Just had to share a little hope for all those lost books.

A year ago (Oct 2009)  I sent out a package of books for a swap over in the Games forum.  Per the games rules, it had DC on it and that was scanned along the way.  Last scan was in Bell, CA and then nothing.  The person I sent to actually lives just down the road from there too.

She PMd me tonight and said the package was delivered today!  It was perfectly intact and clearly addressed (it had postage from Paypal on it).  How is that for amazing?  I wonder where it's been hiding for a year.

Inquiring minds want to know *where the books have been for a year*!

Sarah,

I could not believe it either.  The book was PERFECTLY wrapped.  And it had not been opened at all.  It made me smile!

Wow a whole year? I had a box of books transaction that went missing for 4 months before finally showing up, was really shipped on the date they marked it shipped, but a year is amazing.

I once had a delivery from a company (big, 25 lb. box) delivered after four months. Eh. Gotta love the postal service. I wonder where they hide our packages?

That is really amazing, it really makes you wonder what the heck happened to it all that time.

I had a book arrive 6 months after it went lost, but a whole year...  wow. 

Guess none of you have ever seen the multi-multi story system of miles and miles of conveyor system sorters that sort media mail.  Ask anyone in the North Texas Book Club what the sorting center is like.  If a poor package were to somehow topple over the side of a conveyor belt or get caught somewhere amongst belts it might be lost for awhile and depending on how often or how throrough the sorting center performs a "mail search" and to what degree to pull out those very rogue unexpected pieces that maybe wedged.  They might have been doing an equipment upgrade or overhaul before they found stuff that was stuck/lost in an unknown portion of the conveyor/sort system.

Sounds like they need to schedule a regular (monthly maybe) check for lost mail, and then actually do it.

I was in charge of civilian drug testing for a gov't office for 5 years in the DC area a few years ago and the procedure requires each urine sample be individually boxed in a small square package about the size of an orange.  One box went missing during the holidays one year and the person had to repeat the test so they were really peeved at us, but it was the PO's fault.  They found it about 2 months later and said it had fallen off the sorting table and gotten kicked under it so no one saw it all that time.  The kicker was that they asked if I wanted it returned to me or sent on to the lab???????    Ha, Ha , Ha--- stale urine, ummm, ummmm, good.  They usually start to smell even after just 3 days in the frig so I can't imagine anyone wanted to go near that box after it sat on the floor of a heated room for 2 months!!!!

Eeeew, that certainly sounds disgusting.  Bet the PO was sorry they'd misplaced that box!

ditto to what Melisa said...i was on that tour with her and saw all sorts of misc packages that had been caught in a net and who knows how long they had been there.

if you can ever tour a bulk mail facility I highly recommend it.  It was fascinating and one of the best tours I've ever taken.