Hong Kong Speedpost ROCKS

I have occasion to order stuff from overseas from time to time. I am truly blown away by the efficiency and level of detail that is being provided about this package....

It's the dual-SIM GSM phone inbound. So the seller sends me a tracking number.

I use Google to find the Hong Kong post office. Or rather, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Post Office. ;)

I find where to enter the tracking number and it comes back as follows:

Outward Speedpost

Item Number: xxxxxxxxxxx
Posting Date Posting Time Drop-off Point
4-Feb-2008 16:18 Kowloon East Post Office

Date # Location Delivery Status
4-Feb-2008 Hong Kong Item posted and is being processed.
4-Feb-2008 Hong Kong Processed for departure.
4-Feb-2008 Hong Kong The item left Hong Kong for its destination on 4-Feb-2008
4-Feb-2008 Hong Kong The item left Hong Kong for its destination on 4-Feb-2008
5-Feb-2008 United States of America Arrived and is being processed.
5-Feb-2008 United States of America Pending customs inspection.
5-Feb-2008 United States of America In transit.


Ok so that's cool. But it gets better. The US Postal Service has EDI setup with Hong Kong!!! (EDI=electronic data interchange) I guess I'm not real surprised since so much stuff comes from China... I'm thinking, no way is this foreign tracking number going to come up with anything.

Oh no, even more detail:
Detailed Results:

Inbound Out of Customs, February 05, 2008, 8:51 am
Processed, February 05, 2008, 8:13 am, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94128
Inbound Into Customs
Inbound International Arrival, February 05, 2008, 6:29 am, SAN FRANCISCO
Origin Post is Preparing Shipment
Foreign International Dispatch, February 04, 2008, 10:40 pm, HONG KONG AIR MAIL CENTRE, HONG KONG
Foreign Acceptance, February 04, 2008, 4:18 pm, HONG KONG

And it lets you enter an email address so that you get sent future activity - like when it gets delivered :)