When it comes to shipping gifts for the holidays, several things are essential to remember – particularly when aiming to protect your items and ensuring they reach the recipient on time. As the 2023 holiday season approaches, PaidShipping offers useful pointers to get those gifts delivered without any problems.

When planning to send your friends, family, and loved ones gifts, there are several things you should be aware of to ensure a smooth shipping experience.

  1. Understand What You Can Ship: The number of shipping-prohibited items may surprise you. No matter which courier you opt for, always check their list of non-shippable items. Remember, with PaidShipping, you can choose your courier based on price or delivery time, but always verify any shipping gifts restrictions before making your selection. Typically prohibited items are:
    1. Liquids (alcohol, perfumes, varnish)
    2. Aerosols (common in toiletries)
    3. Flowers and plants
    4. Electrical items
    5. Anything glass
    6. Currency
    7. Alcoholic beverages
    8. Tobacco products
    9. Cannabis
  1. Packaging Gifts for Shipping: Proper packaging is essential when shipping gifts. Along with securing your parcel using robust tape, there are several packaging practices to follow
    1. Use a NEW box (or a sturdy one)
    2. Be sure to include padding inside (bubble wrap, cardboard, newspaper)
    3. Make sure there’s no movement inside the box
  1. Measure and Weigh Correctly: To avoid delays and additional charges, always provide accurate package dimensions. This means measuring and weighing the package after it’s fully prepared. This guarantees:
    1. The right courier is sending your gift
    2. You get charged the correct amount the first time

If you haven’t read our blog post on avoiding shipping price adjustments, make sure you do.

  1. Consider Shipping Insurance for Your Gifts Picture this: you’ve bought the perfect gift, followed all the shipping guidelines, and yet upon arrival, the gift is found damaged. Here’s where PaidShipping’s shipping insurance comes in.PaidShipping automatically covers the first $100 of your item’s value when you opt for insurance. Should anything go wrong, you can swiftly submit a claim online through our efficient claims process. For gifts valued over $100, insurance starts at just $2.50. It’s a small investment for the immense peace of mind, ensuring your gift reaches its destination intact.

 

How Will Real Time Shipping Rates Influence Shipping Gifts in 2023?

PaidShipping partners with top national couriers, including FedEx, UPS, USPS, and more, to determine shipping rates in real-time. These rates are based on key details like package size, weight, and destination – critical factors when shipping gifts. Sellers can enter their standard package specifications or customize dimensions for individual products in their inventory. This precision in detail allows for sellers to customize each product in the shop with actual package specifications. For buyers, as soon as a product is added to the cart and the checkout process begins, our system immediately evaluates the specifics and promptly presents the most suitable gift shipping options by carrier. The decision making process is handed to the buyer who can decide how fast they want the package and how much they want to spend on shipping, or they can choose their preferred shipper. The integration of real-time rates benefits both the buyer and seller: it eliminates guesswork for the seller and offers clear choices to the buyer, enhancing the entire experience of shipping gifts for the 2023 holiday season.

Avoid These Mistakes When Using a Gift Delivery Service

Just as there’s a right way, there’s also a wrong way to ship gifts. So, when considering your gift delivery options, here are a few pitfalls to be aware of:

  1. Waiting until the last minute Don’t wait until the eleventh hour. Provide ample time for your gift to reach its destination, especially during peak shipping seasons.
  2. Overdoing external decorations While ribbons and wrapping paper are festive, they’re best kept inside the shipping box. External wrapping can tear, and ribbons might get snagged in transit machinery.
  3. Overlooking duty and taxes If you’re shipping gifts internationally, be mindful of potential duty and local taxes, which often range between 10-20% of the gift’s value. Generally, you can send items up to $50 to $100 in value without them attracting duty. Regardless, always check before buying your gift with customs in the recipient country. Otherwise, your recipient might get an unexpected charge along with your thoughtful present.

When evaluating your gift delivery options, make sure you’re partnering with the right shipping service. PaidShipping lets you enter box dimensions and package weight for an accurate rate quote. Next, the top couriers are displayed to you to compare cost, transit time and more – ensuring you have everything you need to make a selection at the best rate. For peace of mind, you can also schedule a pick-up directly through PaidShipping and not worry about leaving your home! On top of that, PaidShipping gives you intelligent alerts all along the way to make sure you can track your package at any time – on your computer, or on your mobile.