Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Holiday Shipping Tips and More ...


Holiday mailing deadlines are fast approaching, and the Postal Service is ready to deliver. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Postal Service expects to deliver more than 900 million packages and nearly 15 billion pieces of mail – for a total of nearly 16 billion cheerful deliveries this holiday season.

Customers planning to mail cards and packages are encouraged to visit a local Post Office no later than the below dates for expected delivery by Dec. 25*:  

Dec. 20
· First-Class Mail (including greeting cards)
· First-Class packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
· Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
· Priority Mail
· Alaska to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
 
Dec. 22
· Alaska to mainland Priority Mail Express
· Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail Express
· Priority Mail Express

*Not a guarantee, unless otherwise noted. Dates are for estimated delivery before Dec. 25. Actual delivery date may vary depending on origin, destination, Post Office acceptance date and time and other conditions. Some restrictions apply. For Priority Mail Express shipments mailed Dec. 22 through Dec. 25, the money-back guarantee applies only if the shipment was not delivered, or delivery was not attempted, within two (2) business days.

Busiest Week
The notion of a “busiest day” is a thing of the past, thanks to the increase in early and online gift shopping. Customer mailing and shipping traffic is expected to increase beginning Dec. 10, and the Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages per week during these two weeks. The week of Dec. 17-23 is predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week, when nearly three billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards, will be processed and delivered.


Wrap Up the Holidays from Home
Consumers don’t even have to leave home to ship their packages, they can simply visit
usps.com. The Postal Service anticipates Dec. 17 will be the Postal Service’s busiest day online with more than eight million consumers predicted to visit usps.com for help shipping that special holiday gift. It’s predicted that nearly 105 million consumers will visit the website between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. And usps.com is always open.

It’s estimated nearly 400,000 consumers will use the Click-N-Ship feature and other online services on Dec. 17 to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup.

Additional Tips
Informed Delivery is the Postal Service’s free daily digital preview of what’s coming to your mailbox. This holiday season, not only can you manage your packages and sneak a peek at cards headed your way, you can also see some exterior images of magazines and catalogs — all from your mobile app, dashboard, tablet or computer. Informed Delivery is one more way the Postal Service is helping you anticipate, communicate and celebrate this holiday season.

The Postal Service also offers shipping tips in 10 video how to guides. Each video is less than three minutes long and shows customers how to address packages, ship packages and pack a box so items arrive safely.

Additional news and information, including all domestic, international and military mailing, and shipping deadlines, can be found at the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom: usps.com/holidaynews. 

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