Shipping Features Archives

The holidays are upon us and the next few days will decide whether you'll be handing out gifts or frantically searching for fruit cake come Christmas morning. To help you avoid the latter scenario, we've rounded up cut-off dates for Christmas delivery at some of today's most popular retailers.

Amazon announced that it will raise the minimum purchase requirement to qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping from $25 to $35. This comes just a week after Best Buy upped its minimum purchase too. So how will this affect customers this holiday season?

Living in the age of online shopping and m-commerce, it has become arguably harder for stores without an online presence to compete with the lower prices of many online merchants. But still, are there any items you'd never consider buying online? From clothing to groceries, we discuss how potentially problematic purchases are made easier through online shopping.

This is a busy week for UPS, but it appears as if the shipping giant isn't up to the task. When entering an order number on the UPS tracking page, a message is displayed that says UPS Ground delivery guarantees are suspended until December 26. Are any of your orders affected by this delay?

The pressure is on to get all of your online shopping done in time for Christmas, but what happens if you miss all the standard shipping deadlines? Our deal archives show that soon enough, many online retailers will begin to offer discounted expedited shipping. But when can you expect these promotions, and from what stores?

Savvy shoppers have come to expect free delivery from merchants, but both UPS and FedEx announced that they will increase their shipping rates for 2013. Will this make it more difficult for retailers to offer the free shipping that consumers now crave?

Shopping online can make buying gifts for the holidays much easier, but it also requires some advance planning to account for shipping times. As we near Christmas, you should start taking into consideration the potential risks that come along with online shopping for the holidays. Inside, we've got a list of stores to avoid if you're looking for a 100% risk-free Christmas purchase.

Amazon's bargain prices and its logotype A to Z arrow (or customer satisfaction "smile") have earned the company worldwide notoriety. But if you've been reading The Seattle Times' scathing series of reports, Amazon isn't as idyllic of a company as some may have thought. With purported grievances from sales tax evasion to a glaring lack of philanthropy, the Times suggests that Amazon's image has become a source of contention amongst the community, the company's peers, and even its employees.

When you shop online as much as we do at dealnews, you're going to experience the occasional snafu with delivery. In particular, we've encountered many complaints about the service provided by UPS. So we want to know: how often has your excitement over an arriving UPS delivery turned into anger resulting from a missing package or terrible customer service?

A lot of people thought that digital photography would make physical photographs obsolete. But it seems people still want photos to hold onto, to press into a scrapbook, or to stuff in a shoebox. In fact, the competition between photo printing services is so fierce that vendors, from pharmacy chain stores to exclusively online picture services, are vying for your business with enticing promotions. We look at six deal-friendly photo printing services to see what they have to offer for the money.

Christmas! Hanukkah! Festivus! Kwanzaa! These words all signify a great season to be a child, so we've rounded up five more of the best toy deals out there for tots and toddlers. We've got five Editors' Choice bargains from a Dora the Explorer ball pit to a Star Wars light saber night light. (You could always just say you're buying that light saber for a kid...)

With the right TV, Blu-ray player, and speakers, your living room can rival any movie theater. And contrary to popular belief, it doesn't have to cost you a small fortune. Below we've put together a quick and dirty primer to help you pick the right components for your in-home cineplex.

Worried that holiday shipping deadlines are coming soon? Don't panic! Expect a long list of stores to offer free or discounted last-minute shipping — as late as December 23 — with guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery. To ease your fears, we compiled a list of stores that had such offers last year. We expect an even bigger list this year, and we'll post last-minute shipping deals as soon as we find them. So sit back and relax. Your holiday shopping is under control.