Tracking Mail Through an Inefficient Postal System

As we all know, since the Pandemic started our mail delivery has been up and down. I was recently talking with my mother and she was saying how her mail has become unreliable and has not gotten mail in days.

I understand that some areas have been hit hard and because of that I am not going to call out her local postal staff because I do not know what is really happening there.

However, I recently got a 4 pack of Airtags and had one I had not assigned to anything yet. So I decided I would drop that spare tag into the mail and see where her mail was getting hung up.

This started out as a fun experiment with the Airtags and in the process, find out where her mail was getting stuck.

But, this has turned into so much more. The title was not going to be so negative when I started out but…. Things have changed.

This all started out on a good note. The package was picked up from our mailbox on the afternoon of Monday the 12th. It went to our local post office and in less than 4 hours it was already in a post office in western Baltimore near the west side of the beltway.

The next morning it was downtown Baltimore at what I assume is the central post office, 900 E Fayette St. All good so far.

That is when things starting getting odd. A few hours later it was back at the post office on the west side of Baltimore. Then a little later it was back at the main post office downtown.

Later in the afternoon it was in Linthicum MD at the US Postal Service Incoming Mail Facility. After it left this facility it was heading up the left side of the Beltway and I thought ok, it is heading up to Harrisburg. I was wrong, it went up the west side beltway to rt 83 south back to the central post office on Fayette St. That was a REALLY long way to get there. I can only guess the driver wanted to waste time.

So this has now turned into an exercise in tracking how Inefficient our mail system is.

I will be tracking its path to its final destination and providing updates on this post below. Newest info will be at the top. If you want to see the entire path start at the bottom and work up.

Monday July 19th

Mon 7/19 8:04am: The package was delivered at its destination. My mother said this was the first time they have received mail in at least 7 days. Also, the package looks crushed but the contents were fine. The stamps were never postmarked. She is sending it back in the same envelope and same stamps. It is in her mailbox waiting to be picked up.

Saturday July 17th

Sat 7/17 7:31am: The package at the destination post office. So far the PA postal system is super efficient.

Sat 7/17 12:13am: The package arrived in Harrisburg at a Postal facility.

Friday July 16th

Fri 7/16 8:00pm: The package was on Rt 83 north west of Baltimore. Is it finally heading to PA? We will check back later tonight and see.

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Fri 7/16 5:26pm: The package is in another postal facility not far from where it was in the parking lot at Marlo Furntiture.

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Fri 7/16 11:53am: The package is still in the Marlo Furniture Parking lot, but now on the edge.

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Fri 7/16 9:26am: The package is now outside of Washington DC Beltway in the parking lot of a Marlo Furniture Warehouse and Showroom. I am becoming more dumbfounded by the day.