With the December holidays around the corner, it’s time to think not only about gift shopping but also how said gifts will arrive to their recipients.  This is especially relevant when shipping items to another part of the country.  Different providers have different timelines, and items’ origins and fragility also play a factor.

Larry Peterson is the owner of Taylorville Pack n’ Ship.  He says it is wise to allow at least a week for “standard” shipping options. 

For shipping fragile items, Peterson recommends at least two inches of padding around the item in the box. 

Typically, if an item is damaged in shipment, as long as it is insured, the carrier will reimburse the sender for the retail value of the item.  Peterson warns that homemade items will be valued accordingly to the most equivalent retail good.  This may be much lower than the value the sender or recipient would assign, given the sentimental connection to the item.

Carriers normally do not, by their own doing, charge more for shipments near the holidays than they do for other times of the year.  Those who wait too long to ship items, though, may be compelled to order the faster shipping options and therefore pay higher prices.

More information on Pack n’ Ship is available at www.taylorvillepacknship.com. 

Larry Peterson appeared as a guest on the WTIM Morning Show.