Costly Mistakes To Avoid When Shipping Gifts

It's time to start shipping out packages, but there are some big mistakes you can make that can cost you big bucks. 

The Christmas countdown is on and so is time to get those gifts and cards delivered to far away family and friends.

Here are some of the biggest rip-offs you'll want to watch out for, according to USA Today. 

• You'll want to avoid double-shipping. People take advantage of free shipping from online retailers then ship the order to themselves to wrap and then send it out again. Amazon can gift-wrap your box for a fee and then ship it out themselves.
• If you do ship out an item yourself, make sure you fill out those shipping dimensions and don't leave them blank. If you leave them blank that could cost you money and slow down your delivery.
• Also, make sure you put a shipping label inside the box since many labels get ripped or torn-off during the mailing process. You'll want to double-check that you put a zip code or apartment number on the letter or package. If you don't, you could face an address correction cost from the USPS, which could be around $12.
• Finally, those padded envelopes could save you money if you're sending gift cards or smaller gifts. They are around 40-percent cheaper to send compared to a shipping box.