2020 Christmas Shipping Advisory

12/15/2020: Christmas Shipping Update

Although the USPS indicates that pre-Christmas arrival can be expected for First Class Parcels shipped on or before 12/18 to destinations in the contiguous United States, they have posted this alert at the top of the page: USPS IS EXPERIENCING UNPRECEDENTED VOLUME INCREASES AND LIMITED EMPLOYEE AVAILABILITY DUE TO THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND REMAIN COMMITTED TO DELIVERING THE HOLIDAYS TO YOU.

We are seeing evidence of this in our shipments, e.g. 1 in 5 of our First Class Mail shipments are taking 10 days or longer in transit..

We therefore recommend use of UPS expedited services or USPS Priority Mail Express to assure pre-Christmas delivery, as indicated in the table below.

Here is our best advice on selecting a shipping method that will achieve pre-Christmas delivery for parcels delivered to most US addresses. We ship from Seattle, Washington 98116.

The USPS Service Commitments webpage will tell you when you can expect a parcel to arrive at a location by providing the expected shipment date and our Origin Zip Code, 98116.

USPS First Class/Priority Mail - USPS First Class and Priority Mail provide remarkably swift and reliable that may be air-expedited service at a price that allows us to include free shipping with our low pricing. However, as Christmas approaches, transit times may grow a day or two longer.

Priority Mail Express - USPS Priority Mail Express reaches most addresses overnight, but some may take two days. Use the USPS Service Commitments webpage to determine the scheduled delivery date by providing the expected shipment date and our Origin Zip Code, 98116. Reliability is high, and a money-back guarantee is provided.

United Parcel Service (UPS) - For fast, highly reliable, date-definite delivery, UPS is the way to go, though it can be expensive. If you are shipping to a rural or remote area, we recommend that you visit the UPS website to confirm that normal transit times apply to your destination, or call us for assistance at (206) 937-1515. Use Seattle and 98116 as the "From" location.

Orders placed through 2 pm PST Monday - Friday will be shipped the same day. On Saturday, orders placed by 11 am PST will be shipped the same day via USPS. UPS 1 and 2 Day Air will be dispatched on Saturday, but not UPS 3 Day Select.

Probability of pre-Christmas Delivery by Shipping Date

	Wed 12/16	Thu 12/17	Fri 12/18	Sat 12/19	Mon 12/21	Tue 12/22	Wed 12/23	Thu 12/24
USPS First Class Mail	Check				Check
USPS Priority Mail	Check					Check
UPS 3 Day Select				Check
USPS Priority Mail Express						Check
UPS 2nd Day Air					Check
UPS Next Day Air Saver							Check
UPS Next Day Air							Check