Local mailing companies react to holiday rush
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. – If you’re planning on sending a loved one a gift in time for Christmas Day, time is running out.
Wednesday the 15th was the last day major carriers like UPS and FedEx would accept ground packages for delivery in time for Christmas. Local package shipping companies including Parcel Plus in Rehoboth Beach tell 47 ABC they have seen an uptick in people looking to send items locally and across the country this holiday season.
“Typically we would see about 50 people a week we are looking at 200 at least with these holidays,” said Parcel Plus in Rehoboth Beach owner Roger Anderson. Deadlines this holiday season have been increasing the number of people looking to ship gifts and receive gifts according to Anderson, who says his team works to pack, ship, and deliver items across the country from their Rehoboth Beach location.
He says his team knows the holidays are a busy season, but the volume of packages this fall has been even higher than usual, meaning more work and sales for his team.
“The way we see it we spend roughly 11 months practicing just for December because we’ll do roughly 2 and a half months business in December, it’s that busy,” he said.
Anderson tells us that for late holiday shippers, there are options to get packages, like express mail services through UPS and FedEx, but they can be extremely pricey. He tells us the best way to get your package shipped as fast as possible, don’t pre-pack it. He tells us customers often cannot pack a shipment in a way that won’t survive the shipping process, he tells us if you’re already heading to a postage service like theirs, let them handle it and save both time and money.
“Customers walk in and say they pre-packed it and but we pick up the box move it and we hear movement inside and that’s begging for a damage claim and that’s the last thing we would want is a damage claim,” Anderson said.
He says in-state packages can still have a one-day turnaround, but that may also increase with more holiday volume, and cross-country shipping is on a one-week delay and rising.
He says his shop has been handling the increased volume, but once it leaves his store and into the mail-carrier services, there is no guarantee what day, an item can arrive this holiday season.
