APOBox.com Something rotten with mailed Apples Internet, Internet

I am a Foreign Service Officer posted overseas. I needed to replace my computer and ordered a new Apple. Unfortunately, Apple will not ship to APO/DPO addresses. It recommended APOBox.com, a freight forwarding service designed specifically for U.S. goverment employees overseas who rely on military/diplomatic mail.

I registered with APOBox.com, paid the $60+ shipping fee (pretty hefty for the service provided) and waited for my computer to arrive. It never did. I contacted APOBox.com and, as their customer service info promises, they responded promptly. There wasn't much information available from the package's tracking data, but, as they informed me, they could not monitor packages when they entered the military mail system. They recommended that I file a claim for the loss, which I did.

I was horrified when they informed me that they would pay me $50 for my loss -- not even enough to cover the cost of the shipping! They pointed out that I had not taken the extra step of increasing the insurance for this package (true, I apparently missed that step) and $50 was the maximum amount of their default insurance.
 
This was painful in and of itself. Fortunately I have good insurance and will eventually be reimbursed for my loss. What troubles me, however, and prompts me to file this report, is what our investigators found while investigating the theft. The Embassy's law enforcement officer, working with the Inspector General of the US Postal Service, discovered that the skimpy tracking data on the package actually indicated that the package never even reached the Bancroft, IA mail sorting center. In other words, the theft occurred between when the package was scanned for shipment at APOBox.com's offices and the US mail facility.

When the investigators contacted APOBox.com's officials, they informed the investigators that such losses were, unfortunately, common. In fact, of the Apple computers sent through APOBox.com fully 80 percent are stolen. Yes, that is EIGHTY PERCENT. Apparently the theft rate for other brands of computers is a little lower, but also quite high.

This is a ridiculous level of loss and it is hard to imagine how any freight forwarder with that bad a record stays in business -- unless, I suppose, the many other victims, like me, missed checking that box for extra insurance. As an aside, before I learned about this company's track record, I ordered a replacement computer and again shipped through APOBox.com, this time with lots of extra insurance. Interestingly, this time the tracking info shows that the package made it safely to the USPS sorting center. 

I would strongly caution any USG employee about using this service. Any USG employee who finds him or herself with no other alternative but to use this service to get a computer, please pay the extra to buy full insurance coverage. And get good renter's insurance coverage, just in case.