Hello everyone!!! I'm not trying to start a war with this thread but I think that it is necessary to addressed this a bit. I'm currently stationed in Germany and like me there's tens of thousands more service members all over the world.
I'm a firm supporter of this forum and the sponsors so this is why I purchase everything I need for my cars from here; but there’s a lot of confusion when it comes to shipping to APO/FPO/DPO addresses. Firstable it is a Domestic US address! Even though we are in a different country USPS charges domestic rates for shipping.
This is how shipping to those addresses works! You shipped a package thru USPS which is the only and economical way to ship to this addresses, USPS handles the package and ships it out from APO/FPO/DPO HUBS mainly in NY or SF and then handles the package over to the Military Postal Service (MPS) who takes over the package and delivers the package to its final destination. The Military Post office does not charge for flying the package to its destination so we are only paying USPS for delivering to the HUB.
When mailing from APO/FPO/DPO to APO/FPO/DPO it is totally free up to 70 pounds; Only when mailing from APO/FPO/DPO to regular Domestic address is when you have to pay for shipping because is a reverse process. I'm not saying that consumers shouldn't have to pay for shipping but let’s make it fair and not over inflate shipping charges. I'm not singling out any sponsor or private seller just educating so that there be less confusions and more happy buyers. It is a win situation for everyone.
Processing Military Mail
The Postal Service places APO/FPO mail on international commercial passenger service and
International cargo service aircraft from New York or San Francisco. When the plane lands overseas, the mail is tendered to the Military. The mail is then handled by Military Postal Service (Civilian) representative and transported to the Military Post Office for distribution to the service member’s unit for delivery to the recipient. The Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA) is an extension of the United States Postal Service providing Department of Defense personnel, their family members and other authorized users mail services around the world
APO/FPO addresses are not international addresses. Many businesses feel that because our
Customers reside in a foreign country; military mail goes through an international system. All mail goes through the United States Postal Service at the same rate you would pay for delivery to a US address.
This is where I gathered some of the info from. It is a PDF
file.
http://www.shopmyexchange.com/Images...s/apoguide.pdf
https://www.usps.com/ship/apo-fpo-guidelines.htm
Our military service members and diplomatic personnel work hard for us overseas. Far from home, few things brighten their days more than mail from friends and loved ones. Although for APO/FPO/DPO shipments you pay domestic prices, you’ll need to follow special guidelines.
This should be a sticky!!!