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Yep, FedEx and UPS tracking is pretty amazing.

BTW, the article gives the secret for shipping Li-ion batteries:Do not charge them! Only those with a near-full charge have the power to explode and cause firesl Besides, when they are installed in a device, there is little likelihood of them getting against something and shorting (and causing a fire).

Shipping them fully-charged -- in bulk -- is invitation to disaster!

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Apple rcently shipped to me (@ no charge) a replacement for the three-year old battery in my MacBook Pro. The instructions included, "Charge fully before using..."

There you go ~ although there have been discussions about batteries going on for decades (the earliest ones being little more than poorly sealed acid baths). Having to work on questions of hazmat gave me plenty of time to consider those discussions.

The law is pretty clear ~ you cause it you own it. So if you ship a fully charged battery of any kind without totally following the hazmat rules and it does something that injures an employee in the supply chain ~ whether that's UPS, FedEx, USPS or somebody else you can be liable for just all sorts of things.

The lithium batteries are just one more in a series of troublesome devices.

I'm not sure I'd trust a fully charged lithium battery coming in the mail at my house if it originated in China. No way to know who packed it for one thing.

I don't bring their fireworks indoors either!