Last minute Christmas shipping craze sweeps the Borderland

EL PASO, Texas -- Haven't shipped your Christmas packages yet? You'd be surprised to learn there is still time, but not much. The deadline to ship through ground services has now passed, so consumers will have to pay up to make their deadlines.

All major couriers are still accepting air shipments but none of them are giving money back guarantees. Pete Carrasco, who owns The Postal Annex on Mesa Street in El Paso, says your packages will most likely make it in time for Christmas. However, this is no more time to waste.

“There’s no money back guarantee from any of the three courses, UPS, Fedex or the U.S. mail. They’re trying their hardest, all of the packages are still being delivered on their scheduled dates - just not their committed times,” Carrasco said.

The Postal Annex is not only seeing a surge in outgoing packages, but also incoming packages from folks not making their way to the borderland this year due to Covid-19.

“300 or 400 boxes a day, packages a day. It’s a lot of volume and we scan every single one of those in. It's a lot of man power and that has really affected its a big change from what we’ve ever dealt with,” says Letty Carrasco, who co-owns the Postal Annex.

While El Pasoans still have time to ship their Christmas presents, procrastinating will cost them. Cheaper services like ground shipping are no longer an option, meaning consumers will have to pay up to get ship that Christmas cheer.

“A lot of people will be saying 'well that costs more than what’s in the box,' procrastination station is El Paso, Texas," Carrasco said.

A major factor is the fact that UPS and Fedex are now shipping even more precious cargo this year, namely, the Covid-19 vaccine. Both couriers have started to have contingency plans to ensure vials of the Covid-19 vaccine are shipped on time.

Here is a look at a breakdown of the shipping deadlines for the three major couriers:

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE DEADLINES
PRIORITY MAIL: DEC. 19
PRIORITY MAIL EXPRESS: DEC. 23

UPS DEADLINES
3-DAY SELECT: DEC. 21
2ND DAY AIR: DEC. 22
NEXT DAY AIR: DEC. 23

FEDEX SHIPPING DEADLINES
FEDEX 3DAY FREIGHT: DEC. 21
FEDEX 2DAY: DEC. 22
FEDEX 1DAY FREIGHT: DEC. 23