Green Monday will have holiday shoppers racing against shipping deadlines

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Holiday shoppers could see challenging 2021 season

Retail experts say the best thing for holiday shoppers is to start buying early before items are out-of-stock.

There’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday and then comes Green Monday.

According to Investopedia, Green Monday is "one of the retail industry's busiest shopping days, occurring on the second Monday in December."

eBay claimed to have coined the term in 2007. "‘Green Monday’ continues to be a big online shopping day and has consistently ranked as one of eBay’s top five sales days of the year," the e-commerce company said on its website. "In fact, in 2017 it ranked as eBay’s third-highest sales day during the holidays."

RELATED: Holiday shipping deadlines approach for FedEx, UPS, USPS customers

However, holiday shopping on Green Monday this year may not guarantee your gift still comes on time given widespread supply chain issues and the fact that some shipping deadlines have already passed.

FedEx shipping deadlines extend from Dec. 9 to Dec. 15, depending on which shipping options customers choose. 

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"The busiest time of the season for the Postal Service begins two weeks before Christmas," USPS said in a statement. "It’s expected that customer traffic at all Post Office locations will steadily increase beginning the week of Dec. 6, with the week of Dec. 13-18 anticipated to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week of the season."

However, FedEx is warning that customers could see delays in their holiday shipments after severe weather ripped through at least five states, leaving widespread devastation Friday.

RELATED: FedEx warns of holiday shipping delays after storms cause 'substantial disruptions'

"FedEx Express experienced substantial disruptions at the Memphis hub last [Friday} night due to severe thunderstorms," the company said on its website. "Potential delays are possible for package deliveries across the U.S. with a delivery commitment of December 11, 2021."

UPS is urging customers to ship their packages now, with Dec. 23 being the last day for on-time deliveries with "UPS Next Day Air."

The U.S. Postal Service shipping deadlines range between Dec. 15 and Dec. 23 depending on the shipping option. 

Below is a complete list of shipping deadlines:

FedEx Express

  • FedEx 1 Day Freight — Tues., Dec. 21
  • FedEx 2 Day Freight — Weds., Dec. 22
  • FedEx 3 Day Freight — Tues., Dec. 21
  • Express Saver — Tues., Dec. 21
  • 2Day & 2Day AM — Weds., Dec. 22
  • Overnight Services — Thurs., Dec. 23
  • FedEx Same Day — Fri., Dec. 24

FedEx Ground

  • FedEx Ground Economy — Thurs., Dec. 9
  • FedEx Ground and Home Delivery — Weds., Dec. 15

FedEx Freight

  • FedEx Freight Economy — Thurs., Dec. 9
  • FedEx Freight Priority — Weds., Dec. 15
  • FedEx Freight Direct — Weds., Dec. 15

UPS

  • UPS Ground shipping and Standard Services — Check the website for a quote
  • UPS 3-Day Select and Worldwide Expedited — Tues., Dec. 21
  • UPS second-day air services and UPS Worldwide Express Services (U.S. to Mexico) — Weds., Dec. 22
  • UPS next-day air services and UPS Worldwide Express Services (U.S. to Canada) — Thurs., Dec. 23
  • No pickup service, UPS holiday — Fri., Dec. 25

UPS' service guarantee remains suspended for most services due to COVID-19

RELATED: USPS announces deadlines for holiday shipping, letters to Santa

USPS (Excluding Alaska & Hawaii)

  • USPS Retail Ground Service — Weds., Dec. 15
  • First-class Mail Service — Fri., Dec. 17 (including greeting cards)
  • First-class packages (up to 15.99 ounces) — Fri., Dec. 17
  • Priority Mail Service — Sat., Dec. 18
  • Priority Mail Express — Thurs., Dec. 23

USPS (Alaska)

  • First-Class Mail and Priority Mail — Sat, Dec. 18
  • Priority Mail Express — Tues, Dec. 21

USPS (Hawaii)

  • Priority Mail and First-Class Mail — Dec. 17
  • Priority Mail Express — Dec. 21

RELATED: Is it already too late to start shopping for the holiday season?

APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office) addresses

  • USPS Retail Ground service — Nov. 6
  • Priority Mail and First-Class Mail — Dec. 9
  • Priority Mail Express — Thurs., Dec. 16

FOX Business contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.