Location Transport

has anyone tried shipping a care package via UPS to an APO going to Iraq?

Trying to ship a package to Iraq via UPS....I was told that I need a customs form. Have any of you successfully done this? The package contains homemade cookies, cake, brownies, and I want to do this right so there are no delays and he doesn't get snacks that are all dried out. Thanks so much!

Public Comments

1. If you are shipping to an APO, you need to use the US Postal Service, not UPS.
2. UPS doesn't ship to apo, go to the post office and they have the custom form you need.
3. My husband has been to Iraq twice. I always went to the Post Office, they have customs forms there, and they will help you fill them out if you need help. It's very simple to do. If you want it there by Christmas, you'd better get to the Post Office today. Good Luck and thanks for the support.
4. Use USPS. But yes, you have to fill out a customs form anytime you send a package to a overseas even if it's going to an APO address. It's just a little form that they stick on the box that states what is in the box and the value of it's contents. You can't send a package over there without that form. Even if you send priority USPS it can take about a week or longer. It's very difficult to send baked goods to Iraq.
5. You can not send by way of ups or Fex. How ever if you are looking to get you package to him fast you can send it priority and do a conformation on it then you can track it. I did this and it took a 45 pound box 6 days to get there instead of 3 weeks.... It dose not cost much to send this way i think it cost me 20 dollars. The reason we can not ship ups and fedx is that we would need a physical address.
6. UPS won't get it there any faster. What happens is (or at least what I was told when I did this), the box gets shipped to a US Army Post Office facility in the US (I think it's in NY) that handles Army/military mail to the Middle East. So basically, if you pay for expedited shipping, that will only give you quick shipping to the Army Post Office in NY - from that point on, it's up to the Army how quickly the box gets there. I used to send a ton of packages, and the time varied from one week to around a month for delivery, depending on the time of year. Christmas usually takes awhile, so it is best to send as early as possible, or wait and send a New Years gift instead :) I've heard that some people will vacuum pack their homemade goods to make sure they're fresh when they get there...never tried it myself, but it's worth a shot! Good luck!
7. UPS will only ship APO headed to Iraq as far as NY then they turn it over to the postal service....so it defeats the purpose. Put your baked goods in gladware and they wont dry out...put a slice of bread in the container with them trust me on this and mail it from the post office.
8. FedEx or DHL can get to Iraq in as little as 48 hours, depending on exactly which site your sending to. Both of those companies run their own flights in and out of major airfields in Iraq on a daily basis. These shipments are turned over to the military postal soldiers, who hand them over to the appropriate unit postal clerks.
9. you cannot ship UPS, only USPS. UPS does NOT ship to APOs. But yes, you will need a customs form.
10. The best way to mail is from the post office. To keep your baked goods from getting hard fast, put plain sliced white bread around your cookies. The bread will get hard and your cookies won't.
11. APOs are strickly for U.S. mail - you can't ship UPS to an APO address.
12. umm ups tell them that you need boxs for sending stuff to iraq thats what i had to do when my husband was over there he just got back... but it will have everything you need
13. When I had an APO we had to use the regular USPS service. It took anywhere from 4 days to 7 months (seriously I got a birthday card post dated jun 06 in jan 07). So its all luck of the draw. They should last longer if you can manage to vacuum seal them.
14. Ive never used UPS. Go through the post office and you still have to do the customs form but it's easy