I did my own christmas shopping this year on Amazon. Bought the 914 Restorer's guide to Authenticity, which arrived nicely. Also ordered Porsche 914 & 914-6: The Definitive History of the Road & Competition Cars-Softbound [Paperback]
and this is how it arrived.

Never ship via USPS Media Mail.

the post office is definalty very very screwed up right now. i have 2 packages that are almost a month out

take it to the post office. or wait for your mailman and ask him/her "what the fuck is this all about".

-Political discussions are banned here.
Zach the admin

Brings back memories of 2 - 911 torsion bars I received in a USPS poster shipping container, 3 sided box. NOT!

The postal worker walked up to my door and handed me the box/tube. When she removed her hand from one end, the remaining torsion bar fell out through the gaping hole. Luckily the tissue paper packing blunted the pain from it hitting my foot, also helped by my flip-flop strap

I wasted 4 weeks chasing the missing torsion bar, never receiving the replacement the shipper swore he'd send.

It's rusted out Scott.

What's that old ad saying??

"When it really, really needs to get there...." ... DON'T use the Post Office.

I'd assume that since the seller chose the shipping method, that you should be able to get them to send a replacement free.

A similar thing happened with one of my wife's xmas gifts - a big wall calendar, though not as bad as your book. When the seller said they'd resend it, I told them use USPS at their risk.

I just got an NOS vintage 1956 trailer plate for YOM via media mail in good condition & next day, but that was within OC - so maybe it didn't have to go through the USPS Trash Masher Machine!?

PS - I'm still on hold with DMV Sacto to clear the plate's numbers though,,,,45 mins & counting - after 5 calls tried & dropped by DMV!

AAA said it didn't come up on their system, but they're not definitive, & DMV hads to approve plate w/ YOM year sticker (which I still need to get a 1960 one).

That thing looks like a prop from Castaway. "Wilson!!...."

I applied for a new dog license last month. The procedure required that I send back the postcard that they sent as a reminder, along with a self-addressed/stamped envelope and a check for $16. The next day, I got the original postcard back in the mail. A couple of days later, I got back the self-addressed envelope. I can only assume that the outer envelope made it all the way.

Since that branch of government let me down, I decided to log into the county's horrendous website and finally figured out how to renew it online, paying the ridiculous $2.50 "convenience" fee.

Looking forward to when these wizards of smart get to decide if and when I get to have medical procedures performed.

Shipper's fault. I ship USPS all the time, as many as a dozen packages a month. I've lost one in the last 20 years, mostly because the recipient neglected to tell anyone (including me) that he'd be gone for a month and the package sat on his porch until someone took it. Hope they liked their Audi 5000TQ rear spindle .............. I pack carefully, ship the most cost effective way, and insure things that need to be insured. Priority Mail works great.

The Cap'n

I ship USPS a lot & don't have problems, but I make sure things are packaged properly

Priority & Flat-Rate boxes are great

Just remember; in the United States Postal Service, service comes last

I have to go with the Cap'n and TC. I have not had any problems with USPS. In fact a well kept secret that if you ship Priority Mail on Saturday morning it will be at its destination and delivered on Monday ANYWHERE in the USA, 99% of the time. I do not understand how it works but it just does.

At least the book was in the package !

I have had USPS deliver a tatterd piece of an envelope and noting inside !

They have a pretty poor track record.

I've used USPS a lot with not much trouble. Have you ever worked for them? Do you have any idea what it takes to move millions of letters and packages every day? It's sooo easy just to blame the government. Speaking of wihich, please take your political rants elsewhere.

Poor track record according to whom?

The US Postal Service is the cheapest, most efficient mail service on Earth. Especially considering the volume it moves over large geographic areas. They move 60 million parcels and letters every day with a loss rate of one in two million, some of which can be written off to misdelivery to an incorrect address where that recipient never returns the item.

Try using the mail system in other countries and you'll see what failure really is.

The obvious fault here is that the package was squished and that's incredibly rare.

But the real problem is that either the buyer or shipper used Parcel Post. Parcel post is all about sending non-delicate items the slowest, cheapest way over long distance (ie, it literally gets thrown onto a truck). Even so, you can get insurance on it. It would have something like $0.50.

No insurance? Couldn't spring the extra fifty cents? If you did get the insurance, then they'll cover the cost. They might anyway if you bring it to them.

Postman has a 911?

While I do use the USPS a lot, they are still a bit screwed up right now. perfect example that happened to me yesterday (Wednesday):

I was sending a document and check out and filled out the Express Mail (overnight) envelope. Lady at the counter said it would be there Friday at 3pm (it was only going 2.5 hours away!!). Uh...what happened to Overnight?

So I asked "just curious, when will Priority Mail (2-3 day) get there? "tomorrow" she said.

Hmmm... $14.95 Express to get it there in 2 days... $5.75 Priority to get it there in 1 day.

She laughed and said "Welcome to the Post Office!"

I sent it Priority, and the guy said he got it today (Thursday)!

Criticizing something you don't know much about is just too easy. It reminds me of people (l think you all know who I mean) who criticise the Porsche 914 without ever having driven one.

NOw THATS Funny! I better check.

I do use Flat Rate Priority mail on the time, with great success. But I didnt pay attention on this purchase, and seller shipped it Media Mail.
Seller has already refunded the money and offered to find me another copy of this out of print book. So, its all good.

You have paid money for this ?

No claim possible ?

Zach, you're kidding of course. You ban free speech under the worn and tired defense of calling it a political discussion? We were discussing the government agency delivering service to members and how poor the results can be.

We can't do that here? We all damn well better get used to engaging into a professional discussion of challenges to our livelihoods, as these are directly tied to our mutual abilities to invest in these cars and hobbies. Otherwise you and I both will be asking how this happened.

It would have happened because no one talked while the idiots we have spending our money ruin our currency and country.

I'm no political hack or plant and I don't play politics. That is a banned word to me, created by the same people who would take what you have. I don't care for either side of the aisle. Neither has it right nor the balls to fix it.

My two cents, we better understand how all of this affects the Porsche hobbiests, because it will.

If that is politics, then I guess you ban me. I would not be surprised if it hits too close to another's politics...(Opps, I used the banned word).

My original point stands...if government manages it, we waste our money....and it is our money. They have none of their own. You or I would fire employees like that.

I quit the soap box....just could not believe you responded as you did.

Seriously poor atmosphere.

Post #5 and you are calling out an admin on our policies?

Do you normally go to others' houses and start telling them how to live? I doubt it.

I worked for the Post Office 39 yrs and this happens sometimes. Most of the time is the way its packaged. and yes its hard to deliver Billions of packages without damages to a few. But alot of the people they have now do not care. I get good service with flat rate packages. I make sure to package them so they have a good change to get there in good condition.

I've had both UPS and Fed Ex deliver damaged boxes. The Fed Ex driver was nice enough to drop a box with parts falling out of it on the front porch while I was in the garage, with the door open working, and leave before I saw it. Fortunately there were only a couple bolts missing, but the sway bar dangling out of the end was kind of a giveaway there might be an issue for him to avoid

The post office does a pretty damn good job compared to the volume of mail they receive, which remains far higher than UPS or Fedex. Ever heard the old adage what would happen if government organizations operated at 99.9% efficiency/accuracy?

1 hour of unsafe drinking water every month.
2 unsafe plane landings per day at O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
16,000 pieces of mail lost by the U.S. Post Office every hour.

I hardly believe that most private businesses operate with the precision or under the same scrutiny that the USPS, EPA, or FAA does. The few that do approach the same levels of perfection are those who rise to the top.

At the same time, this is not an "exercise in free speech." It is, in reality a private forum, which you do not HAVE to pay for, nor are you entitled to. If you want to rant, you of course are free too, but in a public forum, granted to you by the U.S. Constitution. As such, the admins can impose any kind of rules they like and enforce them however they wish, or at least that's how I understand it.

Regarding the OP's original point however, yep, the USPS screwed up. But treat them like you would any other business, contact them with your concern and allow them to address/fix the problem.
IBTL