Mark your calendars: A list of shipping deadlines for the holiday shopper
Filed under: Shopping, Technology
I wish everyone I sent Christmas presents to celebrated Boxing Day or Kwanzaa instead. That's because most of the time my presents truly do arrive a day too late, on December 26. But now deadlines keep rolling in on when packages need to be mailed in order to get to their destinations on time. The latest one is the U.S. Postal Services deadline for mailing packages to troops overseas, which is Thursday, Nov. 13.
For shipments to folks in the U.S., the deadlines are a little bit more in the future. That helps me, because I usually I go online to order in mid-December, see that the standard delivery deadline has passed, then have to spend more bucks for the expedited or fastest delivery route. And you know how it is with the Postal Service -- two-day delivery service means jack during the holidays.
Procrastinating shoppers like me have no excuse this year for shipping late. Dealhack has released a list of 130 Internet retailers and their online-purchase shipping deadlines, from Amazon to Wine.com. Each retailer has announced their Standard delivery service deadline, and Dealhack has guesstimated the Expedited and Fastest order-by dates.
Santas, Santas Everywhere
Clement Rozier dressed as Santa Claus skis down the slopes with telemark skis in the alpine ski resort of Verbier on December 17, 2007.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND)
Wearing the Santa Claus bonnets and dressed in bathing costumes runners, start their sponsorship event at an open-air ice stadium of downtown Budapest. The local participants collected money to help Hungarian sportmen and sportswomen for the next Paralympics Games.
Photo credit: GERGELYBOTAR/AFP/Getty Images
A man dressed as Santa Claus frolics with others in the sea during the 63rd Christmas bathe in Nice, France. 250 swimmers took part, swimming in water that was 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
Photo credit: AP/Lionel Cironneau)
An ambassador for the group G.R.I.N. (Golden Retrievers In Need), Otis greets visitors to the Crown Classic Dog Show dressed as Santa Claus on December 15, 2007 in Cleveland. G.R.I.N. is a northeast Ohio group which rescues and finds homes for Golden Retrievers.
Photo credit: AP/Amy Sancetta)
Portuguese people dressed as Santa Claus attempt to break a Guinness World Record for the largest number of parading Santas, Sunday Dec. 16, 2007 in Porto, Portugal. The organization expected more than 16,000 participants.
Photo credit: AP/Paulo Duarte)
Noel Quilatan, a traffic enforcer dressed in a Santa Claus outfit, directs traffic along an intersection in Taguig City in metro Manila on December 18, 2007.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo (PHILIPPINES)
Dressed in Santa Claus outfits, a diver waves to children at an Aquarium in Busan, South Korea. Christmas is one of the biggest holidays to celebrate in South Korea. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Cho Jung-ho)
Amusement park employees dressed as Santa Claus ride a roller coaster during a promotional event to coincide with the Christmas holiday at the Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea.
Photo credit: AP/Lee Jin-man)
Bob Evans, dressed as a traditional Santa Claus at the 2003 Maryland Christmas Show in Frederick, MD. Santa Claus should set up shop in Kyrgyzstan to optimize the delivery of Christmas gifts to 2.5 billion homes worldwide all in one night according to Swedish engineering consulting firm SWECO, which calculated Santa's optimal journey based on a range of factors from the Earth's rotation to which areas of the planet are most densely populated.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Timothy Jacobsen)
Local street dancers, wearing Santa Claus dresses dance on Budapest's Vorosmarty square during a celebration marking St. Nicholas' Day, December 6, 2007.
Photo credit: BALINT PORNECZI/AFP/Getty Images
The standard delivery dates are spread throughout mid-December, although computer makers err on the early side (Dell's deadline is December 9, while Lenovo's is December 2) and office goods companies creep close to Christmas Day (Office Depot and Staples promises December 23 is just fine for standard shipping).
On a side note: Shop.org, a unit of the National Retail Federation, announced that while many online retailers plan to offer free shipping, 21% of the ones they surveyed said they would raise the minimum purchase requirement this year.
But with all the forecasts of this being the slowest holiday-shopping season in years, maybe the line at the post office won't be so long, and I can wait a few days to mull my purchase over before I click "Send."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-09-2008 @ 8:32AM
Great Gift said...
Just a heads up to get your orders in now, on the TickleMe Plant Greenhouse and TickleMe Plant Party favor.If you haven't seen it yet, its that amazing plant that closes its leaves and even lowers its branches when Tickled. You can now grow them indoors year round! Http://www.ticklemeplant.com
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11-09-2008 @ 8:17AM
Bette said...
This list is great to have. I do all my shopping online and knowing the deadlines is important as I don't want to have add an extra $15 in shipping fees. This time of year is expensive enough. The amount of hioliday tips I have to give out seems larger and larger each year and my salary seems smaller and smaller!
I did find a shopping web site that has saved me money as well as helped me to make a few bucks. Not buying any yachts yet! I shop online to save money on gas, use less gas and save money period. I shop at all my favorite stores through an online website that gives me the unpublished codes at about 300 stores (including Target, The Gap, Best Buy, Old Navy,
Drugstore.com, etc) as well as giving me between 5 and 50% back in cash on my purchases. The site is http://www.fatcrumbs.com I am being
good to the environment and great to my wallet.
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11-09-2008 @ 12:19PM
Jamie said...
Do NOT order from Walmart site to store shipping.They will send everything at different times and give you a certain amount of time to pick it up so If you order 5 things they will make you you have to go to walmart 5 different times to pick it up.I wish I would have ordered from target and paid the shipping fee's I will NEVER shop at walmart again they think they are going to get you to spend more money the more times you have to go in This is THE LAST time I order from WALMART.
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11-09-2008 @ 1:35PM
Cindy said...
The post office is one of the best ways to ship. It delivers to every street address, 6 days a week, and with no extra charge for Saturday delivery or residentail delivery. Express mail is the only guaranteed service with overnight delivery to most zip codes. Priority mail has a 2 - 3 day time frame, but is not guaranteed. First class mail usually adds 1 day to delivery and parcel post usually takes about 1 week. The post office offers free eco-friendly shipping boxes in several sizes for priority mail. You can arrange free pick up by your mail carrier by calling 1-800- ASK-USPS or at www.usps.com/pickup. Additional services like insurance, certified mail, & tracking are also available. There are many on line sites where you can purchase and print your own postage. Most post offices have automated postage centers where you can weigh your package, purchase additonal services, & print your postage without having to wait in line for a retail service clerk. If you comparison shop, you will find that the post office prices are often less than the competitors. So when you buy on line or from a catalog, request that they ship with the US Postal Service and when you send gifts to out to your loved ones, use the post office.
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11-09-2008 @ 2:52PM
robb said...
Why would anyone with an ounce of sense by a Dell Computer where customer service and support are non-existant and you can have a custom computer built by people like "Horison" get a 3 year warranty at no additional charge, get service support, (i've never waited longer than a minute or maybe 2. When oyu have a problem you can either talk to some one who speaks and understands English or they will just remotely take over your computer and fix it right on the spot. DELL NOT IF YOU WERE FREE!
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11-09-2008 @ 3:09PM
Lisa said...
I agree with Robb. Dell is a complete joke, I wouldn't buy another Dell if my life depended on it. The customer service is horendous if you can even get someone who understands you (not in your lifetime). They will then charge you an arm and two legs to try and help knowing that they don't know how to help you.
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11-09-2008 @ 7:30PM
Eileen said...
I am a DELL gal, all the way! I purchased the extended warranty for after my 3 yr with purchase was up . Talked with someone on line about my problem. The next morning a box for shipment was at my door and they gave me a # to call for a pick-up. 45 minutes after I called the pick-up place they came and got the package. That was a Tues. On Friday morning my laptop was delivered back to me. SO, it is DELL all the way for ME. I have a DELL desktop also and would buy that brand AGAIN!
11-11-2008 @ 12:51PM
Kathy said...
I am a letter carrier 4 the post office who is sick of people putting us down because "THEY" put off mailing their packages until the last minute! We know how important these thing's r 2 the sender & the reciever. We try very hard 2 get them delivered 4 you that during the holidays. We run parcel runs in the early morning hoping 2 catch u all "BEFORE" u leave 4 work or school! If u live in a complex with an office we will leave them there because we know it might be more convienient then going 2 the po 2 pick them up! We also do another parcel run in the late afternoon for packages that came in after we completed our routes! Most of us work 10 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week during the holidays away from our families so that your packages get 2 your families.So please don't say we don't care! "WE CARE MORE THEN YOU'LL EVER KNOW"!
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11-11-2008 @ 1:01PM
Lillian said...
I think at some point we all have bad experiences with just about everything there is to do in this world. I like Dell, and never had a problem with them. I like WalMart's Ship to Store service, and never had a problem with them, but I am sure, at some point along the way I just might have a problem eventually. It's a crazy time doing business in person or online during the Holiday season, and that's when I have had some issues in the past, especially with rude employees in stores, who are usually frazzled and tired by the time I came along with my problem. Let's hope we all get through the Holidays in good health and with close family and friends around us!!! That's really all that matters.
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11-11-2008 @ 4:24PM
cntrygrl7980 said...
Just a heads up! If you are sending a package to Africa, the post office says 2-3 weeks, it's really more like 6! The packages arrive at their destinations, although sit in customs for several weeks after arrival! My family learned that lesson the hard way last Christmas! We sent a package to Zambia the first week of November, and it arrived the second week in January!
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11-11-2008 @ 5:34PM
grumpy said...
In these economic hard times, send a gift box to our troops and give whoever would receive a gift at Christmas a card telling them it was sent in their name. My wife and I do this and get more satisfaction out of it, than if we exchnged gifts to each other.
The troops serving have very little and appreciate the gifts more than you could ever imagine.
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