned routinely by USPS. (This increases the likelihood that an unscanned barcode means the package didn't make it into the mail.)
• This can also happen if you have more than a few instances of late mailing (if you marked a book "mailed" and then did not mail it within 48 hours). Mailing extremely late even once or twice (without consent from the requestor) can make your account ineligible for Guaranteed Credit.  
• Accounts that are ineligible for Guaranteed Credit get Quick Credit from a barcode scan, or credit when the book is marked received. The only difference is that unscanned barcodes will not earn credit. The barcode must be scanned, or the book received, to grant credit for the shipment.

If you sent the book with tracking or postage purchased elsewhere and it has been recorded as delivered by USPS:

• Contact the requestor from the "lost" transaction in your Transaction Archive.
  • If the requestor does not respond to your PM within a few days, contact us and we will look into it. We do not grant credit for tracking or postage purchased outside PBS, but we can check if this requestor has become inactive.
  • If the requestor confirms that she did not get the book - she needs to investigate with her PO and her mail carrier to try to find out where the book was misdelivered.  If the book is able to be tracked down she can mark it received and you will get credit.

If you have a high proportion of outgoing loss (books you marked mailed that were never received) on your account, this bears looking into. 

• If you are mailing late, you can easily correct this. 
• If your Wrapping is inadequate, the books could be getting lost en route, and you should read the Help items about wrapping books in All Help documents about bookwrapping.
• If a high loss rate persists on any account after we have discussed this with a member, this will jeopardize membership.  Books need to get where they are going on PBS, and the USPS rate of package loss is really low--a high outgoing (or incoming) loss rate can almost never be blamed solely on USPS.  If a sender wraps well, uses the correct address and amount of postage and mails promptly, more than 99% of her packages will arrive at their destinations.

Related Links:

FAQs about Printable Postage