Last Minute Holiday Shopping Tips Article from Buxr.com

This article was written by Buxr.com and thought I'd share since there are some great tips we could all use in preparation for the Christmas holidays. 


Are you done with your holiday shopping, or have you been putting it off for the last minute? The polls show that 32 percent of US shoppers made their purchases in November. This is more than last year, but still a relatively small fraction and the chances are you may be one of the procrastinators still shopping.


Maybe you have budget constraints, hate shopping, or simply enjoy the thrill of finding those last-minute bargains, whatever the reason is we are here to help you make sure your Christmas gifts come on time for the holiday. Please read these quick shopping tips and then scroll down for the round up of shipping deadlines from several popular merchants.


Good prices abound, but not everything is a good deal:
In general, although their stock is plentiful now, Christmas decorations, paper goods, and calendars reach their lowest prices after the holidays and through January.
Watches and jewelry don’t have the best discounts either, and are usually excluded from department store coupon offers.
Most of the heavily-discounted electronics and HDTVs advertised this month are off-brands. Look for major brand price cuts after the holidays and into February.
Laptop deals are usually not very good in December, with one exception – the 17-inch desktop replacement prices are dropping fast. That’s probably because the hot items everyone wants this year are tablets and smart phones.
Wait until after the holidays to get the best deals on linens and towels, those go on sale in January.


There are definitely some good choices at the best prices of the year:
Toys (of course!) – retailers have the most stock on hand for this season.
Bicycle prices reach the lowest level in December.
If you’re looking for cookware or small appliances, this is an opportunity to multiply your savings by combining online sales with coupon codes.
You should be able to find some great deals on tools and hardware, too, including garden items.
This is the month to go after Blu-ray movies, disk sets, and video games. Game console bundles are being offered with bonus gift cards and other extras.


Read the fine print on returns:
Some stores, like Walmart, will allow online gifts to be returned to any of their store locations. Others, like JCPenney, will pay for return shipping of online purchases.
Some stores, like Target, require a receipt (or gift receipt), limit the number of returns, and only offer store credit, which may be restricted to the the same department as the original gift. Toys ‘R’ Us/Babies ‘R’ Us gifts returned by mail are credited back to the original form of payment (the buyer’s), so return that gift to a store if you want to get a merchandise credit.
Notable exceptions are Kohl’s, Bath and Body Works and Coldwater Creek, who have no deadline and require no receipt.
Best Buy has free shipping through December 27, and temporarily removed restocking fees for holiday gift returns only through January 4, 2012 (without exclusions). Read the policy here.


2011 Shipping Deadlines:
To be sure your packages arrive in time for Christmas, here’s a compilation of shipping deadlines from popular retailers, including links to their coupons and deals. The dates were collected from store websites, advertisements, email distributions, and calls to customer service. The information is subject to last minute changes by the retailer.


Standard Express Fastest
Amazon 12/19 12/20 12/22 4:30pm PT
Banana Republic 12/20 12/21 3pm ET 12/22 3pm ET
BestBuy 12/20 11am ET 12/21 11am ET 12/22 11am ET
Buy.com 12/15 12pm PT 12/20 12pm PT 12/21 12pm PT
Circuit City 12/19 5pm ET 12/21 5pm ET 12/22 5pm ET
Dell 12/16 5pm CT 12/19 5pm CT
JCPenney 12/20 12/22 12pm CT
JR.com 12/16 12/21 12/22 3pm ET
Kohls 12/20 11pm CT 12/21 11pm ET
Macy’s 12/21 12/21 12/22 5pm ET
Newegg 12/14 3:30pm PT 12/21 3:30pm PT 12/22 3:30pm PT
Office Depot 12/22 5pm local 12/22 5pm local 12/22 5pm local
Office Max 12/22 5pm local 12/22 5pm local 12/22 5pm local
Overstock 12/19 2am ET 12/21 2am ET 12/22 12pm ET
Payless 12/09 1pm ET 12/20 1pm ET 12/21 1pm ET
Sears 12/16 12/21 12/22
Staples 12/19 12/20 12/20
Target 12/15 12/20 12/22
TigerDirect 12/16 5pm ET 12/21 5pm ET 12/22 5pm ET
Toys R Us 12/20 3pm ET 12/21 3pm ET 12/22 3pm ET
Victoria’s Secret 12/18 5pm ET 12/21 5pm ET 12/22 5pm ET
Walmart 12/19 12/20 12/21
FedEX: 12/16 12/21 12/22
UPS: 12/16 12/21 12/22
USPS: 12/15 12/21 12/22

Posted in: Articles, Buxr, Christmas, Deals, Holiday, Shopping