RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) -Christmas may be next week, but most of your shipping deadlines are this week, and choosing to wait will cost you a pretty penny.
It is the busiest time of year for the United States Postal Service, as its Forest Hill Station was packed with cars on Monday, Dec. 16. Even with the busy crowds, USPS team members assure people their packages will get to loved ones on time as long as you pay attention to the set deadlines.
“Our counter, the last time I checked, was up to about 7 or 8 billion mail pieces delivered total, including holiday cards and other pieces of mail and packages. So we’re well prepared; we’re going to be delivering right up until the 25th,” USPS communications specialist Philip Bogenberger said.
Here are the dates to mark on your calendar:
- Dec. 18 – USPS Ground Advantage
- Dec. 18 – First-Class Mail
- Dec. 19 – Priority Mail
- Dec. 21– Priority Mail Express
“There’s always a last-minute holiday card that you find that you want to send to a family member or a gift you want to send to a friend that you just can’t pass up, and we’re there to get it there as quickly as possible,” Bogenberger said.
Bogenberger says they bring on up to 10,000 extra workers for the holiday season, but this year, that number is lower, and he says staffing has been more stable lately. He also credits the Delivering for America plan for better prepping the team this year.
“We’ve installed 506 high-speed package sorting machines nationwide in just the last four years. 158 of those machines have been installed just since last holiday season,” he said.
Even though USPS is ready to go, gift givers must do their part. The Dec. 18 deadline is the cheapest option—the dates after that go up in price but get to recipients quicker.
“First class mail is a lot of what you’ve had before; it’s a lot of mail and packages, but we also introduced USPS Ground Advantage. This is the second holiday season, like in the name it says it’s going to travel by ground, whether it’s going across the country or going locally, we’ll be able to get it there,” Bogenberger said.
USPS team members also remind people to make sure the handwriting for the delivery address is legible to prevent any potential mix-ups and delays that could come with that.
The earlier you can send out your holiday mail, the better.
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