European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 19, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 the stars and stripes wednesday october 19, 1977 want to eliminate hassles in mail delivery it s easy stones by Jim Coles ii staff writer mailing packages Home can be a hassle. And most of us worry about How Safe those gifts household items stereo components and other valuables Are. In some cases there has been plenty of justification for concern so the postal service established extra Cost services. The army Post office system is run by postal service regulations and Federal Laws. Letter mail and parcel Post Are divided into several categories first. Second third and fourth class with special categories such As registered certified insured Book rate and mail carrying a 13-cent stamp goes first class and generally by air. Delivery times vary from a few Days to two weeks depending upon its destination. Regular first class mail May not suit every need the postal Patron has. Accord ing to Jeff Burger customer service information officer. Army postal group. reason the Post office has special services is to meet a special need of the mail is the safest Way to mail anything. If it s mailable it can go he said adding. A lot of people think registered mail is just for Spe Cial letters but packages May be sent too. Registered mail must be sent first class and the registry fee is added to the postage. It s expensive but you get a lot for the Money he said. The advantage is Security. Suppose you bought a stereo component and want to Send it Home. If it weighs 70 pounds or less measures less than 100 inches length and Girth combined and you re prepared to spend a few Bucks registered mail May be your Best system provides built in safety fac tors such As a receipt showing when the object was mailed a Chain of receipts involving everyone who handled the package and if you want a return receipt telling you when and to whom your package was delivered. You can even specify that the package be delivered to a specific person and to no one else. Packages or envelopes sent registered must be completely sealed so there Are no Loose flaps or openings. Cellophane or masking tape won t absorb a Post Mark so they should t be used another feature of registered mail is insurance. According to postal regulation 161.153, postal insurance covers values up to the maximum of $10,000. Buying other insurance May be a waste of Money As the postal liability is then dropped to $1.000. Some commercial insurance policies have a clause excluding pay ment of a claim if postal or other insurance is used. If you re sending valuable objects through registered mail be sure you understand the insurance coverage Avail registered mail is Safe and insured it is quite expensive. The minimum service charge is $2.10, while the Maxi mum for most users will be $6.20, plus first class postage. If you have something to mail with no particular Cash value but you want proof that you mailed it certified mail May fit your needs Burger said. Again a lot of people just use it for paying Bills and the like but maps posters and other things May be get proof a stamped receipt that you mailed the item. The difference be tween registered and certified mail is there s no Chain of receipts he said. Certified mail is handled As regular mail until it gets to its destination then some one has to sign for mail is uninsured but gives proof of mailing and receipt. The Cost is 60 cents plus first class postage. If All a postal Patron needs is proof of mailing a certificate of mailing is Avail Able for 10 cents that gives time Date and location of mailing. There Are no receipts involved other than the certificate itself and the item is treated As regular mail. It will arrive As quickly As certified mail but costs 50 cents less. The final category of special service mailing is insured mail. There Are really two classes of insured mail that which is valued $15 and value $15.01 and Over. The limit of postal liability is $200 for insured mail. Items valued above this must be sent via the More expensive registered mail if you want to protect it. Insured mail May be sent third or fourth class which is considerably cheaper than first class. The size and weight allowances Are the same As for registered mail. Items valued under $15 Are sent As regular parcel Post and Are called unnumbered insured As no number is assigned to the receipt or package and no signature is required of the valued Over $15.01 Are numbered. Items in this class Are also treated As regu Lar mail until they Are delivered. The addressee s signature is required. A return receipt can be requested for an additional fee. Insured service costs 40 cents to $1.20, depending on the item s value in addition to regular postal Are All extra Cost services so be sure you need tie additional Protection before paying those extra dollars. Timely customs tips on mailing your Yule gifts customs forms and regulations like most government Ese might As Well be written in Martian. What can be sent How it can be sent whether duties must be paid or not Are All potentially confusing to the postal Patron. According to Apo authorities All per Sonal mail from military Post offices into the customs territory of the . Is subject to examination and customs duty unless duty free entry is provided by Law. Just what s duty free varies from country to country so Check with your mail clerk compliance with customs Laws is the responsibility of the Mailer but duties May not be paid in Advance the recipient is responsible for those charges if any. According to George Beasley chief of plans at army postal group Europe one of the hitches in mailing gifts Home is the customs inspection. So Here Are a few tips on ways to Lessen that pause make sure you have the right customs form. Fill it out sure it s securely attached to the it comes off or is illegible the package will be held Back and opened causing an unnecessary delay that might spoil the holidays for All said that the postal service is provides two types of customs forms to use on packages is form 2966 ties on the package and the contents Are listed for easy viewing and the not so familiar is form 2976, a two piece self adhesive form. Great Apo package Deal offered through Sam pal the Cost of mailing letters and packages has gone up several times in the past few years and for us Here in Europe the Cost of using the mail on a Large scale can be prohibitive if you Don t know How to get the most out of every postal Dollar you spend. If you have a lot of packages to mail Home but you re a Little Short on the Long Green Sam or pal May be the answer to your problem according to Jeff Burger of the the army postal group Europe. Fourth class parcel Post is the cheap est Way to mail packages Burger said. Sam space available mail is treated the same As regular fourth class. That is it s moved by ground transportation until it hits the Apo then it is put on a plane Sam mail is sent at the regular fourth class rate according to Burger and is now the Way All packages Are sent. The other Low Cost Means of mailing packages is pal parcel air lift. This service adds $1 to fourth class postal rates but is As fast As first class mail at a fraction of the Cost. The advantage of pal is the item is sent by air from Start to finish. It is not Accord ing to Burger moved by surface transportation after its initial movement to the air terminal other than the final local delivery. The savings Here is time. Burger said the average time for pal mail to get from Europe to the farthest . Postal zone is. In the neighbor Hood of 10 items sent fourth class mail Are insurable up to $200, and Are limited to 70 pounds total weight and 100 inches length and Girth combined. All mailable merchandise May be sent fourth class if it conforms to size and weight requirements. Sam and pal May be used in the . To Send items to Apo addresses As Well As from the Apo to the states. Jeff Burger army postal group information officer said the 2976 series is a real convenience to the customer. You fill it out put the main part listing the items inside the package and then just stick the Little tag on the outside. That Way you Don t take the Surprise element out of the he said that for most efficient service the forms should be filled out in detail list ing the contents and Price of the package. According to customs and postal regulations the items must be described exactly. General terms such As coat when the item is a fur coat Are unacceptable. The sender must also put an alternative address on the customs form in Case the package can t be delivered to the main address and he must indicate whether or not he wants the package returned if neither address is valid. Customs duties or taxes on items sent into the country apply to nearly every thing but according to Beasley the mails Are spot checked and not every package has the duties assessed. He said that Basi Cally any items costing less than $10 Are exempt from the duty. Some notable exceptions Are tobacco products and per fumes which contain alcohol. If they Cost More than $ 1, you pay. Items Over $10 Are subject to duty on the entire value no $10 exemption is allowed. Gifts which fall into the under-$10 Cate gory Don t need the individual prices listed on the form. Simply write Bona fide gift not exceeding $10 in value on the pack age and the customs form will do. In Many instances it is More economical to put several gifts in the same get through customs each must be separately wrapped and show the name and address of the intended recipient and be marked with some indication of its value. The outer parcel should show the number of packages it contains and their values. If All three gifts Are under $10 in value no duty will be paid. The customs declaration form is addressed to the recipient listed on the outside of the main parcel. Burger said that the $10 exclusion limit is unrealistic in terms of today s Money and that efforts Are under Way to raise it to at least $25, also unrealistic but better than the current level. Congress must approve the change through legislation. Another area of concern for mail users is the return of items made in the . Basically if it was grown produced or manufactured in the states and then brought overseas it can be sent Home duty free. You still have to fill out the forms but marking the tag and Box returned . Merchandise will get it through. This is especially important when sending items to the states for repair. Many times according to Burger people will Send a radio camera or whatever Back to the factory or service Center and then find that they be been charged customs duties when they get the repair Bill. Simply putting the right words on the package can save you some Bucks. Beasley said that making sure the forms Are filled out correctly and mailing Well in Advance of Peak mail periods such As Christmas and easter will help to insure that your package arrives when you wan tit to
