Actually this does happen. Jody, has your wife filed a mail loss claim with the post office, which takes about thirty days, and politely negotiated with the buyer to please wait and let them search?

It's happened to me three times - once receiving a package from someone, the other time shipping to someone (needless to say the person sent her first email teeming with insults and so on... and like the other package, it was discovered languishing on a back shelf in a post office). The third time, my package was a return which disappeared on its way to Scotland, and a mail loss report did not find it - possibly because it had arrived in the worst of all black holes, a postal strike in Britain. Because of the time it took to file the mail loss (30 days), the insurance company (UPIC) would not honor the claim. So any items going overseas that cannot be easily replaced or risked need to go with trackable Global Express Mail.

If she's not doing this already, I would suggest your wife put tracking on everything she ships. Delivery confirmation is free with Priority Mail and for other formats, it costs just a handful of cents with PC postage like Endicia or Stamps.com; Fed Ex Home Delivery is a better deal with heavier packages than the $8 flat rate PM boxes.

Brad, I don't know why you're recommending UPS, as they tend to have a much worse reputation in this arena than FedEx - though nowhere near DHL/Airborne Express's issues. Many of the complaints are that a UPS driver left it with the wrong person at an apartment complex, didn't get a signature proving delivery, or that they tossed or threw a package where it got wet or misplaced (such as in a snowdrift). I kid you not - the stories are out there. There are a few websites created by people who work as independent contractors for the major couriers, and they are eye opening.