Want to buy Mother's Day gifts online? You'd better hurry and get orders in now
If you're the type who waits to the last minute to buy Mother's Day gifts online knowing that Amazon and others can always deliver by Saturday, it's time for a wake-up call.
In times of a pandemic, things are very different this year. If you don't get in your orders as soon as possible, you're probably out of luck giving Mom a great online present Sunday.
See's Candies says it's already sold out on chocolate orders and won't be able to fulfill and ship them from its website in time for the weekend. Amazon has a big Mother's Day promotion on its site, but the key gift that many like to give – red roses – won't arrive until Tuesday, May 12.
A little late if you're trying to show Mom some love on Mother's Day, which is actually May 10.
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The key to online shopping this year? Be prepared to look elsewhere.
Amazon has said it would prioritize essential goods during the coronavirus crisis, so essentials like the Instant Pot isn't available in time for Mother's Day, but Walmart and Target both touted three-day delivery when ordered on Monday.
Even some Amazon made products, usually plentiful, won't be available for Mom. The Fire TV Stick for streaming is sold out through May 20. The Mama Bear pin, a brooch offered in Amazon's Mother's Day section, won't arrive until May 11 at the earliest.
However, most consumers want one key gift for Mom, and that would be red roses. Florists sell more of them for Mother's Day than at any other time of the year.
The 1-800-Flowers retailer says orders will be accepted through the morning of Mother’s Day, in most parts of the country, for same-day delivery.
But you'll pay dearly for the service.
A bouquet of roses from 1-800 comes in at $83.05, with a $2.99 Sunday surcharge and $15 delivery fee, while rival theBouqs will deliver on Saturday a bouquet for $80.65, with $18 delivery charge and $9.00 Saturday delivery fee.
Those two are a bargain compared to FTD, which advertises a dozen red roses at $53 for Saturday delivery (not Sunday). It then climbs to $99.63 at check-out, once you factor in a $25.99 service fee, another $12.00 Saturday service fee and tax.
As always, if you want to bring Mom flowers, may we suggest trying your local supermarket? In Los Angeles, for instance, two Los Angeles stores, Ralph's (a unit of Kroger, which also owns Safeway) and Von's (owned by Albertson's) both offered a dozen roses for $9.99 and had them available for pre-order, to pick up at the store Sunday morning.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ordering Mother's Day roses online? Two-day delivery hard to come by
