2021 Holiday Shopping & Shipping Guide

**Please note: Orders placed after November 25, 2021 may take an extra 3 - 7 business days for delivery due to delays with carrier deliveries during the holidays. We appreciate your patience with the USPS and UPS!

This year's shipping & delivery situation is looking like a repeat of the 2020 holiday season. The US Postal Service was completely overwhelmed last year and is facing similar struggles this year. The good news is that as a small business, we're already stocked up with inventory and are ready to ship your gifts out to you!

Here are a few suggestions to make this year's holiday shopping easier for you:

• Shop early! The sooner you purchase, the better chance you have of receiving your gifts in time for the holidays.

• Choose UPS over the US Postal Service! We all love free 1st class shipping, but last year's shipping mess has convinced us that choosing UPS is a safer option if you are concerned about lost packages and on-time deliveries.

• Please be patient! Shipping your gifts is our #1 priority and we'll be working extra hard to get them out quickly. Once your package leaves our studio, we are at the mercy of the carrier. If your package is delayed or appears to be lost, we will direct you to the carrier's website to file a claim and ask that you have patience as they sort through holiday deliveries.

HOLIDAY SHOPPING & SHIPPING GUIDE

We put together this guide to help you plan your holiday shopping, decide which shipping options are best for you, and let you know what to do if your order is late to arrive. 

If you still have a question after you read through the guide, feel free to reach out to us at info@charliemadisonoriginals.com.

 

HOLIDAY ORDERING DEADLINES

Please note: These are our best estimates for receiving your orders in time for holiday gifting but we cannot guarantee shipping times or delivery times. We can only promise to pack up your orders quickly and drop them with the USPS or UPS carriers.

US Postal Service 1st Class Shipping: December 10

USPS Priority + UPS Ground: December 13

Last day for ALL orders: December 21

Our Studio will be closed December 24-31. No orders will be shipped during this time.

SHIPPING OPTIONS

We all love free shipping, especially during the holidays. However, with the US Postal Service increased delivery times and concern about lost packages, we urge you to choose UPS if you are hoping to receive your package for the holidays. We understand this is not ideal, but we are doing our best to work with the available shipping options and get your holiday gifts to you as quickly as possible.

USPS 1st Class Shipping: $4.95 for orders below $49; orders over $49 may choose complimentary 1st Class shipping 

USPS Priority Mail: $9.00

UPS Ground: $8.50; orders over $99 may choose complimentary UPS Ground shipping

USPS Priority Express: $35.00

 

 

ORDER TRACKING, SHIPPING TIMES & LOST PACKAGES

HOW CAN I TRACK MY ORDER ONCE IT SHIPS?

You will receive an email confirmation when your order is ready to ship. The email will include a tracking number issued by the carrier you chose (USPS or UPS). You can get updates on the status of your package by clicking on the tracking number link provided.

The tracking number link is the same one we have, which means we are seeing exactly the same information you see. We do not have access to additional tracking information.

Occasionally, the USPS may show that your package is traveling a different (and longer) route than expected. We understand how frustrating this is, especially as you're waiting for holiday orders to arrive.

We appreciate your patience with the USPS and UPS as they deliver an unprecedented number of holiday gifts this year.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO RECEIVE MY ORDER ONCE IT LEAVES YOUR STUDIO?

Shipping times are expected to be longer this year, especially as more families will be ordering gifts online. The shipping times below were taken from the USPS & UPS websites and are for delivery within the United States.

USPS 1st Class Shipping: 2-7 business days 

USPS Priority Mail:  1-3 business days

USPS Priority Express:  Overnight guarantee

UPS Ground: 1-5 days

WHAT IF MY TRACKING INFORMATION SHOWS THE PACKAGE IS DELAYED?

Carrier tracking systems are notoriously unreliable, which can be frustrating when you're waiting for your package to arrive. Occasionally, tracking information will show your package is "Stuck in transit" or "In Transit, Arriving Late." In these cases, the packages are being delayed with no additional information on the arrival date. This doesn't mean your package is lost, but is held up somewhere in the carrier's system.

Unfortunately, we do not have access to any additional tracking information on our end - we see the same updates on package status as you do and we share your frustration with the shipping delays. 

We appreciate your patience with the USPS this year and ask that you allow extra time to receive your order if it is delayed during transit. If your order has not been delivered within 10 business days from the date of shipment, please file a claim with your local post office or UPS:

USPS: https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm

UPS: https://www.ups.com/us/en/help-center/claims-support.page

Filing a claim can often get the tracking information to update. We would appreciate you giving the carrier 2-3 days to respond to your claim before you reach out to us about a replacement.

If you would like to request a replacement package, you may get in touch at info@charliemadisonoriginals.com to let us know a claim has been filed and the status of your claim. We will ask that you fill out a short claim form we require for our records so that we can send you a replacement order. Once we send a replacement, we ask that you return the original package when it is delivered. 

WHAT IF MY TRACKING INFORMATION SHOWS THE PACKAGE HAS BEEN DELIVERED, BUT I STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED IT?

There are rare circumstances where the tracking status of your order shows as, "Delivered," but you have not received your package. We've had this happen with our personal deliveries and know how frustrating this is for you. 

Unfortunately, we do not have access to any additional tracking information on our end - we see the same updates on package status as you do. If your package tracking shows that is was delivered but you have not yet received it, please take the following steps:

1- Check with neighbors to see if the package was mis-delivered

2- Reach out to the carrier you chose - either your local post office or UPS.  All lost / stolen package claims must be handled directly with the carrier. The links to submit a claim are as follows:

USPS: https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm

UPS: https://www.ups.com/us/en/help-center/claims-support.page

We would appreciate you giving the carrier 2-3 days to respond to your claim before you reach out to us about a replacement.

If you would like to request a replacement package, you may get in touch at info@charliemadisonoriginals.com to let us know a claim has been filed and the status of your claim. We will ask that you fill out a short claim form we require for our records so that we can send you a replacement order. 

Thank you for choosing our small business for your holiday gifts and for sharing the Charliemadison love with your special gals! We are a very small family-operated business and we are incredibly grateful to you for your support and for helping us to give back to military families around the world! 

Wishing you and your family a holiday season filled with gratitude, memories, and love!