I just read an article in the Toronto Star about why items get lost in the mail. Actually it was enlightening. The lesson is to make sure you package and label the item very well. At the end of the story, they said that lost items are kept for 7 months and then either sold or, if it is an item like a handmade quilt -DESTROYED!! I am shocked. How sad that this happens. Now we know what happens to those quilts that never make it to their destination. I know that this is a Canadian story but the same thing probably happens in the US as well. You can find the article at www.thestar.com.

How sad. I always put my name and address inside the package in a plastic zip bag pinned to the fabric of quilts or clothing I mail.

I think it is very important to add insurance (if you are using U.S. Mail). If you are using Fedex or UPS insurance is included in the cost of shipping (up to the specified amount).

I consider quilts to be very valuable, therefore every precaution should be taken to make sure of the delivery to the intended destination. USPS does not guarantee delivery unless there is delivery confirmation or insurance.

Insurance would be good for recouping dollars, but it sure wont help recouping the time and love put into the item. For me it wouldnt even be about the money, but then again Im a sentimental fool that gets attached to my projects, so insurance wouldnt help me since my sense of loss would be from losing the intangibles :-(

I find it very odd that they would be destroyed - surely they have a value on the open market, just the same as anything else. If not, why not donate to charities, I can think of lots, i.e. homeless that would appreciate something warm. What a waste just to destroy.

I always put insurance on mine when mailing and get a notice of develiery added, that way I can track (UPS,Fedex) the package. but making use you need to add your name an address also the address you are sending it to on the inside of your package. so far thank goodness all of mine have made it to thier destantion.

I think the OP is talking about undeliverable mail, not lost mail. IOW, the quilt fell out of the box along the way and has no addresses or anything attached to it any longer. If mail is 'lost', they can't destroy it because they do not have it...it's lost in the system somewhere.

Make sure your package is secure, both sender and receiver names and addresses are clearly printed and covered with tape on the inside and the outside of the package, track and insure as you see fit, and anything you mail should eventually find it's way to either the intended party or back to you.

PO used to have auctions of lost mail, I wonder if they still do that?

So if they are sold do they advertise the sales??

The 1st baby quilt I made my sister was lost at the post office for 1 year. It pays to make phone calls and talk to the local post office where you are sending it. Even though my sister had just moved and left a forwarding address, it was the weekend carrier that didn't forward it and brought it back to the P.O. and after several phone calls someone remembered a box on a shelf etc. I was so upset because I had worked so hard on it and just kept calling and hounding them until they found it!