Early Holiday Package Shipments Encouraged

Saturday, November 27th, 2021 -- 9:12 AM

(WMTV) -Shipping and receiving companies are encouraging consumers to ship holiday gifts as early as possible this year.

The owner of The UPS Store in Fitchburg, Melissa Ross, says they’ve seen a 17% increase in customers shipping items early compared to last year and because of supply chain issues, she recommends others follow suit. “Coming in early, you’re not only going to be saving money, but also reassuring yourself that it’s going to be there in time so that there’s no extra stress on you for the holiday season,” said Ross. UPS is anticipating the week of December 13th to be the busiest for shipping ahead of Christmas Day. Ross said staffing can be touch and go, but that her store is in a good position to serve the expected influx of customers this holiday season. “We are stable at the moment, but you just never know because there are so many companies out there right now that are competing against each other and so a lot of job hopping is happening,” said Ross.

If you’re shipping something of high value, Ross also recommends insurance and requiring signatures upon delivery. If you’re sending a fragile item and you’re concerned about packaging it properly, the UPS store can do that for you. “If you’re going to be doing a DIY type packing for yourself to bring it into a UPS store we definitely recommend to use a corrugated shipping box, not a U-Haul box or any other box that you’ve used at home. No amazon boxes. Also, no duct tape, no electrical tape,” explained Ross. Ross also said to remove batteries from electronics if you are packing a box yourself and if there are any perishable items, such as cheese, to pack it accordingly or have the UPS store do it for you.

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