*weeps*

[Snowbird]

I'm so glad they found your package!

(there was also cash in the box which I didn't know about until it was already in the mail system, so it could have gone poof)

This reminded me of the costly lesson I learned (though I don't know why they taught me, I didn't make the mistake). My grandmother sent me a birthday card with a $20 bill, but forgot to put a stamp on the envelope. I received a notice to pick up a letter at the post office and went with my mother (I was 13) to pick it up.

A plastic ziplock-type bag was plopped in my hand and a nasty look given to me by the postal worker as she said, "Make sure you put a stamp on it next time!" It was also explained to me that the letter had gotten caught in machinery and that was why it was pretty shredded.

Here's the kicker: instead of just sending the mail "postage due", or even keeping it at the post office till I paid the postage, whoever took it out of the machine found the $20 bill and took it upon themselves to pay for the postage and, get this, bought a $2 money order for, as well as out of the balance.

The post office took a tip out of a 13 year olds birthday gift. Not as bad as getting the whole thing stolen, of course, but still not great.

[smileyeagle1021]

I once sold a widget on ebay to a buyer in VA. At the time I was living in NM. A smallish Priority Mail box took almost a month to get from NM to VA. Thanks to the tracking the buyer had wisely requested, we figured out most of its route:

1. Santa Fe to Albuqerque (origination)
2. ABQ to Denver (looks normal so far)
3. Somehow it teleported to CA, from where it went to Chicago (understandable but why did it go west in the first place?)
4. Chicago to TX (what the--?!)
5. Sat in TX for a while, it was probably our joint inquiry that shook it loose to travel to NH
6. Finally ended up in VA

The buyer and I were seriously waiting for it to pop up overseas. The contents were 2 Zuni bat carvings, theory was that they were just following the mosquitoes ^_^

I can compete with that... I ordered something off of Overstock.com... their main warehouse is in Draper... maybe 15 miles or so from where I live... they decide to ship my order out of New Jersey, ok, kinda stupid, but no biggie. It went, NJ, to Chicago, to Kansas City, to Denver... I saw it in Denver and figured, oh it will be here either tomorrow or the day after... nope, it was then routed through Billings before being shipped to Salt Lake

[Kogarashi]

A plastic ziplock-type bag was plopped in my hand and a nasty look given to me by the postal worker as she said, "Make sure you put a stamp on it next time!"

Skimming off a kid's birthday money notwithstanding, what's the point of telling the recipient to put a stamp on it next time? It's not like you mailed it to yourself. ::slaps forehead::

A $2 money order? For what?

[Snowbird]

Skimming off a kid's birthday money notwithstanding, what's the point of telling the recipient to put a stamp on it next time? It's not like you mailed it to yourself. ::slaps forehead::

That's what I said. And I was 13.

A $2 money order? For what?

They took out 32 cents or however much it was then, for the stamp, and then used the balance to buy a money order for the rest of the balance(I got $17 and change). They said they did it because it wasn't safe to mail cash and they couldn't be held responsible for it if it was left in the post office. So they spent it. Without asking. Just to be safe and responsible. What would they have done if it was a check?

[Pagan]

I once sold a widget on ebay to a buyer in VA. At the time I was living in NM. A smallish Priority Mail box took almost a month to get from NM to VA. Thanks to the tracking the buyer had wisely requested, we figured out most of its route:

See, my parents and I send stuff back and forth between ABQ and Las Cruces all the time and never have a problem. Usually, send a package on, say Monday, and it gets to the other place on Wednesday.

I've also ordered stuff from Scotland and gotten it in about two weeks. And this is with it going through Royal Mail and USPS (both of which you hear horror stories about).

I've got a very good friend that's a kiltmaker that is always getting tartan from Locharran and having to ship kilts all over and she has rarely ever had a problem.

Maybe we're just really lucky?

I bought some boots on a website once, had them sent overnight... and start watching my tracking info... three days later, the package claims it has arrived... but I have no package in my hands. And bro and I were both at home the entirety of the day previous... so, I'm outside, heading for some shopping of some sort, and I notice a box, sitting on the porch! Whoever delivered it didn't even bother ringing the doorbell to let us know, "Hey, you've got box..."

And this is where I have my problem with UPS. I can't tell you how many times I've had this happen. The last time, I was sitting at the computer all day not 8 feet from the door. Never heard a knock. Went into the kitchen (window is perpendicular to the front door) and saw a delivery attempt notice stuck to the door. Which means I had to go over to my apt complex's office to get it. Not usually that much of a deal, except I had a horrendous cold (lost my voice for 2 weeks), a migraine, it was cold, raining with a little sleet mixed in. Joy. Jackass.

[iradney]

Hehehe
When two of my friends got married (within 9 months of each other), I never got the wedding invites. Why?
They were in pretty envelopes. The PO obviously thought "WOOHOO GIFTS" and nicked em. I get my bills and whatnot coz they come in plain white envelopes...
*sigh*

[Docmayhem]

Two quickies:

My previous employer sent several machines to a trade show in Frankfurt, Germany. When they were being sent back, instead of being loaded onto a PLANE headed for NEW YORK, one machine got loaded onto a SHIP headed for BOMBAY. It took about three weeks to straighten out, and by then the poor machine which had not been packaged for ocean travel was rather rusty.

My aunt had a friend who went to Africa as a missionary (not sure which country, sorry). She sent him several letters, but received no reply. Then she was told that any reasonably nice looking envelope from the USA would be stolen by postal workers hoping to find money, and advised to send letters written on onion paper (i.e. translucent) in a cheap (again, read translucent) envelope, so that it would be obvious there was nothing worth stealing. My aunt chose a different tack. She wrote a long letter on good stationary, put it in an obviously high quality envelope, and sealed it with an incredibly gaudy, glittery, highly reflective, and completely unignorable angel sticker. It reached her friend in record time and mint condition.

[Dreamstalker]

My grandmother sent me an Easter card in 2005 with a $50 bill inside. I never received it...after about three weeks from the original mailing date my mom lets me know how much moolah was inside. I'm thinking it got misrouted (which has happened, the wrong "st/dr/rd" abbreviation sends something to the opposite end of town), incorrect recipient pocketed the cash.

No news on the miniatures package yet...I'm considering asking my trade partner to send me a payment for the value of my end which will be returned if the minis show up within a month (although seeing that it's been almost 90 days anyway I have my doubts).