#holidayshipping

Tip #1: Allow Extra Shipping Time.

How fast your shipment travels depends on what level of service you purchase. Our carrier UPS suggests the following ship-by dates by service level to help you make sure that your packages are delivered by Friday, December 23, 2022, the last business day day prior the Christmas holiday on Sunday, December 25, 2022.

3-Day: Tuesday, December 20, 2022

2-Day: Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Next Day: Thursday, December 22, 2022

For all shipments via ground service, you can easily get estimated delivery dates at BikeFlights.com based on your ship-to and ship-from locations and your ship-on date, but remember that carriers always suspend their delivery guarantees during the holiday season, so the estimated delivery date you receive is just that: an estimate! Do yourself a favor and build in some extra shipping time to reduce the potential impact of delays due to high shipping volumes.

Tip #2: Account for Potential Weather Impacts.

Snow delays can and do happen. Throughout the northern hemisphere, it’s winter, and therefore it can snow or ice at any time in many places. Significant storms often slow or even halt package delivery, especially when the system is already strained due to the higher volume of shipments.

Even if you are shipping to or from a warm climate, your bikes, wheels and gear may have to travel through wintry climates en route, or their travel may be impacted as consequences of winter storms in other places propagate through the system. Potential weather delays are another good reason to ship earlier to give your shipments some extra time. 

Tip #3: Remove Previous Labels and Markings.

Once you receive all the items ordered during your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, it’s time to wrap and ship your gifts to their lucky recipients. Be sure to always remove all previous labels and markings from any boxes that you’re reusing for subsequent shipments. This includes addresses, barcodes and HAZMAT and other warning stickers.

If you leave old labels on, automatic scanners will read them, and your package could end up getting delivered to the address on the previous label. And if the previous label’s address is yours, the package could even come right back to you! 

Tip #4: Book Shipments With Accurate Dimensions and Weight.

When booking, be sure to enter accurate dimensions and weight. We’ve pre-loaded the dimensions of popular cases suitable for shipping that you can select when booking. For all boxes or cases not on our list, use a tape measure to determine the following dimensions for your shipment: Length, Width and Height. Length is the longest side of a box or case; Height is the second longest, and Width is the dimension that’s leftover - measure each at their widest parts to account for any bulges. Then use a scale to determine package weight. Always round up to the next unit. For example, enter 13 inches for a measurement of 12.25 inches, and enter 14 kg for a measurement of 13.7 kg. 

Shipments are audited multiple times during transit. If a package’s actual dimensions and weight do not match booked dimensions and weight, it may be delayed en route while the discrepancy is resolved, and you may be subject to additional fees. Such shipments are also more susceptible to damage as they may end up getting incorrectly sorted by size.

Tip #5: Double Check Your Addresses.

You’ve gone to all the work to get the gifts you’ll be giving, and now you’re ready to send them. Remember to double check your address BEFORE shipping. Make sure you’ve got a complete street address, including the house, apartment or suite number so the delivery driver knows exactly where to go.