Start thinking about holiday shipping

Ah, October. thoughts of Fall leaves, pumpkin patches, Christopher Columbus, dressing up, and Christmas. Wait, what, Christmas? Yeah, Christmas. At least you SHOULD start thinking about shipping for the holidays. Soon.

1) Ship early. I don't care if it is through UPS, Fed Ex, or the Postal Service, each company will be slammed with packages to ship. Especially right after Thanksgiving. NOW is the time to start thinking about (relatively) hassle free shipping.

2) Inform your shipper. This may sound obvious to many, but not everyone knows your zip code, or even that zip codes exist. I have seen some international shippers use phone numbers only instead of zip codes. In years past, clerks had been stationed at computers for "zip checks", to correct any errant zip codes. That service (at least in my postal facility) has been removed; any packages with the wrong zip code are returned to the shipper. This especially sucks if you had a specialty item sent from an Etsy vendor in Belgium or an OOP game from Germany. Let your seller know your full and proper address.

3) Pack anything you ship well.
No matter what words you use on a package: Handle With Care, Fragile, Do Not Bend, Load on Top, Careful-Glass, Warning: Fragile Shrunken Head Collection Enclosed, the machines processing your packages can not read. Boxes are sorted assembly line style, and dropped down chutes in most cases, including many glass items. Despite all the YouTube videos out there showing delivery drivers shot putting plasma screen TVs over fences, most packages are sorted (and potentially broken) by machines sorting them.
3a) Leave it to the professionals. Personally, I wouldn't ship glass or food items unless you KNOW you pack well. Even so, it is a risky thing. If you insist on packing your grandmother's precious rutabega preserves, know this cargo could leak onto your other packed items, or onto the items of others. Leave fruit to Harry and David. That being said, know that all sorts of things get shipped in the mail, some of it gross. Vietnamese prawns, mangoes and avocadoes that are shipped in a regular priority "hot box" and spoil VERY quickly, as well as other not so savory items. Pack well, or leave it to professional shippers to do it. And Insuring a package does not hurt, especially if it is an expensive item. If you pick up an item that looks damaged, open it in front of the clerk or carrier, this way they can't claim you damaged the item yourself. Oh, and take advantage of postal approved packaging and flat rate shipping. A couple of years ago, a game company shipped small games in cheap envelopes. The envelopes were cheap for a reason: the glue didn't stick. I was busy putting cards into envelopes for a day or two.

4) Keep track of your receipts and tracking numbers. I was a letter carrier for nine years. I know delivery drivers are pressured with their package delivery. That being said, packages sometimes are scanned delivered when they are NOT (UPS and USPS does this at times). Keep your drivers honest by keeping track. I had to call UPS about my Reaper Bones delivery. I was STANDING OUTSIDE waiting for the box that did not come. Through a couple of calls and keeping my records, I got my package with little hassle. 4a) Recordkeeping is especially important when selling on Amazon. I like Amazon when buying rarer games because I get pretty good deals, but as a seller, there are strict guidelines. Ship certified mail or signature tracking so people can't claim they did not get the item you shipped. Amazon reps told me I would have no recourse if I didn't get some kind of verification through the post office.

5) There are always other options. There are these buildings called stores. They have stuff inside you can buy.

People always complain about package delivery services, but honestly, the US is great in this: we have options, it is pretty cheap, and the packaging available is pretty good. In some countries, there are mesh sacks with seals (not very effective). We deliver a ton of parcels each holiday season, but there is always a heavy demand, and there is a possibility you will not get the next hot release by Christmas if you don't ship soon, and sooner than you think.
We just had our one holiday in October.
November has Veterans Day along with some local/state political mail thrown in (which can affect delivery times). Once Cyber Monday hits (the Monday after Thanksgiving), shipping becomes trickier and the mail volume explodes. Ship early, ship often (whether it be USPS, UPS or FedEx, although the postal service is cheaper ).

Start thinking about Satan.

Secret Satan wrote: Start thinking about Satan.

Then we're thinking about postal supervisors?

I have zero sympathy for anyone who waits til Dec 22nd and then relies on a website promising to get it to them in time for Christmas. Too many things outside anyone's control can go wrong, as last years numerous stories about stuff arriving late show us.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article recently on how the shipping companies are trying to get retailers to scale back their promises of last minute shipping, but I doubt any will.