Toys For Troops - World Peace, One Plush Toy at a Time.

SHIPPING TIPS

We at TFT have muddled through learning how to best send packages to our soldiers. To make it easier for you, we've compiled a list of tips to help make your shipping most efficient and least expensive.

USPS FLAT RATE BOXES

As of March 3, 2008, the USPS offers a new, larger, flat-rate box, with a special rate for military addresses. For $10.95, you can send as much as you can cram into that box, with no weight limits or anything!

The boxes are free, and available at the post office. If you plan on mailing a lot of boxes, you can order them in bulk, online at www.usps.com. The postman will bring a batch of either 10 or 25 right to your door, also for free!

CUSTOMS FORMS

You will need to fill out a customs form to mail to a soldier overseas. They look intimidating, but they're easy. You'll need the following information:

Your address
Your soldier's address
The contents of the box
An estimate of the value of the contents of the box
Choice of Airmail or Ground
- Flat-rate boxes are automatically sent Priority/Air
- We choose "Surface/Nonpriority" for beanies and non-care-package items. It takes a bit longer to get there, but the savings are substantial (over 50%).

If Undeliverable...It's rare, but a soldier may be transferred, or sent home due to injury. We try to keep track of these things, but if your package is, for some reason, undeliverable, you have to tell the USPS just what you'd like them to do with it.

Treat as Abandoned: If you don't care if the box is returned to you
Return to sender: You may be charged for this
Optional recipient. We usually check this, and write in "unit chaplain."

We make this judgment based on the contents and the value of the package. For beanies, we choose the "unit chaplain" option; if there are care packages with valuable clothes, CDs, etc., we have them returned so that we can make sure they end up with another soldier.

SHIPPING BEANIES

Our advice for shipping beanies varies, depending on how many you have to ship. The flat-rate boxes, though great for care packages, simply aren't efficient for shipping hundreds of beanies. If, however, you have 25 or 30 to send, they're still your best bet.

20-30 beanies: Use flat rate boxes

50+ beanies: It is much cheaper to send larger numbers of beanies in larger boxes, but there are still USPS parameters you need to keep in mind for the most inexpensive shipping costs.

BOX SIZES

To avoid expensive, "oversize" rates, the box you mail must be a below a certain size. The post office requirements for APO/military boxes state that the length plus the girth of the box must be 108" or less, and weigh less than 70 lbs.

Length = longest side of parcel.
Girth = measurement around the parcel

box dimensions

Length + Girth < 108"

SURFACE/NONPRIORITY

For these larger boxes of beanies, be sure to choose Surface/Nonpriority on your customs form. Yes, it will take a bit longer to arrive, but it's going to be a 50% or more savings to do so. The postmaster will remind you that it may take a month for your package to arrive, but I've found that it often only takes 4-5 days longer to arrive. That is, of course, depending on the season, and the post office's load. Holiday mailings do need to be mailed with plenty of time to spare.

INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE PACKAGE

Please realize that the guys and gals you're sending to are often exhausted and overworked, and sometimes have little time to correspond. My son often went on missions that left him in the field for 30-40 hours at a time, with little or no sleep. Having a package waiting for him cheered him immensely...before going straight to bed to get some sleep before his next mission.

I hope you won't be hurt or worried if you don't get a response from your soldier. If you'd like to increase your odds of communication, be sure to include your email address in your box or letter. Remember that most being deployed have been brought up on in this electronic age, and an e-response is more likely to come your way than a hand-written letter.

I can't stress enough how much every single soldier I've met has loved those care packages and letters.

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