Lost in the mail I wonder?

Hi Folks,

Just wondering if any of you have ever had a problem sending parcels between the US of A and Canada and having it not appear, or else take a VERY long time.

I know that I've whinged in here about slow mail coming from States but I couldn't find those posts to re-read what people said.... so I post anew about this time.

Someone in Colorado mailed out a parcel with a router in it for my computer on JULY 24th ... it's now AUGUST 27 and still no parcel. Unfortunately the sender tossed out the receipt (figured the post office competant enough ) and I don't have a tracking number to be able to trace it.

QUESTION: Is that not an UNREASONABLE length of time to be waiting? Or should I be patient a bit longer?????

Is it possible that it never got beyond customs? Just wondering, as I have had no parcels arrive, nor have I had a parcel pickup notice in my mailbox from the mail carrier, nor is there a parcel waiting for me at the Post Office parcel pickup location (I checked) nor do any neighbors fess up to a parcel being left on their or my doorstep ....

What do you guys think and suggest???

BTW and FYI ... regards my mailbox ... my neighbors, other tenants and sometimes even their guests have been in my mailbox (we just have 3 separate small un-secure unlockable basic flip up tops mailboxes, one per apartment situated at front of house) and I have asked/told them to please do NOT do that, but am pretty sure they still do when I'm there to see it. I called the post office to find out if I would be allowed to buy/put up a LOCKABLE mailbox and what are the regulations, etc ... I was told it was okay by them and I would probably just need landlords consent, and they gave me their requirement as to size and placement. I have landlords consent (I think ... must verify before I spring for a mailbox) I'm still thinking that some of my mail has been going missing but can't back that up with proof unless someone sent me something and I know they did, and it never arrived (hence all my questions at Christmas time about if anyone sent cards but I didn't personally tell them I received it. I was trying to find out if any sent did not get into my hands)

Sheesh ... what a pain in the heinie, and a worry. At least when folks tell me something is on the way I know and can try watch for it and be available when mail carrier comes (but delivery times vary between 9:30 and noon usually, ) I can't watch/see from the back of the house.

QUESTION: So ... has anyone ever sent me anything that I didn't email or PM you that I received it??? If so, please tell me ... thanks!!!

Much Aprreciated,

Ma Yappy

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Ma ..
I didn't send you anything so don't look..
On the other hand I shipped a manual to a good customer in Pennsylvania,expediated post with a guaranteed delivery 8-12 working days..
I sent it on the 12th JUne..
It is traceable in Canada with abar code and tracking number but not in the US until it is actually delivered.
To make a long story short and many calls and discusssions and e-mails to Canada post they advised me to put in a claim whice I did and a Check from Canad post was forth coming..Mean while I was in contact by email and by phone to my customer and after a month I sent another manual express post..traceable and Insured..A week later he recieved the second manual and was great full and impressed with my manual and my attention to customer service...which is a like religion for me..
My word is my bond and I deal on my word around the world and I would only need one bad deal to ruin my allready shabby reputation..
But I have never lost a manual or a payment in 13-14 years of doing this around the world..
To conclude ,my claim check came in from Canada post the following week and the week after that,being 6 WEEKS from the 12 June shipping from Ottawa my customer recieved the first manual.
He e-mailed me and I told him to keep it for his troubles ...
Canad post says that the mail movement through the uS has slowed considerably since 9-11..
Here endeth the story.........

Thanks a lot Alex. Your story reassures me to just be patient regards the parcel. My first thoughts were, and still are, that the parcel got hung up through or in customs and the slowness is probably due to extra security since 9/11, so I have been thinking about that stuff too. I just wanted to hear what others had to say

Ma

Well, just like waiting for a late bus when you finally light a cigarette, the bus comes .... I am greatly relieved to tell you folks that the router arrived a few minutes ago and I had to sign for it. Awesome. Parcel delivery guy also reassured me that he would NEVER do a SAFE DROP (leaving parcel outside at door) for this house is not secure (although mail carriers leave priority post envelopes pking out of my mailboxes!!!)

So Alex ... again ... your encouraging my patience was correct as ever Thank you ...

Relieved Ma Yappy

[Paul Singleton]

Speaking of mail and customs, a friend sent a framed needlepoint piece of artwork to the U.S. as a birthday gift with a customs sticker saying that the parcel may be opened for inspection. Also on the sticker was a description of the contents. The parcel was received, but had been opened by customs, as was noted on the label but there was nothing in the parcel when received!

Paul

Originally posted by Paul Singleton
Speaking of mail and customs, a friend sent a framed needlepoint piece of artwork to the U.S. as a birthday gift with a customs sticker saying that the parcel may be opened for inspection. Also on the sticker was a description of the contents. The parcel was received, but had been opened by customs, as was noted on the label but there was nothing in the parcel when received!

Paul

Ouch ... Thanks for nothing, hey? I hope the receiver alerted the post office and all ... though must be hard to try and find out where things went absconded

Interesting story about things not "lost" in the mail ... but "found in the mail" ........ amazing ... especially the live creepy crawly things

Bazookas, snakes found in mail bound for Canada
Updated Sun. Jul. 15 2007 11:37 AM ET

Canadian Press

TORONTO -- Bazookas, containers squirming with snakes and toys stuffed with cocaine -- they've all managed to find their way into Canada in a way most people might never expect.


Neatly packaged and creatively disguised, they're just some of the thousands of surprising discoveries made by Canada Border Services officials simply by examining packages and parcels destined for mailboxes across the country.


"For some reason, people think they can mail anything," said Peter, who works at the international mail processing centre in Mississauga, Ont., which handles 70 per cent of the mail that comes into Canada.


"You would never walk into an airport with a AK-47," said Peter, who didn't want his name disclosed for security reasons, "but somehow it seems OK to mail it."


The surprises Peter has encountered in his three years include an assortment of weapons, a buffet of narcotics and a number of "live" packages.


"Just a couple days ago, one of the officers came in and said there was something moving in a package, so we X-rayed it, and it was live snakes," he said.


In some cases, the insects are set up as booby traps aimed at harming the person opening the package, he added.


"We have had live scorpions moving around in tubes, and even hundreds of baby tarantulas all stacked up in a plastic container.''


Even before Canada Post gets a hold of the mail, every international package and letter coming into the country is scrutinized and processed by the Canada Border Service Agency.


"We are the first line of defence," said Patrizia Giolti, communications manager for the agency. "We see your letter, your parcel, your shipment first."


Deadly insects and reptiles aren't the only hazards these officials regularly come across. The Canada Post building where the centre is based has been evacuated numerous times when packages containing bombs, grenades or landmines turn up.


"On my third day on the job, I got a box that looked like a large battery pack that had been taped up with electrical tape and had wires running out of it ... so I think, 'It's a bomb,'" said Doug, another worker who spoke on condition of anonymity.


"I sounded the horn, the entire building was evacuated and the bomb squad came in. It turned out to be a battery for an old-style video camera."


People who order weapons online are usually military collectors who buy the items overseas and have them shipped home, said Doug.


"Every country has different regulations governing their post office. It may be fine to send it from one country, but arriving in Canada it's not allowed."


In many cases, an offending package is glaringly obvious, with odd handwriting, undeclared contents, and suspicious packaging.


But more often the packages look innocuous, and show no signs of foul play. In one case, the prohibited substance was so well-hidden that it was embedded inside the corrugated cardboard used in the packaging.


"Sometimes people will soak the box in opium so that by the time it gets to Canada, it has dried, and can be scraped off," Peter said.


"Other times, we will find cocaine in toys, books, food containers, and even clothes," he said. Detector dogs come to the centre two to three times a week and all suspicious packages are X-rayed, he added.


In situations where a prohibited item has been discovered, the officials then share intelligence and evidence with the appropriate law enforcement agencies, who can then lay charges if necessary, Giolti said.


"The mail is not a free-for all; you just can't ship anything and everything you want," she said. "Just because it's in the mail doesn't mean we won't find you, if it comes to that."


Other drugs that have been mailed into Canada include marijuana, ecstasy, heroin and "insane amounts of Viagra," said Peter.


"We get thousands of pills a day. A lot of people buy it online, but they don't know it's a controlled substance, and you can't have it unless you have a prescription."


While online shopping sites such as EBay have dramatically increased the volume of mail coming into the processing centre, which receives 12-15 million packages a year, Peter says it has also helped to make his job unpredictable.


"Every time I come across something odd, like let's say soiled underwear, I check eBay," he says. "And guess what, you can buy it there."