Christmas Shipping Deadlines Loom

Christmas Shipping Deadlines Loom

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Overnight delivery can handle late gift buying

With just over two weeks to go, Christmas will soon be here. But that also means that gifts should be purchased, wrapped, and sent well in advance of the Big Day to ensure on-time delivery.

Christmas giftMany overseas deadlines are much sooner, unless you choose expensive package service delivery which means you can delay your shipment, but for a heavy price. Indeed, Christmas mail destined for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq should have been sent out on December 4th. Parcel post needs to be sent by December 16th while first-class and priority mail must be postmarked by December 21st. Lastly, Express Mail can be sent as late as December 23rd.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) and its many branches and letter carriers are busy this time of year, shipping some 16.6 billion packages, cards and letters between Thanksgiving and Christmas eve. That’s a lot of stuff to move! Moreover, the USPS says that they have printed 2.11 billion holiday stamps this year.

5 Tips To Help Move Your Package

Besides, meeting important deadlines the USPS offers some timely tips for people to remember when shipping packages. By following these instructions precisely, you can reduce the chances that your package will be delayed or shipped to the wrong address:

Mailing Address – Print everything in caps, eliminate punctuation, include apartment numbers, spell out the city name and abbreviate the state name. Use the two-state designator for your state; abbreviate streets (e.g., avenue is AVENUE and lane is LN).

Return Address – In the upper left corner of the package, include your return address. Follow the guidance offered for filling out a mailing address when writing out a return address.

Packaging – Choose a sturdy carton large enough for packaging and cushioning. The post office has boxes available.

Tape – Use pressure sensitive or reinforced tape to secure all carton flaps.

Remove – Mark out or remove any conflicting address information. This sometimes occurs if you reuse a box and details left from your last shipment received remain.

UPS, FEDEX

Though not a requirement, consider insuring your packages to cover possible loss of items. UPS and FEDEX include or offer insurance with their services; compare plans to find the right delivery service for you.

Source: USPS

Adv. – Are you looking to head into a fresh direction in 2010?  Consider purchasing a business to help you take a new step. Please visit the National Association of Business Brokers to view their listings, learn how the buying process works, and to get in touch with a broker.

 

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Categories: Consumer Tips

About Author

Matthew C. Keegan

Matt Keegan is a freelance writer and editor as well as publisher of "Matt's Musings", his personal blog. Matt covers campus, consumer, business and financial topics on various websites and blogs, and has been published in the "Houston Chronicle", "Sam's Club Magazine" and "Wisconsin Golfer".