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Morning News

'Consumer Reports' Managing Editor Offers Last-Minute Holiday Shipping Tips

Aired December 20, 2000 - 9:19 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: If you haven't sent your holiday package out just yet, what's next? Our guest this morning a few answers now.

David Hein, managing editor of "Consumer Reports" magazine. David is live this morning in New York.

Happy holidays to you, sir?

DAVID HEIN, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Thank you. Same to you.

HEMMER: Four shipping days until Christmas. If you haven't done it yet, are you out of luck?

HEIN: Well, you are not completely out of luck. But if you wait much longer than today, you probably will be.

HEMMER: What do you do just to be safe?

HEIN: Ship early, use UPS, FedEx, United Parcel Service, any of the big three can do really a very good job we've found.

HEMMER: Do you find all three shine, David?

HEIN: There were some minor differences between the three when we tried them out a while ago. But basically they all perform quite well. And this time a year they really excel.

HEMMER: You know what surprised me and impressed me. You say that nine of 10 packages get to their right location at the right time. That's pretty impressive; don't you think?

HEIN: I think it is. Considering you were just showing from Chicago the amazing volume of packages that come through on a day like today and a day like yesterday.

HEMMER: OK, you mentioned UPS, FedEx, United States Postal Service. Is there one method or one company that is better than other, depending on what your needs are this time of year? And, if so, what would that be?

HEIN: If you are a real procrastinator, and you wait until the absolute last minute, the United States Postal Service is the one that will deliver express mail packages on Christmas Day. I wouldn't recommend that everybody wait until the last minute, of course. But that is the one fail-safe option, if you've really let things slip.

HEMMER: Let's talk about cost. Certainly you get what you pay for. At the last minute, you are going to probably pay a little more to get it there on time. Is that accurate?

HEIN: Yes, you are. The faster you want the package to arrive the more it is going to cost you. All the big three have pricing plans that are structured according to how fast you want it to get there from next day, next afternoon, two days from now and so on.

HEMMER: And earlier in this interview, you mentioned that today was really the day to get on the stick. If you don't get it done today, what would you say is the absolute drop dead date for getting something on time this year?

HEIN: Actually today, from my book, would be the absolute drop dead day, especially if you are ordering from an Internet service. The company you're ordering from needs time to box up what you have ordered and get it on its way. You have to allow for that as well.

HEMMER: David also with e-commerce and the continued growth we are seeing in this sector, is that putting more of a bind on UPS, FedEx and USPS or not?

HEIN: Last year was, if I recall, a record year for all of the package delivery services because of the tremendous growth in Internet commerce. Things have slackened off just a wee bit this year. The selling season is just a little slower than it was last year. But both the dot-com companies and the shipping companies learned from last year and have tried to make things a bit better for people.

HEMMER: Are you finished with your shopping? with your mailing?

HEIN: Oh heavens, yes.

HEMMER: OK, good deal, David Hein, thanks, "Consumer Reports," live in New York. Have a good holiday, all right?

HEIN: OK.

HEMMER: Many thanks. Thanks for being with us today.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

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