I have a cousin in Afghanistan right now flying medivac as a Navy Pilot. I want to send him a care package when I come down to the states in May. But I would like to have it all boxed up and ready to go for when I come down so I can just drop it at the Post office and go. I understand the USPS supplies a free care package kit for people to do this but they won’t send it to Canada.
Would anyone be willing to order one of these kits for me and send it to me? I can repay you for your time and postage to send it to me via PayPal or perhaps I can send come of our coveted Maple Syrup down to you for payment. http://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/welcome.htm
I would really appreciate it!
mark
What it is is a free USPS box for APO addresses. I’d be happy to pick one up for you as I’m at the post office every week or so but it will likely cost upwards of $10-$15 to find a box big enough to put first box in and ship it across the border. Depending on how you feel it really may be easier (and cheaper in the long run) to just bring the gift with you and box it up and ship it out when you’re down here. The boxes are available for free at all post offices so if you’re going to the post office anyway to mail it they should have them there and you can just pack it up and ship it out.
Military Care Package Kit
Since Priority Mail service supplies are the packaging of choice for families preparing care packages for service members overseas, the USPS has created a “Mili-kit” based on the items most frequently requested by the military.
The kit contains:
Three (3) each of flat rate boxes O-FRB1 and O-FRB2
Two (2) each of Cube boxes OBOX7
Address labels - Label # 228 8 each
Address labels - Label # 106-A 1 each
Customs FORM 2976-A 8 EA.
Customs FORM 2976-E 8 EA.
The kit may be requested by calling 1-800-610-8734 (Packing Supply) and:
Choose your language (1 is English, 2 is Spanish).
Choose option 1 (it states it is for Express Mail service, Priority Mail or Global Express Guaranteed).
When you reach a live agent, request CAREKIT04.
Please allow 7-10 days for delivery.
So I think it is a little more than a box. I have a few family members up here that want to send stuff so this sounds like it might better suit our needs.
If you’re looking to use the Flat Rate boxes (which are listed in the military kit you highlighted) those can be gotten for free at any post office. Just make sure you get the APO box and not the regular flat rate shipping box. I shipped some stuff to military folks over the holidays and I just went to the post office, picked up a flat rate box, filled out the customs form there and shipped from there. I think the rate was $12.95 or there abouts for the APO flat rate box. I also brought in my own box for one holiday shipment - already packaged and ready to go - and they were able to give me the customs form to fill out at the post office when I went in to get it weighed and stamped for shipment. The customs forms are really simple to fill out so it’s easy to fill out the form and ship all in 5 minutes. I honestly have a harder time filling out customs forms when I ship things to Canada. My understanding is that it’s because APO addresses are considered “domestic” in a wierd way and are transported on US military planes so doesn’t actually have to pass through customs in the other country (though I may be mistaken on this one). So while I’m more than happy to get this for you and ship it to you, I honestly think it may be money that doesn’t need to be spent when you can do everything needed at a post office when you’re in the States for free.
