In an attempt to economize shipping cost, I accidentally managed to overtax the fragile workload of US Post Office (USPS) by combining three transactions into one, totaling a package weight to 24 pounds.
In November 4, 2024, I wrote to the Editor of the California State Library Foundation (CSLF) to purchase 50 copies of Bulletin that serialized my article on Laura Steffens Suggett in issues 141-144. She graciously accepted my request and delegated the task to her copy editor who finalized a phone order on November 7. I was excited and expecting the package to sit on our doorstep in the issuing days, just like any packages or boxes from Amazon or Costco.
For some mysterious reason, the expected package after two weeks never showed up. On November 18, I wrote to the copy editor to ascertain if there was any error in our address. He confirmed that the shipping address was all in order, and advised me to contact our local USPS. Per his advice, Paul immediately checked our local office. It turned out USPS was unable to trace a package, if there was no tracking number. Apparently his mail room did not add any tracking number even when the value of package exceeded $400. Worse still, a return address was omitted in the process, so the lost package could not be returned when it failed to be delivered. In addition, we asked our mailman for help. He has been actively looking for the package on his local route, with no results.
On November 22, I wrote to the Editor about the troubling shipment. She replied with apologies on December 2, as soon as the holiday closure was over and CSLF was in operation. The very next day, a fresh shipment with the same content was dispatched with a tracking number and insurance for a value of $410. I received a confirmation email the same day, promising the new package would arrive by 9:00 pm on Friday, September 6, but our door step remained empty. The same night I created an online account with USPS. It repeated the same message about 9:00 pm Friday being the delivery time.
The next day, Paul saw our mailman's substitute and inquired about the second shipment. The substitute mailman kindly provided him with a direct phone number for the regional supervisor. After many phone attempts, Paul was finally able to discuss the issue with the supervisor after 6:00 pm. It seemed that Amazon shipments were USPS priority items. Since our shipment was unusually heavy with 24 pounds, it was apparently considered the lowest among the priority list. Fortunately it was insured and tracked, and would be processed eventually. Thank you, the CSLF Editor, for your wise insight and foresight, or it would have meet the same fate as the first missing package.
The expected shipment that should appear today has been erroneously routed from San Jose to Wyoming, Michigan by a mere act of misscanning. Homer's Odyssey is continuing. Hopefully, the journey will not take as long as Odysseus did.
Trough more than a month long delivery time for a media matter package from Sacramento to Santa Cruz, I have learned my lesson: the weight matters with USPS. Don't ever try to be outsmart the unwritten rule by consolidating transactions, especially during the holiday season. No one wants to break their backs by lifting any weighty objects.
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