Part 2: Overcoming Amazon Shipping Restrictions and shipping outside the US
Amazon Shipping Restrictions
Amazon has the following Shipping restrictions:
Warranty issues and manufacturer restrictions prevent us from shipping certain products to all geographical locations. In addition, some items too big to ship to a P.O. box must be shipped to a street address. You'll be notified while placing your order if we're unable to ship specific items to the address you've selected. Below are some general guidelines for items shipped by Amazon.com to the following destinations:
- Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico
- APO, FPO, and DPO Addresses
- DOS Addresses
- U.S. Protectorates
- Prisons
- International Shipping Help
If you are purchasing an item from Amazon Marketplace, read about Marketplace shipping restrictions.
Books that require special handling because they are extremely heavy (for example, multi-volume sets) can be shipped only to locations within the U.S. Please also check the product detail pages for this and any other item-specific shipping restrictions.
Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico Addresses
Some items from our Tools & Hardware, Electronics, and Outdoor Living stores can't be shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico if they are extremely heavy, oddly-shaped, or considered hazardous. Additionaly, some items from our Health and Personal Care store cannot be shipped to these destinations. Check the item's product detail page for eligibility and available shipping options. Only specific shipping options may be available for some addresses. Available shipping options will appear at checkout when you enter a shipping address.
APO, FPO, and DPO Addresses
Most items can be shipped to APO, FPO, and DPO addresses, except:
- cell phones and service
- computers
- furniture
- grocery items
- outdoor living items
- Target@Amazon.com items
Additionally, some apparel, baby, camera and photo, electronics, health and personal care, housewares, jewelry, software, sports, and tools and hardware items cannot be shipped to APO, FPO, or DPO addresses. An error message will appear at checkout if you enter an APO, FPO, or DPO address and the item isn't eligible to be shipped to that address. Check the item's product detail page for eligibility.
Learn more about shipping to APO, FPO, and DPO addresses.
DOS Addresses
Many items can be shipped to DOS addresses, except:
- Food items (for humans and/or pets)
- Some liquids
- Heavy items
- Items that look like weapons
For a full list of shipping restrictions at a specific DOS address, please contact the DOS facilities staff at that location or review the DOS restrictions beginning on page 26 here: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/88704.pdf
U.S. Protectorates
Only the following items can be shipped to U.S. Protectorates:
- baby items
- books
- DVDs
- music
- software
- toys
- VHS videos
- video games
Learn more about shipping to U.S. Protectorates.
Prisons
Amazon.com delivers to penitentiaries, but we strongly suggest you contact the prison first to confirm that they accept deliveries and to note any special regulations the prison might have. Some prisons don't allow delivery of hardcover books. Others place a limit on the number of items contained in a package.
We're unable to affix any special labels or instructions to the packages and on the outside will indicate only the destination address, our company name, and our return address. We also cannot allow gifts to be sent anonymously to inmates; the sender's billing address will appear on the order invoice.
Because inmates cannot sign for deliveries, packages must be sent via U.S. Mail. While Amazon.com often sends packages via U.S. Mail, we also use UPS and FedEx. There is no way for customers to request a specific shipper. To avoid delivery problems, you might consider having the items shipped to you and then shipping them to the penitentiary via U.S. Mail.
Overcoming Amazon Shipping Restrictions and shipping outside the US
Amazon.com accepts international debit and credit cards, so there are no problems paying for your items. But when ordering from Amazon.com you may get the following error message:
Important Message: Item cannot be shipped to the selected address
[caption id="attachment_279" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Amazon.com: Item cannot be shipped to the selected address"]
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It is easy to overcome this limitation and ship to your country. Just get a virtual address in the USA using a company like Shipito. Shipito allows you to use virtual USA addresses. They have multiple locations in the USA. If you use their warehouse in Torrance, California, you will be able to consolidate your packages (if needed) and send them to your country by USPS Express Mail, USPS Priority Mail, Polonez Parcel, USPS Flat rate box and Flat rate envelope, FedEx, FedEx MPS, Fedex Freight, Shipito Air Mail, DHL.
I've received 10+ packages from Amazon.com using my Shipito virtual USA address. Here is one of them:
[caption id="attachment_284" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="My package from Amazon on a Shipito warehouse (before package forwarding)"]
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