So I had to whine and I figured you folks might understand my pain. I recently found a fountain pen I've been looking for for years for sale on eBay. I decided that enough was enough and I ordered it to have a Parker T1 of my very own, in lieu of buying any other pens this year. (For those not in the hobby, the Parker T1 is an all-titanium pen that was made in 1970 and 1971 to commemorate the moon landings - the nib and pen body are a single titanium unit, and Parker lost money on every pen sold.)
The seller shipped promptly. Estimated delivery was Monday the 8th. I didn't get my mail Saturday the 6th, so I checked my mailbox Sunday the 7th - and found a 'Sorry we missed you!' slip from the US Postal Service. But oddly, it was dated 2/9. It stated I had a parcel, signature confirmation was required, and it was at the post office. Oh well.
Monday I went in and was told that since it was dated 2/9, the parcel wouldn't be available for pickup until Tuesday, 2/9. Sigh.
Thursday I went in and was told 'no, we delivered that.'
Uh. No you didn't.
'We did, see?' <illegible paper waved at me>
Long story short - USPS tracking info says it was delivered Saturday. It's not in my mailbox, it's nowhere to be found. And of course, since USPS says 'DELIVERED', eBay can't help. The seller did insure it properly, but of course the USPS is saying 'it's either lost or damaged. It's not lost because we delivered it. Show us a damaged package.'
Requested delivery confirmation. Was sent a grainy scan of a form with two lines, 'Signature' and 'Delivery Address'. The latter is entirely blank. The former has some 13 tiny dots scattered through the box.
Sigh.
So close, and yet so far. And of course, unless I can convince the USPS otherwise, I may be out $(cough) T1 money.
The only answer, my friends, is whisky.