Label Planet
Here are our last posting dates and our annual reminder that it's never too early to order Christmas labels.
Yes, yes, we know – it’s far too early to talk about Christmas, but with only 48 days (yes, we counted!) and only 35 WORKING days (yes, we counted again) left until Christmas – it’s never too early to get organised, especially if you need Christmas labels that will actually arrive BEFORE Christmas.
The majority of the labels that we sell at this time of year, as you can probably guess, end up being used as Christmas product labels, address labels for Christmas cards, invites, and mailers, or as part of Christmas events – so all of these labels need to be ordered, despatched, delivered, designed, printed, applied, and despatched on to their final destination BEFORE Christmas arrives – and doesn’t that just make those 48 days (or 35 working days) seem a lot less longer than they did before?!
A lot of our customers end up buying their labels as the very last step in their Christmas projects; they may have spent weeks and months (and years!) putting together Christmas product ranges, working on marketing and promotional campaigns for the Christmas season, or creating special invitations and cards BUT the labels they need to complete these projects all too often end up being a last minute thought – when, actually, they need a lot more than a “last minute” to get them just right.
Simply designing a template and getting it to print correctly can take much longer than you’d think and you’d be surprised at how many of our customers are caught out by forgetting to account for the time that it will take them to actually stick their labels onto their products/packaging/marketing materials/invitations etc. And all of this is before you consider the implications of trying to get things delivered at this time of year!
So, with all of this in mind, we’d like to encourage ALL of our customers to plan ahead and to order their Christmas labels as soon as they can – so you don’t end up in a last minute panic! Here is our despatch & delivery information for November & December;
25-200 sheets
Despatched from stock via Royal Mail’s first class service (or Signed For first class service where the value is £35+).
Order by 4:30pm, Monday to Friday, to qualify for same day despatch – LAST POSTING DATE: Wednesday 21st December.
Please note: we will still process and despatch small orders of stocked items up to 4:30pm on Friday 23rd December but these items are not guaranteed to arrive before Christmas.
250-475 sheets
Despatched from stock via next working day carrier service.
Order by 3:30pm, Monday to Friday, to qualify for same day despatch – LAST POSTING DATE: Friday 23rd December.
500+ sheets (stocked items)
Despatched from stock via next working day carrier service.
Order by 3pm, Monday to Friday, to qualify for same day despatch – LAST POSTING DATE: Friday 23rd December.
If the item(s) you order are temporarily out of stock, they will be made and despatched within a couple of working days.
500+ sheets (made to order items)
Despatch is up to five working days via next working day carrier service (standard paper items are usually despatched sooner).
As we get closer to Christmas, demand for made to order items soars, which means that items will eventually be placed on a waiting list for manufacture and the lead time is likely to increase – in our experience, it will usually become 5 working days (and not “up to”) before extending to 7-10 working days as December approaches. Depending on the level of demand, production of made to order items will usually stop in early/mid-December with despatch and delivery estimates shifting into 2017.
This means that it is especially important to order your labels early if you know that you need to order a large quantity of (made to order) labels.
Special Delivery Options
As Christmas gets ever closer, the reliability of delivery services (and especially the Royal Mail) does decline as more and more items are sent out in time for Christmas, which means that it’s a good idea to consider upgrading your order to a special delivery option – especially if you’ve got some pretty tight deadlines to meet. We offer the following special delivery options:
Royal Mail’s Guaranteed Next Working Day Delivery (by 1pm)
25-200 sheets only; available by phone or online; requires a signature on delivery – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Royal Mail’s Guaranteed Next Working Day Delivery (by 9am)
25-200 sheets only; available by phone; requires a signature on delivery
Royal Mail’s Guaranteed Next Working Day Delivery (Saturday)
25-200 sheets only; available by phone; requires a signature on delivery – in our experience, NOT 100% reliable
Timed Next Working Day Delivery via Carrier (pre-10:30am/pre-noon/Saturday)
250+ sheets only; available by phone; requires a signature on delivery
Delivery to Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland (+ Islands With UK Postcodes & “Extended Postcodes”)
These areas tend to have slightly longer delivery times all year round, which means it’s even more important to order early if you need your labels delivering to one of these locations before Christmas.
Small orders (25-200 sheets):
Northern Ireland, Islands With UK Postcodes, Extended Postcodes:
Despatch same day via Royal Mail’s first class service (Mon-Fri, up to 4:30pm), LAST POSTING DATE: Wednesday 23rd December
Republic Of Ireland
Despatch same day via Royal Mail’s international standard service (Mon-Fri, up to 4:30pm), LAST POSTING DATE: Friday 16th December
Medium/large orders (250+ sheets & made to order items):
Despatch same day from stock (or when made to order items have been made) via 2-3 working day carrier service (Mon-Fri, up to 3pm), LAST POSTING DATE: Wednesday 21st December
Remember, if you have any questions about our despatch and delivery, would like to check the stock availability or despatch estimate of a particular item, or need some advice about how to order the labels you want in time for a specific deadline, please get in touch with our Customer Service Team.