With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the 2020 Holiday Season just around the corner, we wanted to share some tips to make sure your holiday gifts or holiday sales are packaged and shipped the right way.

When it comes to shipping gifts for the holidays, there are quite a few things to remember –  especially when it comes to protecting and getting it to the recipient on time. With the 2020 holiday season just around the corner, ShipTime has some useful pointers to get those gifts delivered without any problems.

Here are a few things to remember when planning to send your friends, family and loved ones gifts.

Double Check What You’re Allowed to Send

The number of shipping-prohibited items may surprise you. Whichever courier service you choose, be sure to check their list of prohibited items.  Remember, when you ship with ShipTime, you can select your courier based on price or delivery time so be sure to also check any shipping restrictions before you pick your courier.

Typically prohibited items are:

– Liquids (alcohol, perfumes, varnish)

 – Aerosols (common in toiletries)

 – Flowers and plants

 – Electrical items

 – Anything glass

 – Currency

 – Alcoholic beverages

 – Tobacco products

 – Cannabis

Shipping Gifts with Sufficient Packaging

Beyond securing your shipment with adequate tape, there are a number of things to remember for safe packaging.

 – Use a NEW box (or a sturdy one)

 – Be sure to include padding inside (bubble wrap, cardboard, newspaper)

 – Make sure there’s no movement inside the box

Measure and Weigh Correctly 

To avoid delays and additional charges, provide the correct package measurements before shipping. This means measuring and weighing AFTER it’s wrapped, packed, and ready – to ensure:

 – The right courier is sending your gift

 – You get charged the correct amount the first time

If you haven’t read our blog post on avoiding shipping price adjustments, make sure you do.

Buy Shipping Insurance

So, you have purchased a gift, you’ve followed the instructions above, the shipment is sent and your friend/loved one opens the box to find it was broken at some point along the way.  Fear not, ShipTime offers a great option for purchasing shipping insurance.

The 1st $100 of your item’s value is automatically covered by ShipTime, so if something happens to the item, all you have to do is submit a claim online using our very simple and streamlined claims process.

For items over $100 in value, insurance starts as low as $2.50, that’s a small amount of money for peace of mind to ensure that no matter what happens, this gift gets to the recipient no matter what!

Shipping Gifts the Wrong Way

Just as there’s a right way, there’s also a wrong way to ship gifts. So here are a few things to remember to not do. These include:

 – Waiting until the last minute 

Give your gift as much time as possible to arrive to account for any problems with its delivery. This especially holds true during busier times of the year.

 – Using ribbons/wrapping paper

Save the decorations for the inside of the shipment box. This is because wrapping paper may rip and ribbons may get pulled off. Ribbons can also get caught in machinery encountered throughout the shipping process.

 – Forgetting duty and taxes 

When sending outside the country, goods will attract duty and local tax charges of around 10-20% of the value of the item(s).  Generally, you can send items up to $50 to $100 in value without them attracting duty. Regardless, always check before buying your gift with customs in the recipient country.  Or the recipient may receive more than your thoughtful gift (they may also incur a duty fee).

In Conclusion

When weighing your shipping strategy options, make sure you’re partnering with the right shipping service. ShipTime lets you enter box dimensions and package weight for an accurate rate quote. Next,  the top couriers are displayed to you to compare cost, transit time and more – ensuring you have everything you need to make a selection at the best rate. 

For peace of mind, you can also schedule a pick-up directly through ShipTime and not worry about leaving your home! On top of that, ShipTime gives you intelligent alerts all along the way to make sure you can track your package at any time – on your computer, or on your mobile.”

Learn more about ShipTime and how we can help get your packages delivered here.