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Mary Ann wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2026 8:08 pm My experience was with the USPS.

My most recent experience with USPS involved a delay of several weeks in getting an item (page turner) from a Mexican supplier. It got out of Mexico in a couple of days and went into limbo in the new USPS dual tier tracking and logistics system. After I finally cracked through their automated "AI" front end and talked to someone tasked with handling such things, it arrived within 3 days.

Otherwise, it's common for me to see to see a tracking history like

• Pkg picked up by USPS and "checked in" to their system (often the "check in" is delayed so they can appear to make their target of delivery in 3 days even if the pkg sits in the initial PO for a day or two).
• Pkg goes to location A (on the way!)
• Pkg goes to Greensboro NC
• Pkg goes to Raleigh NC
• Pkg goes to Greensboro NC
• Pkg goes to Rocky Mount NC
• Pkg goes to Raleigh NC
• Pkg toes to Greensboro NC
• Pkg goes to Raleigh NC
• Pkg goes to Moncure NC
• Pkg is delivered to my door.

I ship almost everything now by UPS, using Pirate Ship.

My most recent USPS tracking information included the normal "AT DESTINATION STATION, YAZOO CITY, MS" and "ON TRUCK — OUT FOR DELIVERY, YAZOO CITY, MS" at the same time as in a city about a hundred miles from me. Literally within three minutes of each other.

That's right. The USPS has cracked quantum entanglement.

the elephant wrote: Sat Sep 12, 2026 9:12 am That's right. The USPS has cracked quantum entanglement.

Ummm ... I'm skeptical. I don't think you actually achieve any advance in quantum physics by delaying the report of reception of an item until you can simultaneously announce its departure. (I.e., more generally reporting an observation of an event until you can report the occurrence of a subsequent event.) I'm pretty sure that isn't exactly what Heisenberg had in mind.

However, it's true that some genuine scientific study should be made of the USPS concept of "scanning in" an item at any "stage" in its transportation. I'm inclined now to view this concept as a "timeless" one. I.e., "scanning" neither has nor implies any temporal component -- or perhaps can be assigned a temporal component based on considerations independent of the current reference frame. If this is true, then the PO might be onto something here -- possibly the use of "negative time" in achieving faster than light space travel. Someone should submit a funding application for the study of all this. This would leapfrogh= us way ahead of the Swiss, who continue striving to deliver mail to appropriate destinations and "on time".

They claimed departures and deliveries at the same time in two locations 100 miles apart. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

That was using the Star Trek transporter.

the elephant wrote: Sat Sep 12, 2026 1:14 pm They claimed departures and deliveries at the same time in two locations 100 miles apart. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

To be fair, "delivery" and "departure" both begin with "de" and are easy to conflate.

My trombone order was shipped via china post with no mention of anyone else actually delivering it.

Update on trombone order #2:

We wanted to inform you that the seller of your order is no longer active on Amazon.com.

If you are expecting an order and you do not receive it within 3 days of the estimated delivery date, or if you have any other issue with your order, please report the problem. Our team will determine if you are eligible for a refund.

Yeah. There are people everywhere who grab the money and run. Too bad it is also in our "health" care system.
I "presume" that you will get a refund somehow, at least i hope so. It was worth a try, though, I don't blame you for that. I have a red P-bone I'll sell you for $100 if you really really really want a cheap trombone.

I dont think I'll have any issue receiving a refund. I was hoping that Id receive it, like it good enough, and tell my students to buy them

If it's coming from China AND coming via the US Post Office, then there is no knowing where it may be and where it may or may not be going.

I recently ordered a digital page turner device from a provider in Mexico. It got out of Mexico in about 3 days and then went into a death spiral, 'round and 'round, back and forth among several different locations in North Carolina. I finally managed to crack through the new automated AI-enhanced front end for delivery inquiries and talked to a very competent staff member who managed to cause the package to be delivered to me in three days. He explained this new 2-tier shipping destination system the PO now uses, and how stuff tends to get lost in it, similar to the Bermuda Triangle.

Our local postmaster referred to the current the current USPO as "stark raving mad".

Best of luck.

You should have bought off of FB Marketplace from someone who asked to be paid in gift cards...much safer/more reliable.

My friend who is a rural carrier for USPS agrees with you that it has gone even more stark raving mad than in the past. His observation is that the people telling other people what to do have no idea what would be an efficient and reliable way to do those things, and so they mandate the opposite, for whatever reason their insanity provides them with. And he has reliably noted that promotions only occur to the people willing to be the most nasty to those under them.