Job was done, shipped, USPS is not a great choice though. Guy in post office lied about the shipping process and reliability. Looks like they screwed it up and are going to take more than 2 days and offer my money back, which is not even close to covering the actual costs of their failure. Sort of numb, can’t believe all that work is going to be ruined by USPS guy assuring me 2 days then the package going to the wrong city according to the single tracking update a day they give. Never use post office for anything important I have just been taught, in an extremely painful lesson. hoping it arrives but it was so far from actual destination this morning… OMG if this doesn’t happen I am going to cry, seriously.
USPS guarantees aren’t guarantees, despite what they say. If you need to have it by a specific date, go ups or fedex. It’s worth the price. USPS is useful when price is the important metric.
The only USPS guarantee that’s actually a guarantee is express mail. And even then it’s only a guarantee of a refund if they’re late.
Error rates are low, but everybody screws up sometimes. When it is your shipment that gets screwed up though all you really can do is cry about it.
USPS is pretty reliable, it just won’t feel that way when they do fail. UPS and FedEx can have some aggravating faults too.
It didn’t arrive, I am crushed. post office doesn’t even know where the package is, say they cannot simply hold it at post office for morning pickup since its ‘priority express’ they have to put it on truck and maybe 3pm tomorrow, 3 hours after the party it was for. government, cannot deviate from procedure. I am so crushed. Worked really hard on this, 72 parts on one printer in like 4 days, up all night, and then I cheaped out and used the effing post office, so mad at myself for being so stupid. But the guy at the post office assured me of some total bullshit about it being easy for them when I made clear it was very important. He claimed it was a sure thing no problem no we can do this just as good as UPS or FedEx. Now the package is missing and they can’t even call their own post office about it from customer support.
Look pretty nice, what is it used for? FWIW, I’ve been burnt by all of the shippers at one time or another.
@Tim_Sills It was supposed to be a set of table gifts for a social group lunch event. I totally blew it I should have used UPS and spent twice as much for good service, did that with second half of order and it arrived today before 10am. It is just a harsh lesson, UPS at least I could ensure the cost of the job and get that back if they were late, I asked and they confirmed that I could claim the printing contract fee for a time sensitive gift for a third party at an event if I payed for insurance to that value.
Once you have recovered from this, you will realise what an important lesson this was, despite the agony and frustration you are suffering now. You clearly have plenty of talent and skill, and should do well with 3D printing or whatever else you want to do.
So, you have learned where you can cut corners and where you simply cannot, in a way that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Welcome to the club.
So at 8pm on Wednesday the USPS website updates that the package was scanned at 11am at the destination post office and went out for delivery. it did not. the post office customer support at 3pm could find no trace of a scan. The scan time can obviously be manipulated somewhere in the system to suit whoever. NEVER EVER USE THE USPS FOR A PACKAGE. I consider that fraud to manipulate a document, even an online web update, to say knowingly untrue information. Customer no more than 8 miles from that post office did not get package at 3pm delivery time. Cannot contact the post office the phone number given online redirects to the main USPS customer support center, who can’t contact them either except some sort of written notice, sounded like they actually have to use a fax machine to contact them. Having the website say it was scanned at 11am some 9 hours later after 3 customer support agents could not help find it. Some kind of sick joke, literally making me feel sick.
It was painful only reading this… I can imagine your pain. The printed objects look really nice so don’t waste your time agonizing as that can happen to anyone and go for the next thing waiting for your skill.
Whilst some shipping companies are more reliable than others, the guarantee can only ever be about some sort of refund or payment if it all goes wrong. There’s no way a guarantee can magic up the package if they lose it, how could it? I feel your pain though 
Thanks for all the support everyone, this has been a nightmare but your kind words have helped.
So the package left the town it was supposed to be delivered to yesterday, sometime around 5am this morning, and went to the next town over which is farther away from the client’s address.
At this point I just hate the US postal service, absolutely loth the scumbags. Fake updates on tracking that are total lies according to their own customer service agents, zero ability to contact an actual post office all lines redirect to national phone banks, customer support cannot even call a post office they have to use a freaking fax like its 1990, it’s just a total joke.
So you’re telling me that if I wanted one of these center pieces for my daughter’s wedding in about 10 years…now’s a good time to order it?
J/K, know your frustration. You can obsess over the tracking site, contact the postmaster, etc., but in the end you’re totally helpless.
@Tim_Sills LOL yep, place your orders now and maybe in a decade… possibly an eon. Or you can select UPS instead of USPS and have them by 10am tomorrow.
So after many hours on the phone with any USPS department I could contact I may have saved this with the help of the nicer individuals working in the bizarre system that is the USPS. On the phone with the postmaster at the destination zip code this morning, they did not get the message to hold for pickup but were able to contact the driver and the package is being delivered ASAP, should arrive an hour before the party starts. Fingers crossed. I am literally shaking waiting for confirmation it has arrived. I will then go to sleep for several hours. Oh my gosh I hope this works out!
ARRIVED WITH ONE HOUR TO SPARE!!! EFFING YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAAAAAAA!!!
Not helpless, but it took calls to 4 different departments several emails and working the problem to the last second without giving up.
I’m going to send that post office in Goleta California a nice 3d printed topo of the county, they totally saved my ass on this.
Get some rest, that much stress is not good, and it’s some time until we can 3d print some spare real hearts 
Excellent