hmm, well i would definitely advise anyone posting something as valuable as a cybook to use registered mail, but that doesn't mean that the french post will automatically lose any package they are given.
for an individual, if they are not at home when the postman tries to deliver the package, he will leave a slip of paper in the mailbox which you present with your id card in your local post office to retrieve your package.
for a company, mail is delivered during normal business hours so there is always someone there to receive the packages, and as long as the address is correct it should not pose a problem.
i have ordered things online which were shipped from the US several times, and the average shipping time is one week.
having said all this :
- once i sent a birthday present to a friend in the US, and it took over 2 months to get there (by airmail...). it did arrive in perfect condition however. who knows where on the route the delay occurred, since i did not send it registered or with a trackable system.
- a couple of years ago, the post office took a full month to deliver my income declaration to the tax office. i had posted it on time (the day before the deadline in fact), but of course it was received late, and by a *shocking* coincidence
there was no postmark on it to prove my good faith, so i had to pay the fine. i should mention, the tax office is a 20 minute walk from my house, and most mail within paris is delivered the day after you post it, and sometimes the *same* day if you post it directly at the post office early in the morning. since then i post my taxes by registered mail.
in other words, the postal service in france (like most postal services in the world, i expect) is usually fairly reliable, but every once in a while they will do something staggeringly irresponsible.
which brings me back to my first point :
anything as valuable as a cybook should always be posted registered with a tracking number.