Last year, Free Shipping Day was so big, it outpaced Black Friday internet sales by nearly $300 million. From Toys R Us to Nordstrom and Kohl's, all your packages from hundreds of retailers delivered free by Christmas.
The countdown to Christmas is on at the West U. Pack and Ship.
"You still have time, but if you want the cheaper rate, come on in early and we will take care of it," said Amish Patel with West U. Pack and Ship.
That's why Ansley Buttram is shipping boxes today. She is shipping ground to save some extra money.
"I am from out of town and so I have to ship a lot of things back home," she said.
It's also a reason why she is going to take advantage of Free Shipping Day 2011, a day where more than 2,000 online retailers will be offering free shipping December 16 for the entire day.
"Certainly that would make sense, that would more of a desirable day to shop because I can get everything done and everything shipped at the same time," Buttram said.
To find out who is participating in Free Shipping Day, head to Freeshippingday.com. There, you can search for your favorite retailer or skim the website to look at the hundreds of retailers that signed up. All online merchants who participate must offer some form of free shipping on Friday with delivery by Christmas Eve to participate.
"One reason why I like shopping online in addition to the free shipping is most of the time you are not paying taxes either so you are getting it cheaper than if it were in the store, so it's a better deal," Super Saver Erin Libranda said.
Libranda buys almost all her gifts online and she doesn't buy unless she gets her boxes shipped for free. But Libranda does caution while some websites are offering free shipping sitewide, others might have restrictions so read the fine print.
"The free shipping is going to be on minimum order purchases, maybe $50 or more," Libranda said. "It's not going to be like if you are buying a $5 item you probably won't get the free shipping; but bulk items like larger furniture, stuff that you are shipping, you are probably going to still have those additional charges on top."
Libranda also warns some retailers may require you to input a free shipping code.
"Don't just assume you are going to do your cart, check out and it's automatically there because a lot of times you have to put that code in for the free shipping," she said.
Libranda says others ways to save on shipping is to check to see if you can ship free to the store, especially on bulky items that require a surcharge. You can also send an e-gift certificate directly to someone's email inbox.
Free Shipping Day starts at midnight.
