u/ForQ2

In mid-December, I sent out my Christmas cards, probably 35-ish. 3-5 weeks later, a few of them came back RTS due to the recipients having moved and the forwarding having expired.

Last night, I got another one, returned to me 4.5 months after I had sent it.

I'm not just venting. I really would like to understand how this happens. How is it possible that the USPS has a vast network in place that can get letters from one side of the country to the other in just a few days, but a returned piece of mail takes over four months? I understand that returned mail isn't a priority, but still, it would have gotten here much sooner if a crackhead had personally walked it the 400 miles that it traveled to get back to me.

What is the process? And why is the process so horrid?