Holiday Shipping Guide 2023

Happy Holidays! 

In all the hustle and bustle of the season, it’s sometimes hard to understand that while Santa and Amazon Prime can guarantee delivery in one day, small businesses like ours are at the mercy of the very overworked U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and DHL systems.

What does that mean for you? Packages will take a bit longer to arrive and items may not be able to be restocked by December 23, so you need to shop EARLY.

Shipping times and costs also have increased for the 2023 holiday season, which is incredibly frustrating for you as well as us! The good news for you is that we have decided not to increase our shipping prices. We've also added a few extra shipping options with UPS for those of you who prefer not to use the Postal Service.

Here at Pretty Peptalks, we’re grateful for your support of our small business and your orders this holiday season. We’ll be working overtime to get your orders out quickly. In return, we’re asking for your patience with U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and DHL delivery times.

To help you decide when to finish your holiday shopping, which shipping options are best for you, and what to do if your order is late to arrive, we put together this handy guide with you in mind. 

If you still have a question after reading this guide, feel free to reach out to us at hello@prettypeptalks.com.

Holiday ordering deadlines

The following are our best estimates for receiving your orders in time for holiday gifting, but we can’t guarantee shipping times or delivery times. Pretty Peptalks can only promise to pack up your orders quickly and drop them with the U.S. Postal Service or UPS carriers.

Last day for ALL Custom Stationery orders: November 17

USPS Ground Advantage Shipping: December 16

USPS First Class Shipping: December 16

USPS Priority Mail: December 18

UPS Ground: December 15

Last day for ALL orders (sans gift cards): December 19

Please note: Pretty Peptalks HQ will be closed December 21-27. No orders will be shipped during this time.

Shipping options

USPS First Class Shipping: $8, orders over $50 receive complimentary 1st Class shipping

USPS Priority Mail: $12

UPS Ground: $14

UPS 2nd Day Air: $26

Order tracking, shipping times, and 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 (U.S. Postal Service or UPS).

To get additional updates on the status of your package, you can click on the tracking number link provided. The tracking number link is the same link we have, which means we are seeing the same exact information you see. 

Occasionally, the U.S. Postal Service 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 U.S. Postal Service 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 PRETTY PEPTALKS HQ?

Shipping times are expected to be longer this year, especially as more families will be ordering gifts online and there are staffing shortages at the U.S. Postal Service and UPS.

The shipping times below were taken from the U.S. Post Office’s and UPS’ websites and are for delivery within the United States.

UPS Ground: 1-5 days

USPS First Class Shipping: 2-7 business days 

USPS Priority Mail: 1-3 business days

UPS 2nd Day Air: 2-day

WHAT IF MY TRACKING INFORMATION SHOWS THE PACKAGE IS DELAYED?

We've recently seen both USPS and UPS orders that show the tracking status as, "In Transit, Arriving Late." In these cases, the packages are being delayed with no additional information on the arrival date. We share your frustration with the shipping delays. 

We appreciate your patience with the delivery vendors 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 using the links below:

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, send us an email at hello@prettypeptalks.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’s delivered.

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

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. 

If your package tracking shows that it was delivered but you haven’t received it, please reach out to your local post office or UPS—whomever you chose to ship the package with—using the links below:

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, email hello@prettypeptalks.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’s delivered.

Thank you for choosing our small business for your holiday gifts and for sharing Pretty Peptalks with your loved ones! We’re incredibly grateful to you for your support. 

Wishing you and yours a holiday season filled with love, laughter, and the happiest of memories!