I say that because it always surprises me how long or how quickly I'll get a package in.  Today was no exception.  I member mark a book mailed on Thursday, July 30th, and I received it this morning.  Yay! 

I just think it's funny because it came all the way from Milwaukee.  :)  I've been waiting for a book for a little over two weeks that's coming in from New Jersey, and I barely had time to notice this one was marked mailed before it was here.   I'm not complaining, though!

Have any of y'all ever had any crazy fast deliveries and really long wait periods?  I know that a few days ago I received some books from Maryland via Media Mail in three days, and that made me smile.  :)  Mom, who works for the USPS, says the mails like that sometimes.

It doesn't make any sense sometimes.  I had a book arrive in CA (shipping from NE) in 3 days and a book delivery to NC that took almost 4 weeks.  The only thing that rings true is when I received a book from HI_ it took 5 weeks.  I had a book that was coming from IN - it was 1/2 to NE and then it turned around and went back past the state it originated from LOL.   I was chatting with the postal clerk at my local PO and she smiled and someone didn't not put it on the right truck :)  So it went to another dist center to be routed back in the correct direction   It took 2 weeks....not complaining but geezz the PO should be a little careful with the price of gas...what a waste.

Completely without logic or predictability, welcome to USPS :-)

I live in MD. I had a book take 3 wks to get to me from PA which is only about 6hrs from here. But I had another one make it from MD to CA in 2 days. You just never know. Sometimes you get lucky and they get on a plane and travel quickly. Othertimes they put them on a truck and send them in teh wrong direction.  It's a crap shoot. 

I've had books get to foreign countries faster than just one or two states away.

I'm in OR and had a book come in from AL in 2 days.  But then I've had a book come from CA and its taken 4-5. Go figure! =-)  I wish I could take a vacation like my books do sometimes!! :P

I'm in Florida and a MM package from Maryland mailed Saturday arrived today!  There is absolutely no way to tell how long it will take.  This was a big pkg wtih 3 HC's.  Especially now with first class volume down they seem to have more room, but then again, not always.  KWIM?

I have one that's coming from Texas.  Next week it goes lost.  I had six coming from five other states, one came from Texas and another from California, I'm in Michigan.  They all arrived within five days of being mailed.  I had another that was mailed on a Saturday and arrived at my door on Monday this week.  Ya just never know.

Sounds like media mail to me! Sometimes it'll get there within a day or two, sometimes it'll take 4 weeks!!

I'm in Korea and I mailed something out to NY that took 3 days to get.  I can barely fly there in that short amount of time!  At the same time I mailed something to KY and it took 2 weeks.

Today I recieved a package, 2 books, from Florida-nothing unusual there.

But - they are postmarked Aug 15th, stamped Media Mail and arrived in HI in 2 days -incredible.  That's quicker han I would expect 1st class mail!!!  

You just never know with Media Mail

• 8/13/2009 5:00 PM - Electronic Shipping Info Received - SAN DIEGO,CA
• 8/16/2009 2:32 AM - Enroute - BELL,CA
• 8/21/2009 12:42 AM - Enroute - PHILADELPHIA,PA
• 8/23/2009 8:43 AM - Enroute - JERSEY CITY,NJ
• 8/23/2009 9:37 AM - Enroute - JERSEY CITY,NJ

The target location is CALIFORNIA! Why is this book taking a tour of the continental US?

Ok - just want to add - that I mailed a book last week.  I am in NH and the requestor is in Cambridge, MA - 45 mins away.  We are both east of Springfield MA .  The book has been routed to Springfield MA which is 2 hours west of Cambrdige MA.  Why.......the heck would they send the book all the way to Springfield then back to Boston and then on to Cambridge.   Sorry venting a little - drives me nuts especially when it consumes fuel and wear/tear on the truck!  Ok feel better thanks.

Next time someone is near me I am contacting them to see if there is a place we could meet and I would drop it off.  I am wondering if I mailed it from Boston if it still would have gone to Springfield for processing!  Oh well - yes Media Mail and the PO are crazzzzy

Jennifer, I really hope you received your book, because the Jersey City sorting facility just ate one of my incoming books.  It's the black hole of New Jersey.

Another case of "a day or two".   I sent a hardcover book media mail Friday 9/11, Chicago suburbs to Alabama.  It was received Monday 9/14.  How the heck? 

I'm in Oklahoma City, and a book mailed to me from a Los Angeles suburb actually came through OKC last week on it's way to Jersey City, NJ.  Then it made a stop in Philly, then south to Memphis, it currently shows it's in Dallas. I hope it finds it's way back to OKC soon, and this time when it gets here I hope it comes to my house because I'm moving soon.

The sort of interesting thing is, the name of the book is "Voyager".

Funny one, Michele!!  I've written this before, but I once had a book take from when it was mailed on July 22 to when I received it on July 31.  The sender lived only 13 miles away -- in the next county. She joked that she could have thrown it and had it arrive quicker. We even thought someone must have gotten stuck on the Schuykill Expressway trying to deliver it. (You have to live here to get it)

 I recently asked about these descrepancies in time at my local post office.  I too have recieved a book from across the country in 2 days but then one to a bordering state can take 10 days.  They explained that the media mail is the last "loaded up"  and frequently "sits" awhile.  But.... there are plenty of times that the truck isn't full so they throw them in.  If this happens at an airport too it's conceivable a "media mail" pkg will get to its destination as fast as first class.  Just luck of the draw...

Trish

Mailed books on Monday from Hawaii to Arizona and they arrived Thursday - 3 days.

I have other books still in transit from Sep 8th!

It's nice when the books get in the 'fast' track 

8 books were being shipped to me - all the books with DC have already arrived the other 3 have not arrived  - They were all mailed on the same day (hmmm - they were all marked mailed on the same day ).  

It's not always just Media Mail.  I had a CD from SACD make a really strange trip.  I don't recall all the details, but....  I live in Newport News VA.  I think it got to Richmond, 50 miles away, then warped back out.  Went to Poughkeepsie or some such, then back to Richmond.  Believe it may have even hit Newport News once, back to Richmond again on its way back to some random location.  Eventually made its way BACK to the sender's mailbox in PA.  To save the hassle, the sender just did new postage, and resent to me.  That time, no more adventures and it got here fine.  8/9 to 8/27 in transit.  Not really the limit for Media Mail, but it probably covered the distance from PA to VA 3 times.

I mailed a book yesterday that's destination is 26 miles from me, just north of Atlanta.  The book is currently in Memphis, TN.  I understand why the USPS is losing money! :)

Do you think they should send a separate truck between every small town?  I think that would be pretty expensive.  They operate on a hub-and-spoke system.  It works quite well.

Almost the only reason the USPS is losing money is because of the requirement that they contribute around $5 billion a year to a fund to prefund future retiree health benefits.  That's a good idea, but to do it over the short period of time mandated by the law is maybe not so necessary. 

No, but I live in downtown Atlanta, not a small town.  Until about 3 weeks ago, all my books were scanned in Atlanta.  Now they all go to Memphis for their first scan.  I just thought that mail that was destined for a suburb of Atlanta would be sorted out as it was already very close to it's destination.

And the last part was a joke.  Please note the smiley face at the end of the sentence. 

Media Mail has to go through inspection, not sure what that all entails, but one of the guys at my PO always warns me that it take a while to get to the destination because of inspection.  I'm guessing, but it might have to with making sure the package doesn't contain letters and such.  I will try to remember to ask next time I'm at the PO.