Websites To Help You With Your (Very) Last-Minute Shopping

Tomorrow is the last day to ship your gifts, so Regina Lewis will explain the best sites for scoring last minute steals.

Online shoppers have spent over $15.63 billion so far this holiday season, a number that is on par with what e-commerce sites brought in during the same period last year (according to Wednesday (Dec. 10) data from comScore). So we can expect shipping volumes at UPS, FedEx, USPS is also pretty well on par with last year.

SHOPPING TIPS AND VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP...

HOW DO ONLINE SHOPPING AND SHIPPING VOLUMES COMPARE THIS YEAR TO WHAT YOU SAW LAST YEAR?
Online shoppers have spent over $15.63 billion so far this holiday season, a number that is on par with what e-commerce sites brought in during the same period last year (according to Wednesday (Dec. 10) data from comScore). So we can expect shipping volumes at UPS, FedEx, USPS is also pretty well on par with last year.

WHEN DO FREE OR DISCOUNT SHIPPING DEALS EXPIRE?
Sense of urgency ... We are now in the home stretch for free shipping deals. Many offers for "Free Shipping" expire today, so run, don't walk to the nearest computer. Other e-tailers will be offering free shipping as late as Wednesday the 17th.

**Web site www.dealhack.com has compiled a list of over 160 retailers and their shipping deadlines.

Keep in mind, "standard shipping deadlines" are often the same dates associated with "free shipping." So, miss the standard shipping deadlines and it starts to cost you more money to get your gifts under the tree in time for Christmas.

**You start to notice sites also adding in a cut off "time" to order deadlines. You will see that a lot more as we move into 2 or 3 day "rush" shipping and overnight deadlines. So, hours and even minutes start to cost you money at this stage of the game.

IS IT TOO LATE TO ORDER MONOGRAMMED OR PERSONALIZED GIFTS?
We checked with LandsEnd.com and they are taking monogrammed orders as late as Friday, Dec. 19 - Midnight EST, but expect to pay express shipping at that stage in the game.
And if you are going the monogramming route, stick to a well-known company that's accustomed to monogramming and handling high volumes of orders. Think: Land's End or LL Bean.

WHAT ABOUT FINDING WAYS TO SHIP GIFTS ON A BUDGET ... OR FIND SHIPPING DEALS EVEN IF YOU MISS THE STADARD DATES?
1) Seek out upgraded shipping deals:
It's usually up to the consumer to seek out free or upgraded shipping options. For example, Google: "Gap + shipping upgrade." And if you're signed up to receive deal newsletters from sites where you regularly shop - you're likely to find shipping upgrade codes in those emails.

2) Buy as much as you can on one site to have items grouped into one shipment:
Buying several items on one site usually saves on shipping. You often take a hit on shipping on the first item, but, the more you purchase, the better the shipping deal, i.e., The first sweater you order may cost you $7.95 to ship, but add a few more items to your cart and the shipping charges go up in much smaller increments. (I used Lands End standard shipping for my test on this. It costs $7.95 to ship the first sweater - but buy as many as 5 sweaters and the shipping price only jumps to $15.95).

3) Use Site-to-Store Shipping:
(Web)site-to-store shipping means you can order an item online and then pick it up in the actual store. This is a definite money saver as no rush shipping is required. Retailers like Best Buy, Sears and Wal-Mart offer this site-to-store feature.

BUT WHAT DOES "GUARANTEED TO ARRIVE IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS" ACTUALLY MEAN?
Here's what this REALLY means. It means GUARANTEED to leave OUR warehouse in time. After that, it's up to UPS & Fed-Ex and if you read THEIR fine-print, it says all bets are off in event of inclement weather. The Fed-Ex famous "money back guarantee" does not apply if planes are grounded or it's dangerous for their drivers. So, if you wait to the last minute -- worst case scenario (and it happens almost every year) - the gift you paid premium shipping on is sitting on an icy runway somewhere ... it DOESN'T arrive on time & you're out $20 bucks!

HOW ABOUT WAYS TO AVOID SHIPPING ALL-TOGETHER ... SOME GIFTS YOU CAN SEND AT THE 11TH HOUR?
Give Music (iTunes.com)
An iTunes Store gift certificate can be sent via email for near-immediate delivery, or print the gift certificate on your own printer and deliver it to them in person.

Email Gift Subscriptions (Magazines on Amazon.com, Netflix.com)
Both options can be e-mailed at the last minute. Get the magazine subscriptions through Amazon.com - The gift of DVD rentals on NetFlix.com.

Give Airline Miles (The Gift of Travel)
Southwest Airlines, United and other airlines offer electronic gift certificates that you can purchase online and have emailed - Southwest Airlines Gift Cards, United Airlines Purchase Miles