Category: Mailing

If you are not very good at remembering to post out birthday cards and are always the member of your family whose card arrives late, then there are ways in which you can make the whole process a bit easier. Often as we get old our families start to grow, people get married or have children and our family starts to extend. This can mean that there seems to be a birthday every few weeks and if you are not very good at remembering dates and posting cards, it is easy to forget.

One tip you could try is to buy all your birthday cards at the start of the year. Write them all out and put them in a safe place. Then set reminders on your phone a few days before to post them. Often if you have a card there ready to go, you are more likely to be able to get it in the post on time.

If you want an even easier way to remember birthdays then why not register with a card company such as Moon pig or Funky Pigeon. Here you can add all your families’ birthdays to the calendar and get automated reminders before the big day. You can create personalised cards to send to people or you can send generic ones. You can often save money by buying in bulk and can even create cards way ahead of time for them to be posted at a later date. Although this will take some time initially, you can then relax knowing that everyone will get their birthday cards on time.

If you are wanting to purchase something online then it is always worth checking if there is a voucher code available that will get you a bit of money off your purchase. There are a few different ways to order online. Some companies allow you to order online for store collection and some for delivery. When ordering for delivery you will need to pay at time of order unless they offer a payment option to pay on receipt of invoice. If you are ordering for store collection then you may be able to pay when you collect. If you have found a voucher code that you want to use, be sure to check when it expires. Sometimes if you are collecting in store, you will need to ensure that it is paid for before the voucher expires otherwise they may state that the price can vary.

If ordering for home delivery, be sure to allow plenty of time for the item to arrive especially if it is a gift that is needed for a certain day. Leaving orders until the last minute can cause unnecessary panic and may mean you don’t get it when you need to.

If you are an Amazon member then you probably have heard of Amazon Prime. This is a service which you can subscribe to through Amazon that offers you benefits when shopping through their site and also gives you access to the Amazon Prime TV.

The cost for Amazon Prime is currently £7.99 per month or £79 for the year. You can pay by monthly direct debit or a one off card payment. The subscription is set to automatically renew each month or year.

Amazon Prime offers a free 30 day trial which you can access all the benefits of the service, after the 30 day trial the subscription will renew without you having to do anything. You need to check that it will renew using your chosen payment method as sometimes it is defaulted to annually, which comes as a surprise to many when they check their bank account. Along with Amazon Prime Videos you will also have access to music streaming, photo storage and reading material. In comparison to many of the movie / music streaming packages out there, Amazon Prime does seem to offer great value for money. Why not try it for 30 days but remember to cancel if it’s not for you.

If you are ordering products online then you may be given a number of options when it comes to the delivery. Some businesses offer free delivery on all orders or orders over a certain amount, and others may charge for this service. If you are ordering items from a company that charges delivery on orders below a certain amount then it is worth checking what the order total is. It may be that you only need to spend a few more pounds to get free delivery.
Free delivery may not always be the quickest way to get your items. If you need them in a hurry then you will need to see if you can choose an express delivery option or to go and collect the item yourself. This type of deliver is usual available as an upgrade and will incur a cost.
To save money, try and order your items as early as possible so you can chose a standard delivery options and not have to incur extra postage charges. If you have to return an item that is faulty or defected you may be able to also claim back your postage costs from the seller.

With Christmas only a week away, it is important to ensure that you make any last minute orders or posting out of Christmas cards in plenty of time. Some companies will offer a guaranteed delivery for Christmas by a certain date which may well be in the next day or so. If posting Christmas cards using the royal mail then you should allow at least 4-5 days for 1st class post as although it is normally within a day or two, the Christmas post tends to get a bit delayed.
If you have left it late but need to guarantee delivery for a certain date then you may wish to choose one of the royal mail guaranteed services or a third party courier. You will pay more for these types of services so if possibly post early to cut down on costs.
If you have a number of cards or presents to be delivered in close proximity to each other and your location it may actually be more cost effective for you to deliver them yourself.
When using a courier, see what tracking services they offer and what happens if a delivery deadline is missed. Many will even offer live tracking where you can see where the parcel currently is and how far away from the destination it is.