As some of you might know, military personel serving overseas have what is called and APO or an FPO address. It is a stateside address, however a customs form is required to be filled out, even though it all goes to new york. For some reason many companies dont want to make an effort to fill out this form (can be done in about 2 minutes) at same stateside fee. This is a short list of military friendly/unfriendly companies I have used.

Accuautoparts.com - No problems at all, fast shipping, inexpensive, and even sent some free stuff.

Quadratec.com - Pricey, orders for APO/FPO addresses must be made by phone only. However, they ship fast, and are extremely dependable. AMAZING TECH SUPPORT.

Rustysoffroad - Will not ship to APO/FPO. My poor 60 year old mother has to recieve my hundred pound parts, and ship them on her own. Good prices, friendly people, but not worth the extra hassle and shipping, a real shame for military folks. They have many things I'd like, but not worth the effort.

Napa Autoparts - Good for smaller items, no problems shipping to military addresses. A little slow.

I have many others, but thats the main companies I use - or try to use. If you have any more, please list them!

So I ordered a set of seats and 5point harnesses the other day at a cost of $709... Because I have a military address, it was going to be 349 dollars in shipping, but would have been free if it was a regular US address. I've had these problems with UPS and FedEX. None of the companies will ship to my military address in New York... I tried to order an axle last year, and it was going to be the price of the axle, and near double the price of the axle for shipping.

This is something I sent to FedEx and UPS today at their online websites...

Dear Sir or Ma'am...
I'm writing you in regards to ongoing problems I've been having shipping items to my home. I currently live in Turkey near the border of Iraq and Syria as a U.S. Soldier in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom and Operation Northern Watch. For the past 5 years I have lived in the Middle-east and shipping supplies including clothes, household items, and any neccesary items can be extremely difficult due to my address. I have an APO address, which is a United States address located final destination New York, where the United States Military ships it to the proper location. Every time I order a needed item, I get messages back from the company involved saying I cannot ship to APO addresses because of mailing policy. Or if they can ship the requested items, it costs nearly as much in shipping as the net amount of the item I ordered. I feel your company is disriminating against military customers by either denying delivery, or making an incredible profit on us.
Now that I have stated my concern, could you please send me your exact policy on APO address shipments? I would like to know exactly why this is.
Please excuse my words, if you find them harsh, forgive me. It's very frustrating when my only lifeline to the real world is either denied or over priced.
Any information you have in regards to an explaination, or contact for someone at your company who might be able to solve this issue would be excellent.
My address is American, and so are U.S. Soldiers serving overseas. Please treat us as you would any of your other customers. Thank you for your time.

I'm not trying to play the "Im in the military, I deserve better than everyone" card. I just want to be treated equally. Honestly, if I were to start a lawsuite with these companies, I bet I could win it.

Bottom line: I'm tired of being without my Jeeps for months on end while I fish for companies willing to send me parts.

Zane,
I'll hit my old contacts up at UPS and see if there is any way around this for you.

Jason

I dont know if this will help you any, but it is something to look into. You just register, have it shipped to them, then for a small fee($7-12), they in turn ship it out too you at your APO. http://www.shipitapo.com

Zane,

Did you ever get a reponse to your letter?

Thanks,
Mark