Since November of last year, I have conducted over 600 successful
auctions on eBay.  With few exceptions, all items were shipped via
Priority Mail with the United States Postal Service.

1.  There has never been parcel lost or returned to me!

2.  The only parcels delayed in shipment were those that I addressed
incorrectly.  An incorrect postal code or zip can delay a package as
much as 30 days!

3.  Certain "black holes" exist in the United States as far as the
U.S. Postal Service is concerned.  Without a doubt Brooklyn, New York,
and Alexandria, Virginia, are the worst, with Manhattan NY coming in a
close second.

4.  Of all international shipments, Deutsche Post of Germany takes the
prize with most packages arriving within five days of shipment from the
United States.  Payments mailed from Australia have taken as long as
three weeks to arrive -- and they were mailed Air Mail.

5.  Fastest delivery time ever, in my case, was a parcel mailed on
Tuesday morning from San Antonio, Texas, to Honolulu, Hawaii, which
arrived on Thursday morning of the same week!

I have no conclusive evidence that the extra four digits of the Zip
code have any effect on delivery times, but I do use them if they are
furnished to me.

My two cents worth.

Ed Gaida