By ShipTimeKnow Your Holiday Shipping Deadlines
If you will be shipping over Black Friday and through the Christmas/Holiday period, which we’re quite sure you are, you’ll want to ensure you know these important holiday shipping deadlines.
This link below will give you all of the important dates that you need to know from all of the major couriers such as the dates that they are all closed as well as the last days to ship for your packages to arrive on time.
ShipTime Holiday Hours
ShipTime is here to help and support you through the busy holiday season to answer any of your questions or guide you through any challenges you may face.
But, even our Heroic Support™ team needs a few days off to spend with their families.
Make sure you’re familiar with our Holiday hours of operation, click the button below to see our ShipTime Holiday Schedule.
Shipping Gifts the RIGHT Way
Similar to most things in life, there are right ways and wrong ways to ship presents. We’ll spare you the obvious, such as using your return address and securing your shipment with shipping tape. But there are a few things to remember when sending your friends and family tokens and keepsakes.
Double Check What You’re Allowed to Send
Measure and Weigh Correctly
The number of shipping-prohibited items may surprise you. Whichever courier service you choose, check their list of prohibited items. Typically prohibited are:
– Liquids (alcohol, perfumes, varnish)
– Aerosols (common in toiletries)
– Chocolate and confectionary
– Flowers and plants
– Musical instruments
– Electrical items
– Anything glass
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
Shipping Gifts the WRONG Way
Just as there’s a right way, there’s a wrong way to ship presents. So here are a few things to remember to not do. These include:
Waiting until the last minute
Using ribbons/wrapping paper
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.
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).
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. Aggregating data to find you the best shipping rates available, the ShipTime search engine finds you the best possible shipping rates.
Meanwhile, the ShipTime dashboard speeds your shipping quote with predefined box sizes. It also provides predefined incentive rewards with a “My Pickups” functionality to track scheduled pickups and times.
Not Buying Shipping Insurance
Not Using Sufficient Packaging
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.
If you have declared a value of between $1 and $100, ShipTime will insure your package at no cost.
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!
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
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.
