Why I Hate the United States Postal Service (Mis-Shipped Packages, Lost Packages, etc.)

... until I saw this in the shipping confirmation email:

Shipped via USPS

Amazon, you're killing me.

I knew at that moment there was a very strong possibility my package wouldn't arrive at my home, and if it did arrive, it wouldn't be delivered on time.  The next day, just for grins, I checked the status of my package online on USPS.com.  Not surprisingly, USPS.com said my package was "Mis-Shipped."  Mis-Shipped, what does that mean?  According to their description, USPS.com claims "Your item was misrouted by the shipper.  The error has been corrected and every effort is being made to deliver it as soon as possible."  How can an item be mis-shipped?  So, Amazon placed my package in the wrong outgoing mail box?  I verified my address on the shipping confirmation email from Amazon and it was correct; I thought I submitted a typo in my shipping address when I placed the order, but no.

In short, it's been about a week, and I have yet to receive the package.  Once again, the United States Postal Service let me down.  Sadly, I have a strong suspicion that if my order was shipped via UPS or FedEx, I wouldn't have this problem hanging over my head.

Here's a list of other reasons why I hate the United States Postal Service:

1. For the most part, I get nothing but junk mail from the USPS.  Credit card offers, Penny savers, bulk coupons, metered junk mail, etc.  Junk that I never look at, and immediately shred or throw away.  Too bad there isn't a way to officially "opt-out" of junk mail from the USPS.
   
   
2. Paying extra for a tracking number or insurance doesn't actually mean your package is safe with the USPS.  In many instances, when sending important mail (like my IRS tax documents), I'll spend the extra few bucks for a tracking number and insurance.  I feel better about my shipment knowing that I have a tracking number, but they're really useless.  With a tracking number, either one of two things usually happens.  First, USPS.com won't update the status of your package for whatever reason (so you can't really track it online).  Or, USPS.com is magically updated with the status of your shipment but you've tracked it right into a black hole (e.g., USPS lost it).
   
   
3. Incoming mail is often mis-delivered by the USPS.  For example, I used to live in LA for a few years while going to school.  I asked my parents to mail me a package of important discs directly to my apartment for a school project.  The package was shipped via USPS, clearly and correctly labeled.  More than a week went by, no package.  Obviously, something was up so I went on a hunting expedition around the apartment complex.  I lived in apartment E408, so I asked the tenants of D408 and C408 if they had received a package addressed to me.  Sure enough, the tenants of D408 received my package about 4 days prior and left it downstairs in their mail room.  Awesome.  I went down to get the box, but it was gone.  Of course, it was stolen; it's LA.  Somehow, the postal service couldn't distinguish between a "D" and an "E".  I can understand though, I normally mix up my alphabet too on a regular basis; learning the alphabet was probably one of the more difficult tasks of my education.  In short, the package was stolen because it was mis-delivered by the United States Postal Service.  And, of course, because the idiots in apartment D408 couldn't just walk the box over to my apartment and drop it off.
   

For the record, I have never had service, tracking, or delivery issues with a private carrier: UPS, FedEx, or DHL.  Every shipping problem I've ever dealt with was directly related to the United States Postal Service.