posted on April 2, 2001 03:16:52 PM new
Just got back from the Post office and they asked me if I REALLY wanted to ship that book to the APO address book rate. Said it would take at LEAST 8 weeks. Forked over the extra $2.00 for Priority Mail to keep from having an unhappy buyer. Do I need to change my TOS for book auctions?
Got my Postal Explorer CD with my Visa Card purchase too. They seemed *surprised* I'd heard about it <g>
[ edited by glassgrl on Apr 2, 2001 03:18 PM ]
posted on April 2, 2001 05:02:06 PM new
My PO tells me something different. I was told that if it was an APO out of the country, it will be sent to New York and then it will be sent military mail which is handled differently than regular mail. If you send it media mail and if there is room on the first class truck it will be sent first class. They mark the package with I think it is SAM but I could be wrong.
I heard something different just this morning! They recommended Priority Mail but said that it would take 4 weeks to get to the APO. Since Priority Mail was more than the cost of the item plus shipping I opted for Media Mail, but emailed my bidder to warn her.
Something else to consider when shipping media mail. It has been god awful slow lately for me anyway!
posted on April 2, 2001 05:29:08 PM new
I recently shipped media rate to an APO address, and it didn't take 8 weeks to get there and I believe it was going to Japan. However, you cannot use delivery confirmation to APO addresses. The bidder knew it was going media rate so I guess she knew how long it would take to get there.
posted on April 2, 2001 06:35:32 PM new
I have not had those kinds of delays when sending things to APOs during non-holiday times. Most of mine have gone to APO NY NY which does mean they go to New York (Priority, first class or however you send it) and then they go via military mail out of the country. I have tracked some of them and they get there within a week of an estimated time of hitting NY. I do believe packages other than priority go via SAM (space available mail) according to how they were first shipped (first class, media, book.) The postage for those APO packages should not be more than where you are to NY.
posted on April 2, 2001 06:58:22 PM new
Media mail to American Samoa can easily take more than 4 weeks. And that is not even an APO. Apparently it goes via ship and not on a regular schedule.
posted on April 2, 2001 07:28:02 PM new
Once mail hits an APO/FPO (and it will vary as to which APO/FPO it goes to based upon the units US commander location) it leaves the postal service as we know it and enters the military mail service.
This is staffed mostly by military 'postal clerks' which are enlisted personnel whose sole occupation is getting the mail out.
They are required to study and abide by US postal regulations and are the sole source for postal money orders in mobile commands.
Mail shipments are usually placed on a 'space available' basis aboard chartered military flights along with necessary spare parts, etc, that are hoping the ocean.
Once the mail hits the units theater of operations, movement messages are consulted to determine where the unit currently is, how much longer it will be there and when and where it is expected to be next.
From there it's a crap shoot as to getting mail to the unit because their movements are often dictated by regional events and weather, so a ship scheduled to enter Malaga, Spain next week might wind up instead in the Red Sea responding to a crisis. But guess where the mail went? Right, Malaga, Spain!
If the unit is no longer expected to enter Malaga, Spain anytime soon then the mail goes back to the regional center and they try again.
Mail in the military mail system all recieves the exact same treatment regardless of how it is marked or how much you paid to ship it.
The exception is official military mail (orders, requisitions, etc) which get priority placement on the aircraft before regular mail.
The upside to this is that many mobile commands now have full time email access and handle a lot of their message traffic by electronic means.
posted on April 2, 2001 09:16:09 PM new
We have a saying. It goes...I'd tell ya, but then I'd have to shoot ya.
In reality, the mail clerk course in the military is usually only one day long. The job almost always goes to one of the lowest men on the totem pole or sometimes rotates through several inexperienced nubs. These are the young guys who, more often than not, have never even licked a stamp.
I remember back, I'd say 12 or 13 years ago, substituting for a guy on emergency leave. They gave me a paper card that allowed me to pick up mail from the base post office. If I had other duties, the mail just didn't get picked up for that day, sometimes for several days in a row.
Whenever I am deployed or away from home, my wife and I number our letters to each other. Once, my letters from her started with the #3. Almost 2 years after my return, I received both #1 & #2 forwarded from my previous command.
posted on April 2, 2001 09:23:26 PM new
Think of two government bureaucracies that can't find their own bottoms with both hands. Now imagine them trying to work together.
I find that APO shipments take easily twice as long as conventional ones. Considering that the army can't get any ammo and the post office petitions for a rate hike the minute the new one goes into effect, I suppose that's not too bad.
posted on April 3, 2001 06:05:23 AM new
Hi, Sandvet.
Must be that different services handle it differently. I know from talking to a PC1 (postal clerk) that the Navy has a rating dedicated to postal service, and that they do nothing but postal stuff their entire career.
They do still have that card you mentioned that someone other than a postal clerk can use to pick up the mail when the PC isn't around, but only the PC can do money related services in the Navy.
It never occured to me that other services might do it differently.
Which service were you refering to that just picks the junior guy/gal and makes them the postal clerk for awhile?
posted on April 3, 2001 08:04:00 AM new
Hi Powerhouse,
I'm in the Navy! The Postal Clerk that you are mentioning, the PC rate, actually work in the post office. Each base has a regular post office. That is were I mail my packages, in fact. Anyway, these guys work there, and yes, they are trained the same as any other government postal worker and usually work in the back doing whatever they do back there. But if you mail a package to someone who is stationed on base, it is not delivered. It's picked up by whomever is chosen to be the "mail clerk". This person is not necessarily trained to do anything other than his regular job.
posted on April 3, 2001 08:35:47 AM new
Ah! That's the difference then. You are refering to mail to a base and I am refering to mail to a mobile unit via APO/FPO.
True, each base command may not have a postal clerk.
