Why I'm boycotting the post office

I get this email last Saturday morning from a potential buyer on etsy. She wants me to make her a custom cocoon. Great! I quickly emailed her back and told her that I would do it. She wanted me to use a specific kind of yarn and needed the cocoon by Wednesday (today) as she was going out of town, but wanted it in time for her baby daugher to be able to wear it for Halloween (the yarn was pink, and she was dressing the baby as a "pig in a blanket" or something like that).
So.

I go to JoAnns on Saturday morning, even though I had temporarily banned myself from going back there since I already have plenty of yarn. I find the specific yarn she wants and spend ALL WEEKEND working on knitting this cocoon. I knit in the car. I knit late into the night. I finish Sunday night and take the thing to the post office Monday morning and mail it. I send it Express Mail because the buyer wanted it that fast and was totally willing to pay the $17.50 shipping fee, in addition to the cost of the cocoon. Not worth it for a sack made out of yarn, if you ask me, but whatever. I was just happy to have another sale.

The guy at the post office assures me it will be delivered the next day. Nope. Tuesday night comes, and the buyer emails me asking for the tracking number. USPS.com says its in her town, but doesn't show any information about delivery. No big deal, as long as it comes Wednesday.

Well, this morning I check the tracking again, and it says it WAS delivered yesterday. Huh? So I email the buyer and ask if she got it. She didn't. She waits at her office for the post man to come, and reams him. He says he left it in the mailbox the previous day. He says he was just going to leave it at the door, but since I waived the signature, he was required to leave it in a "secure" location.

So who knows where that stupid cocoon is. I haven't heard back from the buyer, though I offered to refund her shipping (all blasted $17.50) and make her a new cocoon for free.

SO FRUSTRATING!

Have I ever told you about how the post office lost my wedding pictures? After the wedding, once we got the proofs from the photographer (this was *gasp* prior to the days of digital proofing), I mailed the proof binder to my parents for review. My mom then sent the book back to me, insured and with signature requirement and all that jazz. I never got it. My mom did everything she could to track it down, even speaking to the postmaster and writing her Congressman. The post office said the package was signed for at our apartment, but no one ever saw it. Nor did any of our neighbors. We eventually got a check from the postal service and were able to buy back the proofs, but it was quite the ordeal.

I would like to know where this stuff ends up. Is there some giant warehouse somewhere full of undelivered goods? Do postmen steal mail? I mean really. STUFF JUST DOESN'T DISAPPEAR! I get that thieves target mailboxes, though. I hope if someone did steal it, they were SORELY disappointed in what they found.

So I'm done with the post office. I think I'm going UPS or FedEx from now on, though I'm worried how much this will cost me. Anyone have any advice?