I ordered some material and here is the latest tracking information.

Tracking details

Nov 2, 2021
5:54pm

Package transferred to post office
BISMARCK, ND 58504

Nov 3, 2021
12:17pm

Arrived at Regional Distribution Center
AVENEL, NJ 07001

Nov 5, 2021
11:53am

Departed from Regional Distribution Center
BROOKLYN PARK, MN 55445

Nov 8, 2021
10:35am

Shipment Received; Package Acceptance Pending
BISMARCK, ND 58504

Apparently the USPS believes in some sightseeing for packages!

Dang...at some point your sense of humor will wear thin.


But maybe to your point, The tracking is a poetic method of pointing out to the shipper their wasted efforts/$$$. Will they HEAR YOU... ....hopefully.

Good lord, that's just stupid.

I shipped out (via FedEx) a small package (for work) Friday morning to Brazil......BRAZIL. Both the customer and I were expecting it to arrive Wednesday or Thursday especially by the time it got thru customs........the customer got it TODAY.

I shipped a small package from Tucson to Scottsdale, Arizona last month, about a 100 mile trip. The package went through LA and some other places and took 15 days to deliver. I figure I could have walked it there in 3 or 4 days...

For what ever reason anything coming to me (30 miles N of Orlando) spends about 3 or 4 days shuttling around the Orl area (arrived/departed minutes apart) before making it ALL the way up here.
Maybe they are waiting to make up a load worth hauling.

And like the OP I have had stuff make it to Tampa (75 miles) and be sent back to New Jersey, then Jax, then Orl ... sometimes I think they don't have time(or want to) sort stuff, so it gets tossed on the next truck leaving.

I bought a hat from Garage 54 (utube) , coming from Russia, it will be interesting to see how long that takes, if it shows up at all.

It's called the "hub" concept...very few things go direct between points, kinda like the airlines. Fly from the west coast to NY with a stop in Atlanta.

That's an extreme case for sure, but nothing new.

If I drop a letter in the mailbox, addressed to someone who lives a block away, it's still going to go to the local distribution center first, then be put on a route for delivery.

You may live a mile away from the plant where your car was built, but they ain't going to drive it directly to your house...

I have had similar events with USPS shipped items. cant let a package arrive too soon... it will set an un acceptable precedent

Hub is nothing new. But NJ is not really a good hub location for ND. St Louis or Chicago would make sense.

Everything for the midwest around Chicago goes through the Carol Stream, IL hub no matter what state surrounding Illinoise that it is mailed from...