A month ago, I ordered a shipment from the US. Unfortunately, the only shipping method available was US Postal Service. The shipment was supposed to be delivered from a sender in Colorado to me in St. Kitts, and the quoted time was 10-14 days.

Now look at these admirable tracking details:
Electronic Shipping Info Received, March 25, 2010
Arrival
International Dispatch, April 05, 2010, 8:14 pm, ISC MIAMI FL (USPS)
Arrived Abroad, April 09, 2010, 12:38 pm, BAHAMAS
Origin Post is Preparing Shipment
Inbound International Arrival, April 13, 2010, 3:25 pm, ISC MIAMI FL (USPS)
It is now April 20, and the shipment spent this time going from Miami to Bahamas and back to Miami, and is now apparently still in the States.

A courier service would have delivered this in 2 days.