# So Amazon.com is using time machines now??

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-amazon-com-is-using-time-machines-now/676066>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 11, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-amazon-com-is-using-time-machines-now/676066 "2013-12-11T13:23:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-amazon-com-is-using-time-machines-now/676066/1 "2013-12-11T13:23:06Z")

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[What?](http://i.imgur.com/AalOL5b.jpg)  
Package tracking

It will be nice getting my package before I ordered it, but It seems their geo-locator is off by about 400 miles.😉

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-amazon-com-is-using-time-machines-now/676066/2 "2013-12-11T15:03:40Z")

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Tracking number recycling is a common problem, especially with the USPS.

Smartpost is a hybrid service where FedEx trucks packages in bulk to your local post office or sort center, and the “last mile” of actual delivery is done by the USPS.

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**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-amazon-com-is-using-time-machines-now/676066/3 "2013-12-12T05:41:32Z")

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I once did a lookup on a package from Lands End… and discovered it had already been deliver: a year ago and a thousand miles away :D.

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**Author:** ![Space\_Vegetable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Space\_Vegetable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vegetable)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-amazon-com-is-using-time-machines-now/676066/4 "2013-12-12T07:48:22Z")

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> [@Foggy](#):
>
> So [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) is using time machines now??

Depends what you mean by “now”. In your now, no. In their now, yes. Some time soon, your Amazon packages will start arriving before you order them. By the end of that year Amazon will need to have announced and you will need to have signed up for Amazon Primier (like Prime but more so) or else causality will get all gummed up again.