Life

Amazon Just Expanded Their Same-Day Delivery Options Big Time For The Holidays

by Jacqueline Burt Cote

Christmas is almost here, so that means you're all done with your shopping, right? Okay, stop laughing. Look, we know how it goes. Life is busy. The holidays are even busier. Chances are you barely have time to squeeze a shower into your day, let alone a gift-hunting expedition. But never fear! Last minute shoppers everywhere just got lucky: Amazon has expanded Prime Free Same-Day Delivery and Prime Free One-Day Shipping to members in over 8,000 cities and towns! Does this mean your holiday is saved?

If you're a Prime member, the answer is definitely yes. In fact, the answer is yes even if you're not a Prime member; the only difference is that it won't be saved free of charge. (Prime members receive same-day and one-day orders delivered to their doorstep for free, seven days a week; non-Prime members in eligible zip codes can get same-day delivery for $8.99 per order plus $0.99 per item.) Same day!! No more mad dashes through the mall for you, thank goodness.

And here's something else that's pretty cool: Even if you're not currently an Amazon Prime member, if you sign up for a free 30 day trial now you'll still get two-day, one-day and same-day shipping for free until well after the New Year. But if, for some reason, you still don't want to try the Prime thing in any capacity, there's still time to fulfill all your gifting obligations via Amazon. Just keep the following shipping dates in mind:

Dec. 15: Last day for free shipping for non-Prime customers

Dec. 18: Last day for standard shipping (free for Prime members)

Dec. 22: Last day for two-day shipping (free for Prime members)

Dec. 23: Last day for one-day shipping (free for Prime members)

Dec. 24: Last day for same-day delivery ordered by 9:30 a.m. local time (free for Prime members)

Dec. 24: Prime Now offers Prime members free two-hour delivery windows (order by 9:00 p.m. local time or earlier)

It's important to note, of course, that not all of Amazon's items are available for free shipping — but considering that over one hundred million of them make the cut, you can most likely find something that works. And figuring out which items are eligible for Prime Free Same-Day or Prime-Free One-Day shipping is easy: Just look for the logos next to product listings (or filter using the check box located in the filter menu). Then choose free same-day or one-day shipping at checkout and eligible orders over $35 will be sent to you for free.

The real hero this holiday season, though, could be Prime Now: The service will deliver any number of items (from missing ingredients for a recipe to a gift for an unexpected guest) right to your home in an hour or less...as late as 11:59 on Christmas Eve. Seriously, we wouldn't be surprised if Santa himself was driving that Amazon truck. Which reminds us: How great is it that you won't have to navigate those incredibly crowded and decidedly un-merry parking lots? (Peace on Earth, indeed.)

We literally can't think of a Christmas crisis that couldn't be solved by Amazon's expanded shipping. Let's say you find out the day before Christmas that your mom bought your little one the exact same Lego set as your sister. Amazon to the rescue! (You can always return the duplicate gift later.) Or let's say your brother announces the morning of the big Christmas Eve dinner that he's bringing his on-again, off-again girlfriend along (ugh). Thanks for the scented candle, Prime! Or lets' say, horror of horrors, that you run out of vanilla mid-way through cookie baking and you can't leave the house because there's a roast in the oven. Prime Now has you covered.

We're just gonna go ahead and call this one another Festivus miracle.

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