Even though Thanksgiving is still weeks away, the holiday shopping season has begun. Along with that comes the holiday shipping season. To make the shipping experience better for you, here are some tips to keep your shipping experience pleasant:

• If your item is non-breakable, find the smallest gift box that it will fit in. Doing so helps my staff fit your items into the smallest shipping box that your item will fit in with an adequate amount of cushioning to keep the box from getting crushed.

• If you are shipping multiple items to a single address, be aware that putting all of the items in one box may yield a higher shipping price than you may expect. The larger the box, the higher the cost to ship because of the amount of space the box takes up on the truck or airplane. Weight and distance are also contributing factors to the final cost.

• The cost to ship something has nothing to do with what you paid for the item. Shipping costs are determined by a combination of weight, size, and distance.

• If your item is fragile/breakable, it’s best to wrap it in bubble wrap before putting it in your gift box. Many customers bring in gift-wrapped boxes to be shipped but haven’t properly cushioned fragile items within the gift box. Our packing experts will ensure that the gift box is properly cushioned within the shipping box. If you have multiple fragile items in the same box, it is imperative that they are individually wrapped in bubble wrap or similar cushioning material before being placed in the gift box. If each item is not individually wrapped with cushioning material, no amount of bubble wrap around the box will guarantee that the contents will arrive unbroken. In this scenario we will urge you to unwrap the gift so that the contents can be properly packaged. While we are happy to provide a service that ensures your item will arrive unbroken, these scenarios result in a higher cost to you.

• Anything going anywhere to the west coast takes a week by ground. With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, you’ll need to have your items shipped by December 16th. After that, air shipping is the only way to ensure timely arrival—this is also more expensive than ground shipping.

• Many people like to ship baked goods at this time of year. Perishables are not eligible to be covered for any amount of declared value. It sounds a bit harsh, but food is shipped at your own risk.
 
• Gift cards are a popular gift item. It is important to know that the face value of the gift card is not eligible to be covered for declared value, but the cost to replace the gift card, if lost or damaged in-transit, is covered by declared value. The same goes for checks.

These are a few tips that should help you manage your gift-giving budget. To further help you make informed spending decisions, we welcome your call to get an estimated cost for shipping. All we need from you is the destination zip code, the expected weight of the box to be shipped, and the box’s outside dimensions. With that information, we can give you a reasonable estimate of shipping costs and time in-transit over the phone. We can do the same with an estimated cost to pack your items.

One more thing—we are a Pack & Ship Promise location. Click here for more information about how the Pack & Ship Promise benefits you!

Our goal at The UPS Store in Mt. Juliet is to make your shipping experience as smooth and pleasant as possible. ‘Til next time!