But things have gotten bad. It routinely takes 5-7 days for letters and first class packages to arrive. We all know their counter clerks give half a dozen different prices for the same package. I had to explain to one how signature confirmation works (my package had a label that reminded "signature, please," and he said that didn't mean they would get a signature - he had no idea that we can pay for that service).

My biggest gripe: the post office doesn't always scan in packages that are put in the package bin. I lost my top-rated seller status on eBay because I have too many items that I did not "ship" within one day - even though every one of them was shipped within 24 hours. The post office simply didn't scan about 10 of them. I had two packages that finally got scanned as "received" at the post office 4 days after I had placed them in the box.

As a result, I have lost the discount on final value fees I used to get from eBay. It has caused this change on my behalf: I am no longer busting my butt to ship things within a day. I am switching my eBay settings to 2 days. I am no longer taking merchandise with me when I travel so I can send it from out of town when payment finally clears. When top rated-sellers are expected to offer 30-day money-back refunds (a new policy coming up soon), I will be staying at 14 days. Any requirements they impose on top-rated sellers in exchange for discounts will no longer matter to me because eBay sets shipping standards our post office cannot help me meet.

EBay says that late shipping will be excused if the buyer's feedback indicates that the package was received on time. We all know how few buyers actually provide feedback, so that's a hollow promise.