Fun, I put it out to the universe. It *will* be there tomorrow. As a back up, i'm crossing my fingers. ;o)

Thank you, Patty_cakes! :-D

I have some good wishes to send your way and my fingers are crossed too. :c)

You gotta love the Post Office... all their moaning and groaning about "It's not fair...." blah blah blah. But they so often give horrible service!!!

Twice in the last year this has happened to me:

First time, I sent a package to my brother and his family, addressed to them, with their full names, and full street name, but without the house number. I was at the PO and could remember the street name but not the number, but SINCE THERE ARE ONLY THREE HOUSES ON THE STREET I thought it might be okay... Wrong. They mailed the package back to me. So of course I had to write the number "1" on it, and ship it back, at the original price, AGAIN. Ugh.

2nd time: I sent a package to a friend. This time I had the house number, but the mailman couldn't decipher whether it said 2338 or 2388 somehow... (This time, there are about 10 houses on the street). Again, back it came. Seriously?!??!

We now no longer have the same mail carrier, and it is common to get our neighbors mail. They both have Japanese names, while we have an Italian last name. But, I can sort of understand house that are next store to each other.
What I don't understand is getting someone's mail from across town.
What a mess.

20 years ago, my sister mailed a coconut from Hawaii to me. No packaging, just an address written on the outside of a coconut. I don't think she could do that now.

It's not the sequester. USPS isn't taxpayer funded. They've been struggling financially for as long as I can remember.

I get nondeliveries all the time. The worst was a letter addressed to a lawyers office halfway across the country. The only vague similarity was the street #. I live in a residential area.

So I sent it back. Three times! It kept coming back. Three times. Wow.

It's annoying when your letter or package gets lost, but overall, I think the USPS does a wonderful job. It's hard to imagine that they will deliver a letter anywhere in the USA for 46 cents.

Oh, I forgot to mention the last one! In February of this year, I received a Christmas card from an old friend. Opened it up, and immediately thought, "Wow, I wonder why they would use an old picture?" So I looked again at the postmark, and it was three years prior!!! I thought it was pretty bizarre that the PO just put it in our mailbox without any kind of explanation. Where had it been sitting for three years? What else is sitting around?

I guess you people don't use Fedex or UPS very often. Google "Fedex Sucks" or "UPS Sucks" and enjoy.

These two services regularly treat me to:
- Deliveries that belong on a completely different street or in a different town
- Lying about me not being home. I work at home and my window faces our front walk. This has happened many, many many times
-Ringing the doorbell and literally running when signature is required, so they don't have to take the time for me to sign. (I literally chase the truck down the street)
- Stealing a bottle of champagne someone sent to me (it arrived at the local warehouse then "disappeared")
- Overcharging me by $400 for an international delivery of a single small lamp
- Visibly throwing packages at the front door, which then tumble down the steps
- Leaving a note on the door saying I had failed to put out an item for pickup, when the driver had to physically move the item to get up the steps to the door

All this for a lot more than $.46.

Thank you, Lukkiirish for sharing some of your good wishes. The tracking information was not updated this morning, so I don't know if the package made it back to my post office or not. My postal carrier doesn't deliver until late in the afternoon, so I'm continuing to hope...

I appreciate the stories that the other posters shared. Thank you. Graywings, I used to think the postal service was fabulous, but they have really changed in my area in the last 12 - 18 months. The incidence of misdeliveries, broken items and lost items has increased significantly. Plus, they keep changing the carrier on my route after years of having one carrier. It's really disconcerting and frustrating.

I wrote last year about the USPS losing over 100 of my children's books. I finally received what was left of the box. I complained all the way to DC and the head of the postal service. I even had the name of the employee at the center where the box was destroyed...no one ever contacted him or made him account for his behavior. The lost mail people in Atlanta did try to find the books in their facility but by then it was way too late. The books were purchased at auction by the discount booksellers that many of us use. I can now look forward to months of trying to repurchase my OWN books from Half.com and Better World Books etc. I was told by the lost mail unit in Atlanta that that is where these dealers get almost ALL of their stock.

My local postmaster is the only person who consistently helped me for weeks. He was devastated when I showed him the box remains that were sent to me .

I have had WAY better service from UPS for all the years I have used them and deeply regret not using them to send the books. Lesson learned. c

Well, again I will thank those of you who lent me good wishes. The box showed up, but the item was smashed into many pieces. It was packaged well, wrapped in bubble wrap and cushioned with packing peanuts, but it still didn't make it. I don't know how it could have been broken with the way it was packed unless dropped from a great height. The outside box doesn't look particularly damaged so it wasn't run over with a truck, either. I think I am going to have to start asking all eBay sellers to use UPS for fragile items as Trailrunner suggested.

Sounds like they mailed a broken item. Been there; done that with a pricey Barbie. Take the box & item to post office & ask what they think.

Oh no! I'm glad you insured it though!

About their phone numbers. Here (small town) they stopped listing the local number in the phone book about 5 years ago. Everytime I get a new phone book I write the number down.

It's not sequester that did it, but I don't know why they stopped listing the numbers since it's a free service. lol

I was just kidding about the sequester. I know that the postal service has been privatized. The seller is mailing me the insurance receipt. Once it arrives, I will go to the post office and file a claim. I know that I can do it online, but I want to show the supervisor the condition of the item and the way it was packed.

Fun; go to the post office 1st. Let them give you their opinion. You said that it was packed well & there wasn't much damage to the box. The $250 Barbie I got came with a slight ding on the box; opened the box & took photos as I opened it because I had a weird feeling; the box had a slice in it. I took it to post master who said there was no way the damage happened while inside that box.

You do not need the receipt; the way it works is the shipper has to file the claim. I opted out because the seller was fairly new; I could have been out the barie & my money since post master said it would be tied up for a while & his opinion was that they would not pay for it.

Do yourself a favor; take it all to your local post office & see what they say. Your seller may be trying to get his money back on a shipped damaged item.

I don't know how it could have been broken with the way it was packed unless dropped from a great height. The outside box doesn't look particularly damaged so it wasn't run over with a truck, either.

I hear what you are saying, Roselvr, but the way this is broken, I don't think it could have been packed broken. I can't explain very well except to say that you can tell the breakage occurred within the bubble wrap. Certainly, it could have been wrapped in bubble wrap, then dropped before packing in the box. I don't get a weird feeling from the seller, though. I know that usually the seller files the claim, but I had another instance where I filed a claim as the receiver and it worked out.

I guess, too, that I've seen so much breakage lately from items sent USPS that my experiences lend credence to the idea that this item was broken in transit.

I'll definitely think some more about your comments. I can always file a claim through eBay if the post office doesn't seem willing to reimburse through their insurance.

I know lots of folks have problems with the post office. I have had one or two minor issues in my 61 years, but overall, I am amazed at the job they do and I have always liked our personal mail carriers. They sometimes don't get here until after dark if someone is out and they are covering extra routes, but they always wear a smile and say hello. Yesterday, I received something I had ordered for DH's birthday from a man in California. The service was fast and the package arrived in perfect condition. I love UPS, too. FedEx, not so much.

Hope you get your issues solved quickly and easily.

I've always been happy with USPS. Have not had anything damaged except that Barbie.

I've had issues with UPS; their insurance policy states that it has to have so much packing around it or they will not pay the claim.

Is it possible there was a crack in your item when it was wrapped; then dropping it damaged it the rest of the way?

It sounds like you're experiencing quite a frustrating situation with your package delivery. I'm here to offer support and good vibes! While I can't physically send vibes, I can definitely provide encouragement and a hopeful outlook. Here's hoping that your package arrives safely and soon, without any further complications. Remember, most packages do eventually find their way to their destination, even if there are a few hiccups along the way. Keep positive, and hopefully, you'll have your item in your hands before you know and you can find more at USPS Liteblue