Post by snipsnsnails on Dec 19, 2014 9:07:47 GMT -5
I *think* I can ship through Amazon to a DPO? I mean, I just ordered it, but does Amazon take care of the customs forms? They didn't ask me to fill anything out apart from the DPO address. And I asked for the items to be gift-wrapped, but now I am wondering if it does go through customs, that really won't work and they'll probably unwrap it anyway?
This is similar to an APO address, yes? If so, I have an APO address and order from Amazon often and never had an issue. They take care of the customs form, which is printed on the box. If the recipient reads the customs form, they may know what the gift is on the inside, but it's not always the most accurate. I've never had anything gift wrapped but I don't think you should have any troubles.
Amazon does the customs form and the gift wrap shouldn't be a problem at all. The item description is usually kind of vague like "clothing" or "personal care item." When we lived overseas we ordered tons from Amazon and often I wouldn't remember what I had ordered....and sometimes the customs description wasn't enough to jog my memory! So it shouldn't spoil the surprise .
Just make sure you select Priority Mail when you pick your shipping options. Priority Mail can get to just about anywhere in the world in 7-10 days. If you get "standard shipping" it might get there that fast, but could take 4-6 weeks.
I have come across a few things that can't be sent via Amazon to an APO address. DH really wanted an ipod nano on one deployment, and eventually I had to go buy the damn thing at a store and mail it myself, instead of shipping via amazon or best buy.
But, most things seem to ship OK - I've had all kinds of wacky things sent here (we are currently at an APO address), from a turkey roaster to yarn to all sorts of other stuff. It's not always super fast (that turkey roaster was _huge_, and took forever, I think because it took ages to find space for it on the transports to this area), but it generally does get to us...