“With the six less shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, they do have to get in here as soon as they can and get it shipped to make sure it’s delivered timely,” said Karen Reichard, customer relation coordinator for the downtown Dayton U.S. Postal Service office.
Billions of packages will be shipped over the holidays in the U.S., including 800 million by the Postal Service, about 32 million packages per day in November and December byUPS and millions more from FedEx. Amazon is also delivering in the area from its r ecently opened delivery station in Kettering.
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To make sure packages get to their destination by Christmas Eve, some people will have to ship items by Monday when using FedEx SmartPoint.
Each facility also has quicker options that will come at a premium price including FedEx overnight, USPS Priority Mail Express and UPS Next Day Air, which each must be sent by Dec. 23.
“Most of the time you can get to a coast in five days. That’s going to add a little time the closer we get (to the holiday). And then you have storms that will come in as well, so the earlier you ship the better,” said Deb Cain, owner of the Springboro UPS store on West Central Avenue.
Wrapped gifts were being shipped through Cain’s UPS store as early as mid-November, she said.
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“It’s already picking up. Come about the (Dec.) 7 or 8 it gets super busy,” Cain said. “As people get off work in the evening that can be some of your busiest times. People will even come on their lunch break.”
Lines are already growing in USPS stores too, Reichard said. Many of the larger post offices have extra people helping customers in line that need change of address papers or shipping materials to keep lines down.
USPS has ways to skip the line including 24/7 self-serve kiosks in post office lobbies. The machine helps print a shipping label and can weigh and measure packages to make sure consumers get the right postage, Reichard said. Then shoppers just have to drop the package in the bin.
Along with gifts shipped from household to household, shoppers will also be ordering gifts online, taking up some delivery capacity. FedEx said last week it expected to handle more than 33 million packages to go through its networks on Cyber Monday alone and more than double its average daily volume each of the following Mondays as consumers shop online over the weekend.
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“E-commerce continues to grow, and FedEx is ready to deliver this holiday and beyond,” said Brie Carere, chief marketing and communications officer for FedEx Corp. “We recognized early on that e-commerce would transform the way our customers shop and ship, and we have invested in a world-class network that flexes to meet volume demands throughout the year.”
To make sure gifts get to their destination, Cain said to follow shipping deadlines and make sure to pack well. Use bubble wrap for fragile items and have 2 inches of packaging between the gift and the box.
To avoid “porch pirates” or thieves. shoppers can also send their packages to UPS Access Points or have a package held at the local post office. Amazon also has lockers throughout the Dayton area for shoppers who don’t want packages delivered at home.
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Suggested deadlines for delivery
Dec. 19: FedEx Express Saver and UPS 3-day select shipments
Dec. 20: FedEx 2-day, USPS First Class, UPS 2nd Day Air shipments
Dec. 21: USPS Priority Mail
Dec. 23: Last day for free delivery on tens of millions of Amazon items, FedEx Overnight, USPS Priority Mail Express, UPS Next Day Air
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