I had a shipping problem with a package that was sent from China via
US Postal Service (USPS) that ended okay but took a couple of hours of
telephone time to get straightened out.  When I tried to track it with
the tracking number the shipper supplied me with the post office web
site said they were unable to deliver it to me in San Francisco.  I
found this weird since I live in Illinois which is about 2000 miles
away.

With the aid of some very helpful people in the USPS we found the
package using the tracking number.  The shipper had put the customs
documents in the pouch which was wrapped around the box and did not
put on another label.  In the course of checking the customs documents
someone did not get them put back in the pouch securely and apparently
they fell out somewhere between China and San Francisco.

My recommendation is, if using a pouch for the label also put another
label and cover it completely with transparent shipping tape (Scotch
tape) on the package.  Also put a complete "to" and "from" address
inside the package so that if the lost package people open it the
address will be the first thing they see.  I usually use a duplicate
copy of the label for this.

John Dewey
Illinois, USA