When you come to Japan, one of the first things you will do is get set up with an FPO mailbox. Some families are allowed to have their own and shore command families share a common FPO box with their entire department. FPO mailboxes allow military families stationed overseas to have a US address to which people can send mail without incurring any international mailing charges.
There are many downsides to having an FPO address. Mail takes longer to get here if it isn't shipped USPS Priority. Many of the large shipping companies (FedEx, UPS) won't ship to an FPO mailbox. Many of the large retailers won't ship to an FPO address. Some large retailers will ship to an FPO address, but the shipping time is much longer. Other retailers may charge you an outlandish shipping price to send mail to an FPO address.
Enter Ship It APO, a company run by ex-military who understand how hard it is to get packages to an FPO address. This company provides you with a personalized US address that you can use as a shipping address for packages. When they receive your package, they affix your FPO address to it and send it to you via USPS Priority mail. Let's check out a pro's and con's list:
Pros:
- They will send all packages USPS Priority, the fastest method to reach FPO boxes.
- The charge no annual fee for basic membership and only charge shipping and handling for packages shipped.
- They offer all kinds of extra services at various prices, such as reboxing obvious electronics to prevent theft.
- The address they give you is used as a shipping address only so you do not have to change your billing address on any of your credit cards.
- They only accept packages, so they can't be used for letters.
- They will sign for any packages that need a signature.
- Upon reciving your package they send it out within 48 hours.
- Their costs are fairly reasonable (if you don't add extra services). One normal size package costs about $13 to be shipped to you.
- They provide tracking and insurance as part of their basic service.
Cons:
- You have to keep a credit card on file and they charge your card right away as they ship. (A con for people who like to have control over when they are charged). They do offer the option of adding a prepaid amount to your account so they prepaid amount is debited instead.
- You essentially pay for shipping twice. You have to pay for shipping from the original company to ShipitAPO and then you have to pay again to have ShipItAPO send it to you. Solution: Shop with companies who offer a free shipping option.
- They won't forward everything. There are some laws and regulations about what can and can't be shipped to an FPO box. They will not break postal service laws. However, packages can be redirected to a family member.
- They charge for everything. Don't think they'll do anything for free. If a package can't be sent to an FPO address, they'll charge you for: 1) having a rejected package and 2) to ship somewhere else in the States. Pay attention to your invoices as it'll tell you how much was charged.
- They won't combine packages. If you order two small packages, they will be sent as two small packages (instead of one big package) and you'll be charged for each.
- They may open your package. Part of their process is to ensure nothing illegal is being sent to an FPO address. This means packages are inspected and may be opened.
I am just now finding out about this company and I wish I had known about it a lot sooner. Apparently, many of my friends have been using it. This company just sent my first two packages and the turn around time was excellent.
So, there you go, just throwing this option out there for people who are fed up with not being able to do all of their shopping online.
What is considered a "normal" package, is normal classified by weight or size of the package?
ReplyDeleteThis service might come in handy for my cousin who is in the Marines and stationed in Korea. I will ask him if he knows about it. Thanks for sharing.
We just found out on Monday that we are heading to Yokosuka so I've checked that Target will ship to an FPO (it's one of my favorite stores. ha!)
ReplyDeleteI'll be reading more of your blog while we wait to PCS.
@Susie, They charge more for anything that is heavy or longer than 84". All of their shipping information (and charges) are detailed on their website.
ReplyDelete@Allison: I hope my blog is helpful. Also be sure to check out Japanbases.com, there's tons of information there. Target only ships certain things to an FPO/AP and they're one of the companies that has a super LOOOOOONG shipping time (sometimes over a month). I wanted a set of flannel bedsheets from Target so bad, but the bedsheets couldn't be shipped to an FPO/AP address....but now that I know about ShipItAPO, I'm going to buy the bedsheets soon. The one company that is really good at shipping here is Amazon. As long as the order is fulfilled by Amazon, the package arrives in about one week.
Pros... they are good at what they do, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteCons... sucks for you if something doesn't get forwarded correctly to you. I've attempted to contact them 5 times, both by email and voice mail. My package was delivered and signed by TAYLOR back on 5 November 2012, but never forwarded to me. I'm upset and don't use them for anything important anymore. Also UPS won't allow me to claim the insurance since it was delivered and signed by an authorized person at destination address. Just typing this I get upset over their spotty service. On The Other Hand, 42 other shipments that they've sent me have reached without an issue.