My New Ike Has Been On Quite A Journey So Far. . . .

Yours is a more extreme issue than I have encountered, but it boils down to "instant gratification" (I want it now!). Technology has not helped the situation, it makes it worse, by having "tracking" procedures.

Other possibilities;

More than likely the same reason it happens to passengers, the least expensive route.

May have been weather related reroute.

May be major hub airports.

May have been mispitched in to the wrong basket.

Collecting flyer miles.

Here is a pretty good response to the "fly-overs";

Chris said, on August 22, 2009 at 8:37 am Let me help you understand : Fedex has three kinds of facilities, HUBS, RAMPS, and STATIONS. Oakland is a regional HUB.Fedex facilities on the san francisco side (penninsula) include the SFO RAMP and local stations which include San Francisco, South San Francisco, and Palo Alto. The hubs sort packages from a large number of inbound flights and launch outbound flights to the RAMPS. The Ramps distribute the packages to the local stations in their area.You are correct though, any packages that are picked up on the West Coast and destined for the West Coast should go to the Oakland hub. In your package's case it should never have gone to the SFO RAMP and put on a flight. Usually the nightly flight out of SFO is only filled with EAST COAST overnight packages . Any two or three day packages originating on the west coast are either flown or trucked to Oakland (depending on distance). At oakland all east coast bound packages are consolidated and sent to either Indianapolis, Memphis, or Newark hubs. West coast bound packages are either trucked or flown to destination.

http://jacksonwest.wordpress.com/20...n-francisco/

My inbound quarter apparently fell off the planet, last known location;

Depart USPS Sort Facility August 07, 2012 MELVILLE, NY 11747

Today is (looks at calander) August 9, 2012

Yes, a crazy route, indeed! But it is now safe in my hands:

Thanks, oih82w8! I'm wonder what will happen to the next one. I think this one was probably placed in the wrong sorting bin. One would hope so, anyway.

I once purchased a camera online and the tracking number that was sent to me was for another persons order. Talk abour horror when yor package is tracking to the US / Mexico border. This was a ups package. I eventually got it squared away with the correct tracking number..

I once had something go from CA to Puerto Rico and then up to NJ where I am.

Had my luggage do that one time. Could not get frequent flyer miles for it however.

ram96, that reminds me of a story, somewhat of an elaboration;

Even hardened, world-weary reporters like to tell jokes--especially ones about travel. Overheard at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Istanbul:

"So, the journalist goes up to the baggage check and says, ‘I want to send this bag to Ulaanbaatar and the other one to Rio.'"

Airline employee: ‘We can't do that!'

Journalist: ‘Why not? You did it last time!'

http://www.travelandleisure.com/art...avel-secrets