Know when to buy: The latest on holiday shipping deadlines

Holiday shipping deadlines are approaching faster than you'd expect with many cutoffs coming in less than two weeks. If you like to procrastinate or are just waiting for a new deal before ordering your presents online, Dealnews and other sites are compiling lists of shipping cutoff dates to make sure your package arrives by Christmas Eve.

For those who want to pay less using standard shipping, the clock is ticking. Many online retailers' shipping guidelines require you to place an order by between December 14 and December 20. However, on December 17, more than 500 retailers are expected to participate in the second annual Free Shipping Day. That gives a lot of wiggle room for those falling behind on their shopping and looking to save on shipping costs. True procrastinators willing to pay up for expedited shipping, can order as late as December 23 on some sites.
Overall, this year's shipping policies aren't much different from those of holiday seasons past.

"Disney Shopping is the only one that stands out," Dan de Grandpre, CEO of Dealnews, told WalletPop. "Two years ago, Disney started its 'After-Christmas Sale' five days before Christmas because their infrastructure was so poor that they couldn't ship items to arrive by Christmas from then on. This year, they're shipping as late as December 22, which is average."

The Shipping Deadline list at Dealnews provides at least two cutoff dates so that you can easily know when to order, depending on how much you want to pay for shipping. Some stores offer more to account for free shipping, in-store pickup and other options.

The list of holiday shipping deadlines below also include selections from dealhack's Holiday Ordering Deadlines list and Coupon Sherpa's Holiday Shipping Deadlines for Christmas 2009. You can view additional details and deadlines at over 170 stores by visiting any of these Holiday Shipping Deadline Web sites.

Store	Shipping Method	Order Deadline (for Dec. 24 delivery)	Source
AeroPostale	Standard Expedited Fastest	Dec. 17 (12:00 pm ET) Dec. 21 (12:00 pm ET) Dec. 23 (12:00 pm ET)	dealhack
Amazon.com	Free shipping Standard shipping Next Day	Dec. 17 Dec. 20 Dec. 23 (3:30 pm PT)	Dealnews
American Eagle	Standard Expedited Fastest	Dec. 15 Dec. 22 1:00 pm ET) Dec. 23 12:00 pm ET)	dealhack
Apple Store	Standard Expedited Fastest	Dec. 15 Dec. 21 Dec. 22	dealhack
Best Buy	Standard shipping Next Day	Dec. 21 (10:59 am ET) Dec. 23 (10:59 am ET)	Dealnews
Dillard's	Standard shipping Next Day	Dec. 19 (11:59 pm) Dec. 21 (11:59 pm)	Dealnews
eBags	Standard Expedited	Dec. 14 Dec. 21	dealhack
GameStop	Standard Expedited Fastest	Dec. 21 Dec. 22 Dec. 23	Coupon Sherpa
JCPenney	Standard shipping Next Day	Dec. 18 Dec. 23 (11:59 am CT)	Dealnews
Kohl's	Standard Expedited	Dec. 17 (12:00 pm ET) Dec. 23 (3:00 pm ET)	Coupon Sherpa
L.L. Bean	Free in-store pickup Standard shipping Express	Dec. 17 (9:30 pm ET) Dec. 20 (11:59 am ET) Dec. 23 (11:59 am ET)	Dealnews
Macy's	Standard shipping Express	Dec. 21 (11:59 pm ET) Dec. 22 (11:59 pm ET)	Dealnews
Nordstrom	Standard Expedited Fastest	Dec. 20 (1:00 pm ET) Dec. 22 (3:00 pm ET) Dec. 23 (3:00 pm ET)	dealhack
Old Navy	Standard Expedited	Dec. 15 Dec. 23 (3:00 pm ET)	Coupon Sherpa
Target	Standard Expedited	Dec. 18 Dec. 22	Coupon Sherpa
Toys R Us	Standard Expedited Fastest	Dec. 20 Dec. 22 (3:00 pm ET) Dec. 23 (3:00 pm ET)	WalletPop
Victoria's Secret	Standard delivery Next Day	Dec. 18 (3 pm ET) Dec. 23 (3 pm ET)	Dealnews
Walmart	Standard Expedited Fastest	Dec. 20 Dec. 21 Dec. 22	Coupon Sherpa

In addition to online store shipping deadlines; here are the deadlines you need to know if you are shipping gifts yourself.

Shipping Company	Shipping Method	Order Deadline (for Dec. 24 delivery)
FedEx	Ground Express Saver Standard Overnight	Dec. 17 Dec. 21 Dec. 23
UPS	Standard shipping Next Day Air	Dec. 16 Dec. 21
USPS	Military Mail Priority Military Mail Express First Class/Priority Express	Dec. 11 Dec. 18 Dec. 21 Dec. 23

If you miss Free Shipping Day, another resource for scoring free shipping, any day of the month, is RetailMeNot's Free Shipping Coupon Page. Here you can find free shipping coupon codes for many retailers and a Twitter stream of free coupon codes for additional offers.

How late will you be waiting to buy presents this year?

This story is an updated version of a story that ran on December 4, 2009. The latest version includes more shipping guidelines.