Shipping/holiday deadlines/archive

I'm keeping this text handy for the next holiday:

Generally, anything in stock can be shipped right up to the last moment. allow 12-24 hours for me to process the order, and 3-5 days for it to get to you. I normally ship via USPS First Class for anything under a pound, and Priority for anything over I can also do overnight (USPS Express) on request, charging only the actual postage (no extra handling fees). To estimate delivery times, go to the USPS Postage Calculator, enter a rough-guess weight (the weight generally does not affect the delivery time much except that items over a pound cannot be shipped via First Class, but must instead use Priority which is usually faster), and use 27705 as the "From ZIP Code". Add an extra day for processing on our side, to be safe.

And this:

Deadlines are very different depending on whether your item is in stock or not. You can check on an item's in-stock status by going to the item's page (if you're looking at your shopping cart, click on the item's link). In-Stock Deadlines NOTE: I am going to be out of town 12/22 and 12/23, so anything needed by December 25th at this point will have to be overnighted, at a total shipping cost of $13.95 for one shirt and starting at about $20 for anything which won't fit in a flat-rate Express envelope (two shirts can sometimes fit, especially smaller sizes; youth shirts possibly as many as three). I also can't guarantee the USPS will get it to you by the 25th, but Express does have full tracking and USPS will deliver Express items on the 25th. If you want something overnighted, please say so in the shipping instructions when you place the order. A follow-up email couldn't hurt either. Backorder Deadlines These are deadlines for items not in stock (see above for in-stock shipping times). Deadlines are broken down by manufacturer. If you have items in your cart, you can quickly tell which manufacturer they come from by looking at the first two letters of the catalog number. Still Available All deadlines have passed for delivery by December 25th (for items not in stock). Deadlines Passed Christmas deadlines have passed for these manufacturers: EC - Earth Creations This order has been placed, and it is unlikely that we'll be placing another order with them before January. MM - Misty Mountain: Ordered 12/14, probably no more in 2005 -- but should have some extra items in stock by 12/17 MT - The Mountain: Ordered 12/21; should have a few extra longsleeves for stock SD - Sun Dog: Had to abandon this one; only one customer with a deadline, and was able to get the other 3 of their 4 items in time ZR - Zion Rootswear has been ordered, and it's unlikely we'll be placing another order with them before the end of the year. LB - Liquid Blue: final last-minute emergency overnight order placed, evening of 12/19.

And a memo to myself: there should probably be some discussion of deadlines before the 24th being an issue because everything else is being timed to be delivered by the 24th while still allowing as much time as possible. If people are going to be at a different address after a certain date, they should give the date and the new address in the shipping instructions. Hopefully by next year, also, we'll have the new version of the cart which will allow more precise specification of deadlines, e.g. is this a "cancel order if not in stock by", "cancel order if not shipped by", "cancel order if delivery by [date] cannot be guaranteed", "this date would be best, but a few [days? weeks?] after is still acceptable"...? --Woozle 07:32, 24 Dec 2005 (EST)