Beware of last order dates for Christmas

Christmas season is here and everyone will be trying to pack in as much shopping, wrapping and sending as possible.

We here at Rock Solid Deliveries will be busy with many same day courier items, and we never close (handy to know!) Do you know however that final order dates for many big-name retailers are going to be earlier this year? In 2018 many retailers went right down to the wire with last orders as late as Christmas Eve. However this year, we have seen evidence that this will not be the case and many businesses will have cut-off dates around 20/21st December.

The Christmas season is the peak time of year for couriers and delivery drivers. The advice is always to book early and plan ahead so you ensure you have got everything marked off your list. Some courier companies or delivery entities (e.g. the ordinary postal service) have deadlines and cut off times. After these dates, delivery for Christmas cannot be guaranteed. The problem comes when these dates have passed and you still find you have outstanding items to send. So what do you do? Panic? (probably) Wait until the New year and make apologies? (possibly.) This need not be the case however, and all you need to remember is that same day delivery can come to your rescue!

The last few years have seen final order dates move closer and closer to Christmas Day itself, but this year there appears to be a complete reversal in this. The problem with having dates so late while guaranteeing delivery for Christmas is that the retailers literally have to deliver! There is nothing worse for their business image than having delivery problems the day before Christmas and meaning that presents do not arrive for being opened on 25th December. Retailers have figured that if they bring last order dates forward, any problems can be taken account of meaning that this dreaded scenario can be avoided. Of course, the trade-off for them is that they will miss out on some of the ‘last minute market’ but this is really a risk that some organisations do not want to run. Clearly though there will always be some retailers that will still offer guaranteed delivery right until the end, so you need to look around at final delivery dates so you can see what time you have on your hands.

Considering using a professional courier for your Christmas delivery?

The benefit of using a professional courier means they often have a wide range of services including same day delivery. This can be perfect for those situations where something has been forgotten (we promise not to tell) or when delivery is needed with a set target or time in mind (just like Christmas.)

The ideal thing about using a courier like Rock Solid Deliveries is we never sleep. Someone is always available to take your request day or night, and those extra hours can make all the difference in such a busy period like the festive season. We can also collect parcels in as little as 60 minutes. If you have forgotten something or find it’s the 23rd of December the last thing you need is to wait and wait longer. You can be assured that not only can you get hold of us at any time, but we also come to you in double quick time!

Our advice is to get ordering and finished Christmas shopping as early as possible. This avoids any potential problems or complications closer to Christmas. You can then focus on wrapping the items and sending them onwards for delivery if they are going further afield.  At this point, there is where Rock Solid Deliveries can become very useful to you. As Christmas approaches and time gets short, same day delivery can become a very important and vital service. We never close so are always available for those last minute shipments!

There will be a time when we can’t guarantee Christmas delivery. If you need a parcel carried from London to Edinburgh at 23:59 on 24th December to arrive exactly on the stroke midnight Christmas morning, you might want to try another well-known courier of sorts (Santa Claus of course!), but you’ll need to ask him very nicely as he’ll be exceptionally busy that night too!

For all those other instances, give us a call and speak to someone about how we can help you. If you would like to use our instant estimate facility, this can give you an initial idea of the type of cost for the service.

From Adrian & The Team, Wishing you all A Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!