Time Running Out To Get Packages Delivered In Time For Christmas!
DALLAS (CBS11) - With two more mail days to go until Christmas, it's down to the wire for getting those packages delivered or sent. But that didn't stop some last-minute shippers from paying up for the guarantee.
Andrew Redholz is waiting for a delivery - twin babies, due in just a few weeks. So he says the due date for Christmas shipping got away from him, leading him to the UPS Store in Dallas on Thursday.
"Kind of last minute in mailing presents back home to my family back home in St. Louis. Didn't think I'd have to pay the $100 plus for the overnight fee, but it is what it is," Redholz says. "It's one holiday where you really can't be late, so gotta pay the piper today."
With an under-the-tree guarantee now behind him, he wasn't the only procrastinator bearing gifts Thursday. UPS, having weathered delays after record CyberMonday sales, is on track with on-time deliveries, according to a spokesperson.
Software developer Shipmatrix, which monitors delivery data, says UPS achieved its on-time goal 97.3 percent of the time from December 10-16, to FedEx's 98.1 percent and the U.S. Postal Service's 99 percent.
Some customers say the easiest way to avoid shipping stress is to remove the deadlines - and expectations - entirely.
That just takes the spirit out of it, so this year we all agreed, we'll send presents when we can," says UPS Customer Joan Kitchens. "If they don't get them there, you'll get them after Christmas. My daughter said it can be a New Year's present."
UPS is expected to deliver 750 million packages this holiday season. With more people turning to online shopping, that's an increase of about 40 million compared to last year.