If you still have to order those last minute gifts online, well you better hurry up.
Friday is the shipping deadline for the United States Postal Service and UPS.
FedEx’s deadline is on Monday for basic ground service.
With just days until the holiday, Maine-based retail giant, L.L. Bean has kicked its operation into high gear to get all those orders out the door.
The retailer topped more than 315,00 orders in a single day on Dec. 4—one of the largest recorded in the company’s history.
“I’m a little too tired to feel like Santa Claus,” John Morrison joked as he worked packing a box at the company’s Freeport fulfillment center.
Morrison and his crew have been working faster than ever to keep up with the holiday rush.
"It's rewarding,” Morrison said. “We feel like we're getting people their gifts and we're helping the company. It's all a reward for all of us."
The nearly one-million-square-foot facility can process an average of 240 units a minute during the peak holiday season.
At some points, they are processing more than 5 units every second.
“We have strong sales and our team here is doing an incredible job getting packages to our customers on time,” Director of L.L. Bean’s fulfillment center, Wayne Steele, said.
The free shipping deadline for L.L. Bean is Friday, Dec. 21, but that is not the case everywhere.
Here are the shipping deadlines for all the major carriers:
USPS
Retail Ground: Dec. 14
First-Class/Priority Mail: Dec. 20
Priority Mail Express: Dec. 22
UPS
Ground: Dec. 14
3-Day Air: Dec. 18
2-Day Air: Dec. 20
Next Day: Dec. 22
FedEx
Ground: Dec. 14
Home: Dec. 17
Express Saver: Dec. 19
2-Day: Dec. 20
Overnight: Dec. 21
The USPS Southern Maine Distribution & Processing Center in Scarborough is
The Postal Service’s contracts with online retailers like Amazon have dramatically increased their deliveries this time of year.
“Things get amped up this time of year,” Plant Manager Paul Warrick said.
Most workers at the facility are working long shifts to around the clock to make sure packages get to your doorstep.
Warrick said his team is also prepared for an influx of last-minute Christmas cards over the weekend with the facility expected to process more than 600,000 letters on Monday alone.
“The work force really gets behind it. They know how important this season is to our customers and the organization.”
If you are worried about how shipping deadlines will affect you, be sure to check with each individual retailer about deadlines and shipping fees. In some cases, like Amazon, their deadlines differ.