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How good is USPS? - Seems you can send pretty much anything!

improbable.com — Some amazing experiments testing the delivery standards of the United States Postal Service. Everything from balloons to $20 bills in clear envelopes.

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  • maddonkey, on 10/12/2007, -18/+23we just wonder what they were thinking and send it on its merry way
    • Schnep97, on 10/12/2007, -34/+5DHL for life!
    • leobaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31A friend of mine mailed a painted begel to his daughter. Wrote the address on the bagel and added enough stamps and into the box. It got there no problem.
    • zybch, on 10/12/2007, -21/+3leobaby, was he some sort of sicko wackjob or something??
    • DteK, on 10/12/2007, -16/+5@Schnep97

      Fedex is the most reliable courier on the planet IMHO
    • rlutterb, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6I'd like to see a $20 bill in a clear envelope make it through the City of Chicago postal system. If the card looks like it contains money (i.e. colored envelopes for greeting/birthday cards), it will likely be ripped open and plundered by a postal employee, then delivered to you all torn up.
    • migbike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15@leobaby

      I did the same thing with a painted coconut from Hawaii
    • grahamcase, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19I mailed a half eaten muffin to a friend once. just taped the address and postage to the muffin, and dropped it in the mailbox. no box, no nothing over it, except the tape that held the address and stamp...

      ...it made it too!
    • leobaby, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1No actually it was a Mardi Gras throw from the best parade of all Krewe du Vieux, thrown by Krewe du Jieux.

      http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395470637&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


      http://www.mardigrasunmasked.com/mardigras/colorfulcharacters/Goldstein.htm

      http://peoplegetready.blogspot.com/2006/02/krewe-du-vieux-photos.html
    • NinjaBoy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+18*sigh* Here in Missouri i had to stop getting pc gamer delivered to my house cause it was never in the packaging and the dvd was always missing.
    • sorrow, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1www.duggmirror.com
    • samadam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+45@ninjaboy:

      You do know that the subscription version of that magazine does not include the cover or the disk. Only the newsstand version does because that one has a higher profit margin.
    • simpleid, on 10/12/2007, -7/+19New rule on digg, seriously. If it's word press, don't use it as your source, find something else.

      Thanks!
    • gcauthon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4How do you know it's on word press before it's dead?
    • humperdeath, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Best revenge: Tape that postage prepaid 'Business Reply' envelope that comes in with your junk mail to a brick, and mail that back to the sender. The will have to pay the postage!
    • lollapaulooza, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@samadam re:ninjaboy

      I'm pretty sure that PC Gamer offers a subscription that includes the DVD, but I may be mistaken. Might never have happened or it was a limited offer.
    • c0r3file, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Don't hate on Wordpress. Hate on the gimpy ISPs that can't handle traffic. (Hint: The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Reuters, Yahoo, and many other major content providers use Wordpress based publishing without a problem.)

      http://wordpress.com/notable-users
    • fak3r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@humperdeath

      Agreed, I always pull all of my junk mail, sort thru what needs to be shreaded and then put aside any/all business reply envelopes. Then when I get a bunch of them I put other junk mail it them to send back to the companies. I used to send pennies, rocks, dirt, confetee, whatever sounded good. I've been doing this for at least 10 years now, so it's nice to hear others with the same idea (there are sites out there that promote it)
    • jus1haz2, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4http://duggmirror.com

    • humperdeath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8What if you sent a helium balloon in the mail, it has 'negative weight' Will you get a postage refund back from the post office? Just wondering?
    • RandomGuySteve, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Why the fark is stuff getting dugg down for no reason at all?
    • raada, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8USPS kicks ass. I love USPS. Cheap and gets there.
    • david76, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Oh yeah... USPS is great...

      USPS Tracking: "It left here. It hasn't arrived there." - Tracking from USPS is useless. They don't provide information on individual scan locations like UPS or FedEx.

      USPS Priority Mail: "Well, it's not really our priority." - Priority Mail is not guaranteed. They just say it will probably arrive in 2-3 days, though if you read the fine print it says 3-10.

      USPS Parcel Post: "You're probably not home, so we won't bother checking." - In Manhattan despite having numerous packages delivered, nobody from the post office ever rang my apartment. They would just put the pink slip in my mailbox and leave so I could pick it up myself.
    • drshorty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well honestly, mail does usually take 2-3 days, but you should allow up to 10(business) days because sometimes your address my not match their systems(if sender doesn't know what they're doing, or the automated systems don't read it and somebody actually has to sort it by hand) and usually if you don't like your mail service, it's a local issue.
    • drshorty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1But, I would say, that if you don't like a system they don't have to provide anyways, then there's no real reason to complain. At least you get the service. They don't have to tell you anything... they can just tell you, "You need to wait 10 days." And then if you still don't get it, they'll probably tell you you have to wait 20 more before they can take action on it. I mean honestly, why do you need to know it was unloaded on a plane in Chicago and loaded to a truck that has yet to leave Chicago... because if it gets lost in Chicago, all you'd know anyways is that it made it to Chicago.

      You're basically complaining about not having too much useless info, and you don't even realize it's useless. It's like somebody who thinks watching the progress bar on a windows install is actually indicative of how long they'll be waiting. We know better by now. C'mon. Seriously.
    • chicbicyclist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1USPS also counts Satrudays as a business day. I order alot of shoes from Zappos and they use UPS. If I use the free shipping, a five day shipping usually takes a week.
  • martalli, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3lol - was the ballon addressed to van Buren, as in Martin van Buren? Just take off the weight and let the balloon float to heaven!
    • ryannemeth, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Odd, the balloon is being sent to my town, actually my zip code.
  • livejamie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10site's down and it's not even frontpaged ytet
  • section31, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2http://duggmirror.com/
    • farplaner, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1duggmirror only got the "the page is overloaded" page.
    • Roger, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2duggmirror has failed us :(
    • bofhcabbit, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15Hah, duggmirror shows a mirror of the crash page. We lose.
    • birch25, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3wordpress error on diggmirror...haven't seen that one yet.
    • merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+67Nothing in google cache, or coral.

      Wayback has it.

      http://web.archive.org/web/20060207085924/http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i4/postal-6-4.html
    • garberjon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19Duggmirror seems to be getting fewer and fewer of the stories everyday. Maybe the user base is expanding too quickly and therefor more stories submitted. I hope duggmirror gets an upgrade!
    • ltuspud, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@merre

      Thanks for the link. It works and it's hilarious.
    • Pottersquash, on 10/12/2007, -1/+39
      has anyone tried to digg duggmirror? would it create a massive loop and destory the internet? Could this be the key to ending life in Second life?
    • rtbenson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7duggmirror really should catch the stories when they hit the front page of the upcoming stories list (sorted by most diggs) instead of the main front page. Then it would have an accurate cache of the site before it gets inundated.
    • captinherb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@rtbenson
      Except this damn site was already down when it hit the front page of the upcoming stories
  • PatrickBeseda, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1and now its "frontpaged" and its dead.
  • nastysquar3d, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Well regardless of whether the article stayed up or not I'll vouch for the reliability of USPS.
    I've sent dozens of packages with them and have never had a problem, always quick, dependable, and cheap.
  • wahooka, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16kudos to the post office. they really are awesome. one of the best services offered by the US government
    • ohearn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8And it is the one part of the federal government that makes a profit!!!
  • luckytalisman, on 10/12/2007, -12/+7Yeah but this doesn't make up for the fact that whenever you go into the Post Office they're all douche bags.
  • Rhine23, on 10/12/2007, -2/+59Sorry Heres the text had it saved on my machine
    Postal Experiments

    by Jeff Van Bueren San Francisco, California



    Having long been genuine admirers of the United States Postal Service (USPS), which gives amazingly reliable service especially compared with many other countries, our team of investigators decided to test the delivery limits of this immense system. We knew that an item, say, a saucepan, normally would be in a package because of USPS concerns of entanglement in their automated machinery. But what if the item were not wrapped? How patient are postal employees? How honest? How sentimental? In short, how eccentric a behavior on the part of the sender would still result in successful mail delivery?
    Testing the Limits

    We sent a variety of unpackaged items to U.S. destinations, appropriately stamped for weight and size, as well as a few items packaged as noted. We sent items that loosely fit into the following general categories: valuable, sentimental, unwieldy, pointless, potentially suspicious, and disgusting. We discovered that although some items were never delivered, most of the objects of even highly unusual form did get delivered, as long as the items had a definitely ample value of stamps attached. The Postal Service appears to be amazingly tolerant of the foibles of its public and seems occasionally willing to relax specific postal regulations.
    Procedures

    Our research staff began the project by obtaining and reviewing relevant information on USPS regulations and discussing, in a limited and very hypothetical manner, the planned project with USPS 800 number personnel. A group of mailable objects was then assembled, stamped with abundant postage by weight and size, and mailed at public postal collection boxes (when possible to cram the object through the aperture) or at postal stations (if possible). A card was strapped to the object with duct tape or stranded strapping tape, and postage was affixed to the card, except as otherwise noted below.

    Senders and receivers were interchangeable; the mailings were double-masked to conceal the identity of our mailing specialists, and gloves were used to prepare the mailings (to avoid fingerprints). In no case was a return address givenÑeach object either went forward to its destination or was lost to follow-up. An object was considered lost if it was not received within the 180-day study parameter. All objects were sent first class using five-digit ZIP codes to actual domestic addresses, and the number of days to delivery were recorded (excluding postal holidays). The condition of the object upon receipt was also recorded, if it had changed, as was any unusual communication, verbal or written, from the postal carrier or counter clerk.
    Materials and Findings

    The items we mailed fall into several broad classifications, which are described here.

    ***
    VALUABLE ITEMS. These were items that seemed stealable or had some apparent business worth.

    Letter with stamp placed at top left corner (incorrect stamp location). Formal business-style letter, to formal business name, in high-quality envelope. Days to delivery, 21. The stamp was crossed out by hand; the top right corner of the envelope was stamped with the following: EVIDENCE POSTAGE WAS AFFIXED, ONE RATE OKÕD.

    $1 bill. Sealed in clear plastic, with label attached with address and postage. Days to delivery, 6.

    $20 bill. Days to delivery, 4.

    Football. Days to delivery, 6. Male postal carrier was talkative and asked recipient about the scores of various current games. Carrier noted that mail must be wrapped.

    Pair of new, expensive tennis shoes. Strapped together with duct tape. Days to delivery, 7. When shoes were picked up at station, laces were tied tightly together with difficult-to-remove knot. Clerk noted that mail must be wrapped.
    SENTIMENTAL ITEMS

    Rose. Postage and address were attached to a card that was tied to the stem. Delivery at doorstep, 3 days, beat up but the rose bud was still attached.

    Wooden postcard. Dimension 4" x 6" x 3/8", showing a moose and mailed from Maine. Postage used was 20 cents in spite of the added weight, because investigators strongly expected successful delivery in this case. Days to delivery, 6.

    Molar tooth. Mailed in clear plastic box. Made a nice rattling sound. Repackaged in padded mailer by unknown individual; the postage and address had been transferred to the outside of the new packaging. A handwritten note in a womanÕs writing inside read, "Please be advised that human remains may not be transported through the mail, but we assumed this to be of sentimental value, and made an exception in your case." Days to delivery, 14.

    Sound-emitting toy. A monkey-in-box toy that, upon shaking, shouted, "Let me out of here! Help! Let me out of here!" Addressed in big letters to LITTLE JOHNNIE. Sound toy was equipped with a new battery. Delivery at doorstep, 6 days.
    UNWIELDY ITEMS. These were items that would be a challenge to handle.

    Hammer. Card was strapped to hammer handle; extra-large amount of postage was attached. Never received.

    Feather duster. The card with postage and address was attached by wire to the handle. Days to notice of delivery, 6. Clerk at station commented that mail must be wrapped.

    Ski. A large amount of postage was affixed to a card that was attached to the ski. The ski was slipped into a bin of postage that was being loaded into a truck behind a station (a collaborating staff member created a verbal disturbance up the street to momentarily distract postal workersÕ attention). Notice of postage due received, 11 days. Upon pickup at the station, the clerk and supervisor consulted a book of postage regulations together for 2 minutes and 40 seconds before deciding on additional postage fee to assess. Clerk asked if mailing specialist knew how this had been mailed; our recipient said she did not know. Clerk also noted that mail must be wrapped.

    Never-opened small bottle of spring water. We observed the street corner box surreptitiously the following day upon mail collection. After puzzling briefly over this item, the postal carrier removed the mailing label and drank the contents of the bottle over the course of a few blocks as he worked his route.

    Helium balloon. The balloon was attached to a weight. The address was written on the balloon with magic marker; no postage was affixed. Our operative argued strongly that he should be charged a negative postage and refunded the postal fees, because the transport airplane would actually be lighter as a result of our postal item. This line of reasoning merely received a laugh from the clerk. The balloon was refused; reasons given: transportation of helium, not wrapped.
    POINTLESS ITEMS. These were items that looked like a prank.

    Can of soup. Never received.

    Coconut. Fresh green coconut containing juice, mailed in Hawaii. Delivery at doorstep, 10 days.

    Brick. Mailed at street corner box with ample postage for weight. Never received.

    Lemon. Never received.

    Small bag of kitty litter. Never received.

    Bald tire. The card with postage was strapped to the tire. Refused at station.
    SUSPICIOUS ITEMS. For reasons given.

    Sound-emitting toy. Same toy as under "Sentimental" above, wrapped securely in brown paper. Never received.

    Street sign. Conceivably a stolen item, or illegal possession. Notice of attempted delivery received, 9 days. Handed over at station with comment that mail must be wrapped.

    Box of sand. Packaged in transparent plastic box to be visible to postal employees. Sent to give an impression of potentially hiding something. The plastic box had obviously been opened before delivery and then securely taped shut again. Delivery without comment at doorstep, 7 days.

    Wrapped coconut. Wrapped in brown paper. Made ample sloshing sound, and round shape seemed suspicious. Attempted mailing at station. Clerk requested identification of object. When told it was a coconut, clerk informed our mailing specialist that a certificate from the US Department of Agriculture would be required before it could cross state lines. Not mailed.

    Wrapped brick. Wrapped in brown paper; posted in street corner box with same amount of postage as was strapped to unwrapped brick. Extreme weight for size made package seem suspicious. Notice of attempted delivery received, 16 days. Upon pickup at station, our mailing specialist received a plastic bag containing broken and pulverized remnants of brick. Inside was a small piece of paper with a number code on it. Our research indicates that this was some type of US Drug Enforcement Agency release slip. The clerk made our mailing specialist sign a form for receipt.
    DISGUSTING ITEMS. These items were malicious, potentially infectious, smelly, etc.>

    Deer tibia. Our mailing specialist received many strange looks from both postal clerks and members of the public in line when he picked it up at the station, 9 days. The clerk put on rubber gloves before handling the bone, inquired if our researcher were a "cultist," and commented that mail must be wrapped.

    Large wheel of cheese. The cheese was already extremely ripe (rancid) at the time of mailing. Mailed in cardboard box. The cheese had oiled its way through the bottom of the cardboard box by the time of pickup, 8 days. The box had been placed in a plastic bag.

    Dead fish, old seaweed, etc. Mailed in cardboard box. Notice to pick up at station, 7 days. The postal supervisor warned our mailing specialist that he could be fined for mail service abuse, even as a recipient, should this happen again.

    ***
    Summary and Concluding Remarks

    First, this experiment yielded a 64% delivery rate (18/28), an almost two-thirds success rate. (For our purposes, "delivery" constituted some type of independent handling by the USPS and subsequent contact regarding the object, regardless of whether we got to see or keep the object or whether it arrived whole.) This is astounding, considering the nature of some of the items sent. This compares with a 0% rate of receipt of fully wrapped packages from certain countries of the developing world, such as Peru, Turkey, and Egypt. Admittedly, those were international mailings, and thus not totally comparable; nevertheless, the disparity is striking.

    Second, the delivery involved the collusion of sequences of postal workers, not simply lone operatives. The USPS appears to have some collective sense of humor, and might in fact here be displaying the rudiments of organic bureaucratic intelligence.

    Finally, our investigation team felt remorse for some of its experimental efforts, most particularly the category "Disgusting," after the good faith of the USPS in its delivery efforts. We sought out as many of the USPS employees who had (involuntarily) been involved in the experiment as we could identify, and gave them each a small box of chocolate.

    We, and all scientists, owe a debt of gratitude to these civil servants. Without them, we would have had but little success in pushing the envelope.
    • j0hnc0ry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@rhine23
      Thanks for the re-post. Also, I'm glad you included the article name and author. It seems like a lot of people who re-post articles often forget this.
    • profile14, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I once mailed a bag of potato chips from VA to upstate NY, just slapped a label and postage to the bag. It got there in perfect condition and the postman told my friend the mail handlers took it delivery as a challenge.
    • PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Can't believe the guy drank the bottle of water (from the article).
  • JesusHatesMe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I once sent my friend at another college a plain ol' box of Captain Crunch. Just slapped the address label on the box, had it weighed at the post office, paid the postage, and off it went. It showed up at his college post office three days later but they gave him some really weird looks.
  • merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14As much as the USPS sucks, they're the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable mail system in the world.
    • juniorcosmonaut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+30so why do they suck?
    • orgazmo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3In the world? Surely you can back that up, the world is a big place
    • Dpack1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I agree with juniorcosmonaut... If you think they're the best in the world then how on Earth can you say they suck at the same time. Obviously there's nothing better (according to you).

      Thats like saying "you know this oxygen sucks but there's no other gas out there that keeps me alive so i guess i'll put up with it for now"

      P.S. I still think the Post Office here in England is better (i've lived in the UK and the US so got an idea of how both work) and, if you ignore the exchange rate, cheaper too.
    • Ramble, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I'd say Royal Mail is probably faster, 2 days is the usual delivery time here.
    • carcass350, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13@Ramble
      USPS has a little bit larger of an area to cover on average than Royal Mail. Maybe that is why Royal Mail is faster.
    • kurish, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"if you ignore the exchange rate, cheaper too."

      If you ignore the fact that that doesn't make any sense, it makes sense.
    • Dpack1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1dude, the exchange rate means nothing when you're talking living expenses.

      The way i always saw the 'exchange rate' between the states and the Uk is the price of a McDonalds extra value meal. Here in the UK its £3.49. When i was in the US it was $3.59. So what i'm saying is that although there is a difference between the currency, if you actually LIVE in the country and dont intend in moving between the two then the currency is actually worth the same to the individual using it.

      If you didnt grasp then then you obviously have no idea about global economics.

      And to Ramble, i'll give you as much that in inter-state mail you have a disadvantage but when i was getting my pay slip from my office that was only 4 miles from where i lived in PA and it still took 3 days first class and even then i wouldnt get it til gone 4pm then the Royal Mail still wins.
    • kurish, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0How old are you? 6? You can't just "ignore the exchange rate." You must have missed that day when getting your economics PhD.

      By your reasoning, McDonald's must only be for rich people in Taiwan, since a Big Mac there costs *75* Taiwanese dollars.

      http://www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml
  • giddytonk, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6And if you order now, the U.S. government can open or spy on your mail ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! ORDER NOW!!!
  • sputnike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://lopezwebz.com/?q=node/11

    Edit: Looks like I was too slow again.
  • crombenevolant, on 10/12/2007, -13/+3The thing not mentioned is that the USPS takes every opportunity it can to be closed. This has a definite impact on delivery times. Every govt holiday (which I believe is now just every other Monday) plus any non-recurring ones they can find (like mourning Gerald Ford on Tues of this week). Say what you will about UPS and Fed Ex but it does not take them 3 weeks to deliver DVD's and their tracking system is functional.
    • merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16"Say what you will about UPS and Fed Ex but it does not take them 3 weeks to deliver DVD's and their tracking system is functional."

      3 weeks to deliver a DVD implies usage of the Media Mail postage rate. Media mail postage is under $2 for a DVD. Neither UPS nor fedex will ship anything for $2.
    • fatlip, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3someone's a bit cranky!
    • Pottersquash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19a government agency taking off government holidays? you kid?!!?!? why would it do such a thing!!!!
    • baldycraig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7USPS delivers at no extra charge on Saturdays, which easily makes up for the extra holidays.
    • DteK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@merreborn
      That is because a zone 1 shipment for UPS today is $4.00 and I believe 3 and some change for fedex.
      But In my experience personally and at work, fedex is either right on time or a day early. UPS on the other hand I avoid like the USPS.

      And fedex tracking is superior to both
    • Iputspikesinyou, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1"a government agency taking off government holidays? you kid?!!?!? why would it do such a thing!!!!"

      The USPS isn't a government agency.
    • carcass350, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Iputspikesinyou is right, thats why it is usps.com not usps.gov
    • lollapaulooza, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@Iputspikesinyou

      You know what he means, jerk.
    • squison, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Actually the Postmaster didn't want to stop service for Gerald Ford day this week as it would've meant 3 days without service (Sun-Tues), but an executive order from the President forced it.

      from http://www.usps.com/communications/news/serviceupdates.htm?from=bannercommunications&page=serviceupdates:

      "There will be no regular mail delivery or retail services at Post Offices Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007, as the Postal Service is closing to observe the national day of mourning for former President Gerald Ford. The decision follows an Executive Order issued by President Bush that independent federal agencies close as a mark of respect for Ford, who died Dec. 26."
    • shelle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@baldycraig: yep, usps saved my butt this xmas when I put off deciding whether to buy my boyfriend a 360 till December 22. USPS Express got it there the next day. Not to mention that they will deliver *on* xmas as well, if you push it that far.
    • khiddy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@Iputspikesinyou and @carcass250: Wrong, though I too used to believe that same fallacy.

      The USPS is a Presidentially-established entity of the government. The .COM at the end of their name reflects the fact that they're run like a business. From their website:

      "The United States Postal Service® is an independent establishment of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. It operates in a businesslike way."
  • dio33, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10"Never-opened small bottle of spring water. We observed the street corner box surreptitiously the following day upon mail collection. After puzzling briefly over this item, the postal carrier removed the mailing label and drank the contents of the bottle over the course of a few blocks as he worked his route."

    Wow thats gross...
    • merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Good thing the only thing in the bottle was water.
    • Ramble, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2So? Anything could be in there.
  • thenativeraver, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2This has been posted here before.
  • drewhenson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I once mailed a tennis racket with tennis balls in a cloth sack. Time to delivery, 3 days.
  • hiPpymIck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"Wrapped brick. Wrapped in brown paper; posted in street corner box with same amount of postage as was strapped to unwrapped brick. Extreme weight for size made package seem suspicious. Notice of attempted delivery received, 16 days. Upon pickup at station, our mailing specialist received a plastic bag containing broken and pulverized remnants of brick. Inside was a small piece of paper with a number code on it. Our research indicates that this was some type of US Drug Enforcement Agency release slip."

    hps nice pun thenativeraver
    hahaha
  • Sun21, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0USPS Service varies... sometimes it is really fast and other times... packages get lost or whatnot and the sender nor the receiver is notified... and their tracking systems sucks compared to FedEx, UPS or DHL. If they can improve their tracking system, maybe I'll start sending things with them again. But having my package lost for two weeks without anyone knowing where it went - I would rather pay the other companies extra for a guaranteed service
  • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1And yet my netflix movie rentals to the processing center across town takes 5 days to get there, and 5 days to return (and yes, I horde locally addressed return envelopes to avoid shipping movies to HAWAII)
    • ToddML, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Really? Mine take a day.
    • Daveymcgav, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My guess is that this had more to do with Netflix than the USPS...
  • hanapbuhay, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1USPS is still in the 1900s. For example, online labels are not really recognized at the USPS brick and mortars. They'll click the label, but their database doesn't know anything. You have to read the label to understand if there's insurance on the item, etc.

    Also, Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation... is not really tracked.

    Shipped an item with Priority Mail (which should take 2 to 3 business days). It took them 5 days. We also could not see where the item was since the tracking number was "just" a delivery confirmation number. "Not a tracking number". Next time, I'm using Fedex. 4 days and tracking the entire way.

    Check it out yourself... 9125 1501 3471 1711 8004 36
    Dropped item at USPS on December 18, 2006.
    Delivered, December 23, 2006, 12:48 pm, ORCHARD PARK, NY 14127

    • mc_hambone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Dude, late December is THE BUSIEST mailing period in the year. They're on a different time-line (Priority extends to 5 days) with all mail because of the enormous volume: http://www.usps.com/holiday/deadline01.html

      Also, FedEx EXPLICITLY makes exceptions to the normal shipping times during Christmas - basically (unless you paid out the ass for Express service) you'd have to ship it out even before the 18th to get it before Christmas:

      "When is the latest that customers can ship packages for delivery before Christmas?
      FedEx Express will accept packages until Friday evening, Dec. 22, for delivery before Christmas. Customers shipping packages in the contiguous U.S. will have until Dec. 15 to ship via FedEx Ground and until Dec. 18 via FedEx Home Delivery for delivery before Christmas (Dec. 13 for packages shipped to or from Alaska and Hawaii)."

      All from: http://www.fedex.com/us/holiday/shipping/faq.html



    • mooninite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I got mail delivered on Christmas DAY from the USPS for crying out loud. It was a 17" LCD monitor! I couldn't believe it. I felt bad too because it was for myself and not a gift. >.<

      Don't bad mouth the USPS around Christmas.
    • chedabob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2USPS is still waaaaay cheaper than Fedex and UPS. To get a tshirt shipped from the states to the UK, it costs $40 (thats Fedex's cheapest rate), but with USPS, it would be no more than $7.
    • hanapbuhay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@mc_hambone: Thanks for the links.

      Yes, USPS is cheaper than Fedex. But you get what you pay for. Fedex has tracking on everything, USPS does not. I still think USPS needs to update their database to integrate web based labels with the brick and mortars.
  • thuggernaut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My grandfather worked for the postal service for 30 years. He made one of those tennis ball dangling things for your garage [hits your window when you are far enough in] and sent it to my mom. He was apparently confident in the USPS ability to deliver so he did not wrap it and simply attached the address and postage to the string.

    Got there just fine.
  • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The real trick of course is to mail a letter to a relative by just their name. No address. No return address.

    It will make it... somewhere... eventually

    Works better if your relative/friend has an uncommon name.
    • schnitz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah, the really impressive thing is, they'll deliver addresses like:

      "The 3rd house down Elm St with the red door, Los Angeles"
      "Apartment #3 above the Upper East Side Macy's"
      "The White House" (no other info)
      "The Governor of California"
      "Administrator, McMurdo Station"

      If it's a small town, they'll even deliver stuff to "Georgina, Small Town, OH"
    • Evic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My wife comes from a very small town in Alaska (Naknek) with another small town nearby (King Salmon). Most of our mail to those two towns is labelled as:
      First and Last Name
      General Delivery
      City Alaska Zip Code

      It gets delivered every time - even to people who don't have mailboxes (they are spotted at the store or wherever).

      In addition to that - we sent a keychain with our pictures etched into it to my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. She got the card but somehow the keychain fell out of the package. Three weeks later the postmaster stopped by my mother in law's house to give her the keychain - they eventually found it on the floor in the back.
  • kitaljevich, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2http://www.duggmirror.com
  • NetJoe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1had some ***** write "RTS not at this address" on some of my mail and toss it back into the mailbox while I was on vacation. It took five months of having my bills returned by the post office stamped "no longer at this address" and calls to the postman, postal supervisor, and the manager of the facility before I finally got a supervisor that cared enough to check what was going on. That's five months of having to remember every bill and arrange an alternate method of finding out how much to pay, with all the mistakes, hassles and late payments that go with it. I couldn't care less if they deliver a rotten fish or human remains. There is no method of formally escalating a complaint. How about a complaint system that gets problems resolved, and some kind of penalty for screwing up.
    • mjar81, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1As long as postal workers are unionized, there will be no penalties for screw-ups.

      Seems like they always take their sweet time to take a package into the back... postal workers should get paid by how many parcels they handle in their shift.
  • har0ld, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I wish we have a postal service like this in France...
  • WarpFox, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1bury
  • uncertain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd like to see them try this in locked suitcases with Airline Baggage Handlers.
    • 1randomnumber, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Pretty much, if it's anything remotely against the regulations, the airlines just take it and trash it.

      I've been to Japan twice on solar racing trips (solar bicycles), and boy was that a fun time. 2 boxes of lead acid batteries (very small boxes, weigh about 60 lbs each), large, light boxes of carbon fiber and solar cells (polycrystalline solar cells reflect things in the x-ray machines, and baggage handlers freak out), and then even larger boxes filled with multiple tools, bicycles, saws, sharp implements, lighters, wadded up coils of wire, etc. Every single one of our boxes was opened, they tried to drill our batteries, and since butane lighters are not allowed on planes (pressure and whatnot in the cargo hold), they rummaged through several large boxes of unorganized tools to simply remove a single lighter and place a flyer saying something along the lines of "hey you can't have this stuff, we took your lighter." The battery boxes came back with approximatley an extra 1/4 inch thick of tape, from the amount of opening and closing of the boxes they did.
  • Yareking, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Very nice thx for the repost. I will try the brick with no stamp to see in canada if it work!
  • parradox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I had a friend who wanted to do an experiment with sending mail by putting a bogus address on the front of the envelope, and the address he wanted it delivered to as the return address. He would then drop it into a mailbox with no postage. I don't know if he ever did this, so I am uncertain as to if it would work. It may work locally....
    • AngryRob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Assuming it works every time... it can take weeks or months for mail with bogus addresses to get returned to the sender. Seems like a lot of inconvenience just to save 39 cents.

      Its also pretty useless for anything other than letters to friends. I can't imagine paying a bill by putting the receivers name and address as the return.
  • haggie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's like the old school prank of taping a "return postage paid" postcard from some piece of junk mail to something heavy (brick, card tire, etc...) and mailing back to the junk mailer.

    http://digg.com/tech_news/Postage_paid_(business_reply)_envelope_revenge
    • jftaylor21, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Using an idea already on the website, what if you mailed back something horrendously stinky instead of heavy. That way you would be sure to get it there (since post office workers might not actually ship the heavy item) and offend whoever is there. I nominate eggs.
  • mbthompson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have been very pleasantly suprised by the the service that the USPS provides. More often than not it has proven more reliable than UPS, DHL, and other private carriers. It is the preferred method when I buy or sell on eBay, especially priority mail. I have yet to not receive a package within three days, even from across the country.
  • trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3In the useless items section I was really hoping they would send an addressed stamp, just the stamp, no letter or packaging of any kind
  • Gazpacho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I work at a UPS Store, and we offer most USPS services in addition to UPS. (The only reasoning I can find behind this is to make some extra money from a surcharge, so people trying to send a package by UPS to a PO box do not have to leave in a huff, and for convince.) Considering the amount of mail that is sent out from my store and the few complaints, I feel the USPS does an ok job. Once in a while a customer will come back saying their Priority Mail still hasn't been delivered and it's been five days since they sent it out, but like someone noted above Priority service generally takes 2-3 days yet there is no guarantee. Customers even ask how long it will take for Priority Mail, and I tell them, "Usually 2-3, but really it's when the post office feels like delivering it." (Really, if you waited until 2 days before your payment for whatever was due to mail it off you should have spent an extra $15-$20 to send it UPS 2nd Day Air or Next Day Air to guarantee it would be there.) The other common complaint is a customer has typed in their number from the certified mail or delivery conformation in at usps.com and no information is there to tell them where the letter is right then. Maybe some people get the post office's so called tracking confused with UPS or other private carriers tracking and think they will know where the package is the entire way.

    Just my two cents ;)
  • kd1s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1USPS absolutely rocks for shipping stuff. Here's what I love about them - if the item won't fit in your mailbox you get that nice little slip and THAT afternoon it's at your local post office which for me is a 10 minute walk from home.

    I once participated in a Price-Waterhouse study of delivery accuracy. For my region the numbers were WAY up there in the high 97th percentile.
  • t3hX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2>Dead fish, old seaweed, etc. Mailed in cardboard box. Notice to pick up at station, 7 days. The postal supervisor warned our mailing specialist that he could be fined for mail service abuse, *even as a recipient*, should this happen again.

    Hmmm, next time there's someone we don't like? Send them some stuff with a fake return address?
    • BigKitty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@t3hX,
      ROFL...
      But seriously, I wouldn't do that if I were you. I REALLY wouldn't! There's a chance that somebody might figure it was a biohazard, do some detective work, and trace it back to you even without the return address. You might be hauled in and booked as a terrorist suspect.
  • micah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I worked for a company that runs summer camps all over the country. One of the things that the staffs of various camps will do is send mail for encouragement: good job, hang in there etc. One popular way to do this is to send a big ol' ball like you see in wal-mart in those PVC cages that go to the ceiling there like two or three feet in diameter but if you put enough stamps on em' they go through. I imagine it would really suck to have to carry that though...
  • BigKitty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2NB:
    If you use a business reply card or envelope to mail a heavy object such as a brick, or a disgusting or smelly object, the post office is authorized to simply discard them without charging anything to the business reply permit holder.

    A long time ago, I received a perfume advertisement that was so horrifically pungent-smelling that the stench permeated all of the rest of my mail and made it reek. So I wrote a letter to the USPS asking why they accepted such an odoriferous mailing. Their reply stated that there is no law against it, so they had no choice but to accept the ad mailing. Phewww...
  • rocktopotomus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i remember this experiment, perhaps on a different site, from at least 4 years ago. it was awesome then, just like now.
  •  

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