Package says a straight line isn't easiest, cheapest, fastest ...

I saw these camo boots online, the Sunday before Christmas, at Academy Sports + Outdoors and I wanted them.  I have been hunting a pair of boots like these for months.
The price was right; reviews were positive; I needed the boots to traipse around the barnyard, in the mud.  I'm not a hunter, but I needed them.
But dang, folks, after I got the shipment notice and tracking number, why were they sent to Memphis, Tennessee.  From Fayetteville?
Heck, I could have driven to Fayetteville and picked them up, if I had known this.
What's the gimmick?

How could shipping this package from Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Valley Springs, Arkansas, take 10 days? Let me describe the box's travels.

Sunday night, December 20, 2015, I ordered a pair of boots, online, from Academy Sports + Outdoors.
I received an e-mail the following day - Monday, December, 2015 - that the boots had been shipped from a Fayetteville store.
That made sense to me, send the order to the store closest to the customer.  That would be the Fayetteville store.
But then any sense of logistics vanished.
Google maps shows the distance between the starting point (Academy Sports + Outdoors in Fayetteville, Arkansas) and ending point (Valley Springs, Arkansas, Post Office) is about 85 miles.

But tracking the package shows it went to FedEx in Lowell, Arkansas, on Monday, December 21, 2015, then overnight it was transported to Kansas City, Missouri, arriving just after midnight. The package then left Kansas City on Tuesday morning, December 22, 2015, and 12 hours later was logged into the FedEx facility in Memphis Tennessee. Later, about midnight, it was registered at FedEx Smartpost in Southhaven, Mississippi.

The package was left at that location through the Christmas holiday, not coming to life until Monday, December 28, 2015.

As you can read, shipping information was sent to the US Postal Service about midnight Monday, December 28, 2015, then the package left Tuesday morning, December 29, 2015, for the US Postal Service back in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The package arrived Wednesday morning, December 30, 2015, at my local post office at Valley Springs, Arkansas.

I picked up the package just before the post office closed for lunch at 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 30, 2015.  The only connection to FedEx on the box is the postage stamp that reads - Parcel Select U.S. Postage Paid SmartPost e-VS.

And here are my new boots, delivered with free shipping.

I would think, in this day when all my online movements are tracked, that a computer whiz at FedEx could determine that it would be cheaper to mail the box from Fayetteville to Valley Springs, rather than truck the package around the four-state area, then mail it from Mississippi to Fayetteville and Valley Springs.
And some of our lawmakers apparently think private business could do a better job of handling the mail than the job that U.S. Postal Service is currently doing.
What are your thoughts?
I sent that question to customer service for Academy Sports + Outdoors on Tuesday. Here's the auto reply: Please allow 24 - 48 hours for a response.
OK, I'm waiting, and Megan burst out laughing.
Dwain
RESPONSE:

CC

Today at 5:59 PM

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support 
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.
If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 30 days.
Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.
To access your question from our support site, click https://academy.custhelp.com/app/account/questions/detail/i_id/993706/

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Subject
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Order Status -Order# 178515861

Discussion Thread
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Response By Email (Nnaemeka A.) (01/03/2016 05:59 PM)   
Thank you for contacting Academy Sports + Outdoors.  We appreciate your feedback and sincerely apologize for your experience while shopping with us. Our ultimate goal is to provide each of our customers with the utmost quality of both products and service. Your email has been shared with our team responsible and store leadership. However, your package was shared delivered via FedEx  through the smart post /post office option.

FedEx#398192370002349
Smart Post-
Actual delivery:
Wed 12/30/2015 10:59 am
VALLEY SPRINGS, AR US


12/30/2015 - Wednesday
10:59 am  Delivered      VALLEY SPRINGS, AR
Package delivered by U.S. Postal Service to addressee

We look forward to assisting you and value you as a customer.

Please feel free to contact us at 1 888 922 2336 between the hours of 7am and 12am (Central Standard Time). You can also reply to this email or chat with us, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, if you have any further questions. Have a good day.

Sincerely,

Customer Service Associate

Customer Care Center

Academy Sports + Outdoors






Customer By Service Web (Dwain Lair) (12/29/2015 04:40 PM)   
I ordered a pair of boots about 10 days ago. The boots started in Fayetteville, Monday, Dec. 21, they were picked up in Lowell. FedEx transported the boots to Kansas City, then Memphis. This morning, Tuesday, Dec. 29, they were transported to USPS and were in transit to Fayetteville. This is the craziest shipping experience I have ever seen. The boots start in Fayetteville, and more than a week later are back in Fayetteville. Does anyone ever look at logistics?



Question Reference # 151229-004968
      Date Created: 12/29/2015 04:40 PM
  Date Last Updated: 01/03/2016 05:59 PM
            Status: Solved


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