The joys of living overseas. Online shopping from Amazon to Zappos

I always knew that having a baby would be expensive. That's not exactly the point of this little rant of mine. But as an accountant, I like to be able to weigh my options, compare sales prices, shipping costs, and the "how much of a pain is it to me?" costs before I buy something. The problem with living overseas though is that there really aren't options. We have one grocery store, one exchange, and that's pretty much it. Sure we can shop out in town, but I'm a little hesitant of buying something when I can't read the label. Plus with the dollar being worth about as much as Monopoly money right now, it's pretty expensive to buy anything out here.

Back in Texas I bought most of Kimber's diapers at either Wal-Mart or Target. I don't remember the exact price, but I was averaging about 19 to 20 cents per diaper. I could go to Wal-Mart and buy a box of 120 for around $25. Here on base, the largest package of the type she wears is 60 diapers for $16.91. That's 28 cents per diaper! Usually things are a tiny bit cheaper here than we'd pay out in town in the States, so this was pretty appalling. So I started doing some research online. I'd heard of the Amazon Mom program where they give you discounts on all sorts of great baby items and with their "Subscribe and Save" program, you can save even more. I found her brand and size in a box of 248 for $35!! I was thrilled. I signed up instantly for the once-a-month program and went to place my first order when I was told that unfortunately, they wouldn't ship to FPO addresses. This bugged me for several reasons. To begin with, shipping to an FPO address is no different than shipping anywhere else within the United States. I still get my Netflix movies with free shipping each way. It may take longer to get here, but it doesn't require anything special other than an easy customs form. Also, Amazon has kind of been a lifesaver for us this past year. I've ordered tons of things from them. Nearly all of our Christmas presents to both family back home and each other here were bought from Amazon. I ordered Kimber's carseat and stroller both from them and they made it here just fine, with free shipping no less!! Everything I've ever ordered from them has made it here with no issues, so why not these diapers? I even checked to make sure that it was actually being shipped from Amazon, not one of their marketplace vendors which I do realize set their own individual shipping policies. I could almost understand not wanting to ship furniture or something huge over here, but they sent me a jogging stroller. That's a lot bigger than a simple box of diapers. So I searched out their contact info and sent them an email asking why they wouldn't ship to us. I told them that shipping here was no different than shipping anywhere back home and that considering these addresses are reserved for military members and their families, I was surprised that they were being so unsupportive. I told them that as a military spouse I certainly didn't expect any special treatment, but that I didn't appreciate being discriminated against solely based on the location of my husband's duty station. I basically received a form letter in return stating that they were sorry but they are only able to ship certain items to APO/FPO addresses. When asked if their customer service response was helpful, I answered "No" and asked again, why I could be shipped a stroller and not a box of diapers. Again I received a very unhelpful response that didn't actually answer my question with the addition of, "We hold all U.S. military personnel in high regard. Many Amazon.com employees are former military or dependents ourselves, and we personally know how difficult it can be to be stationed away from home.

Unfortunately, we are not able to ship all products offered at Amazon.com to APO/FPO addresses. We do consider all customer feedback, and we appreciate your taking the time to contact us regarding this matter.

We hope to see you again soon."

Seriously? That's supposed to be helpful? Disgusted, I looked into other online options only to be disappointed yet again. I really don't understand why so many businesses refuse to ship out here. So I've decided to make a list of all the places I've had luck with and the ones who are less than helpful.

Amazon.com: Usually great but really disappointing in this situation. For some reason books take a long time to make it out here, but other items have gotten here pretty quickly.
Apple: Won't ship to APO/FPO addresses, but they don't ship to post office boxes in general.
Backcountry.com: Free shipping to APO addresses
Brooks: Will ship to APO/FPO addresses
diapers.com: Will ship to APO/FPO addresses, BUT whereas shipping is normally free with purchases over a certain amount, for APO/FPO addresses, they charge an extra $13 for parcel post (estimated 3-6 weeks delivery time) and over $50 for priority mail shipping. Completely negates any discount their website may offer.
joesnewbalanceoutlet.com: Will ship to APO/FPO addresses for $6.95 on orders under $75.
lululemon: Won't ship to APO/FPO addresses :(
runningskirts.com: It's not stated online but when I spoke to the girl at a race expo, she said they do ship to FPO addresses
Target.com: Will ship some items to APO/FPO addresses, but not many. Won't ship diapers out here either.
Terrachips.com (my favorite Sweet Potato and veggie chips that I'm now addicted to!): slightly more expensive since they use the USPS rather than FedEx like they normally use, but they will ship here, so I'm happy!
Tirerack.com: Will ship to APO/FPO addresses (I can get 4 huge tires shipped here, but not diapers? Really?
Wal-Mart.com: Will ship a lot of items to APO/FPO addresses, but not diapers for some reason.
Zappos.com: As much as I'm now angry at Amazon, that's how much I'm in love with Zappos! Their "free shipping both ways" policy still applies even out here. As a matter of fact I ordered something from them the other day and got this email.
"Hello!

Although you originally ordered Standard Shipping, we're upgrading the shipping time frame for your order. It will ship out today, so you'll get it even faster than we originally promised! It's kind of like we waved our magic wand!

Please note that this is being done at no additional cost to you. It's our way of saying thanks for being our customer."

That really made me smile. I'll be doing a lot more of my shopping from them while I'm here and once I move back!

Zootsports.com: Ships to APO/FPO addresses. 

Well that's about all I can think of for now. For those of you that also have APO/FPO addresses, what sites have worked well for you? Any that have been a big disappointment?