I have mentioned I am into book swapping. I got a request this morning for a book to be shipped to an APO address. APO addresses are military addresses and I figure this is going to a service person. I’m appreciative of the folks who serve in the military so I agree to ship the book. Imagine my surprise when I try and do a media mail label through the US Post Office web site and discover you can not print out a media mail label to a an APO address. The PO message is:APO/FPO Restrictions Apply
The destination ZIP Code supplied is an APO/FPO ZIP code. We regret we cannot provide a service commitment to this location. Please contact your local Post Office for assistance.
Ok why can’t the US POST Office provide service to an APO address? Is there a problem with mailing books to our service people?
So I try PayPal. I use my PayPal account to mail books all the time. I attempt to create a media mail label (or any other label) for an APO address. The PayPal system doesn’t accept an APO address.
What the hell is going on that it is so difficult to simply mail a book to someone in the service of their country?
PayPal says they are working on it. WhoHoo, why isn’t it in the system already? The PostOffice knows it is an issue, why isn’t it fixed? That is the United States Post Office, right, shouldn’t that indicated that the United States military personnel should be reachable through the United States Post Office media mail?
I have no clue why this discriminatory behavior is occurring. I have sent my Senator and my Congressman emails asking why this is occurring. Perhaps if you read this, check it out, if you find out that I am accurate in what I have found, please contact your elected representatives and find out why it isn’t easier to send a book to someone in the service of their country. Maybe we can get it fixed.
1 comment:
I'm at an APO address. When it says "we cannot provide a service commitment to this location" that doesn't mean that they won't deliver. It just means that they can't guarantee a date for it to arrive. e.g. it will get there in 5-7 days.
As far as some systems go, the automatic systems aren't programmed with AA, AE, AP under the state fields. So while a typical address would look like:
Name
Postal Service Center + Identifier
APO, AP ZIP
.... you can "trick" it by sending it to the state that processes the respective APO area. So instead it would look like:
Name
Postal Service Center + Identifier
APO AP, CA ZIP
AA : Miami, FL
AE : New York, NY
AP : San Francisco, CA
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