Our Top Tips for Christmas Shopping with OOHPod in 2022

Having successfully run Parcel Motel for 10 years, Orla Sheils, the now COO of OOHPod, knows a thing or two about online shopping. 

In fact, she’s a self-confessed Shopaholic and professes to conduct 90% of ALL her shopping online.  So who better to ask for advice on Christmas shopping. Orla's tips will help you to save money, source hard-to-get items and take some of the headaches out of the silly season. 

In no particular order, here are her top 10 tips for shopping this Christmas

1. Save by shopping outside the dot IE 
   If you’re looking for a particular item, make sure to check prices sites in other countries. If you’re an OOHPod subscriber, remember that you can save on average 30% on UK sites compared to Irish sites, when you use an OOHPod Northern Ireland location as your virtual address. For example, items on the Marks & Spencer uk site for £100 are €140 on the Irish site. Using one of the OOHPod border locations in Northern Ireland as your address, you can also get access to brands like Debenhams, John Lewis and JD Williams, not to mention save €€€ on Customs fees.  If the item you want is not available in Ireland, throw the search net wider and see if you can source it elsewhere.
   
   
2. Keep surprises away from the house
   Nothing spoils Christmas like a delivery driver arriving at your home with a box that gives away what’s inside and ruins a Christmas surprise.  Keep your gifts away from your home by having your parcels delivered to an OOHPod locker! Allowing you to collect at your own convenience and make a plan to hide parcels away from prying little eyes!
   
   
3. Keep an eye on currency exchange rates 
   If you’re buying from the UK, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the current exchange rate. Events across the water recently have led to significant currency fluctuations that brought Sterling to an all-time low, meaning you get more bang for your Euro on UK sites and vice versa if Sterling is strong.
   
   
4. Never forget to include your OOH ID in your address
   Just like your PMID with Parcel Motel, your OOH ID is how we identify your parcel. If a parcel is sent without an OOH ID, it may be delayed or placed on hold. Our operations staff or the courier may not be able to identify it.
   
   
5. Consider pre-loved items as gifts
   In today’s world, where sustainability is so important, it makes sense to try to source pre-loved items. Some of these so called “second-hand” items are unused, some with tags on, and can be bagged at a fraction of the RRP.  Sites like EBay and Vinted can offer some rare gems and may just be the answer to the dilemma of what to get that person who already has everything! Get access to Ebay UK and Vinted by using one of OOHPod’s border locations as your UK virtual address.
   
   
6. Pay for your Christmas shopping with funds generated on Vinted
   This year, thanks to my OOHPod UK virtual address, I’ll be paying for my gifts with the funds I made from selling unwanted clothes on Vinted. With 8 million UK users, Vinted, which hasn’t launched in Ireland yet, is taking the UK by storm.
   
   
7. Use OOHPods fitting room to try on clothes
   Did you know, there is rather nice fitting room at OOHPod in Jonesborough?  There, you can try on clothes and make a decision to keep or return while you’re on the spot. No need to come back again with returns.
   
   
8. Check the returns policy before you buy
   Most retailers, especially in the UK, offer easy and mostly free return options.  However, it is still important to check these options before you buy. Some have time limits (usually 30 days) and some items are not suitable for return or exchange (like earrings or lingerie).  The OOHPod Store in Jonesborough is a Collect+ and UPS Access Point location and we can take returns for any retailers with these options.
   
   
9. Sending gifts to the UK
   It can be very expensive to send parcels from Ireland to the UK with postage prices starting at €21.00. As an OOHPod subscriber, you will have access to all the services we offer from our shop in Jonesborough and you can send parcels to the UK from as little as £2.79.
   
   
10. Allow extra transit time
    This may sound obvious, but during November and December, parcel volumes can quadruple and this can cause delays with most carriers, something which is out of the retailers’ control.  Make sure you add extra days to the transit times stated on the retailers’ website to allow enough time for your parcel to arrive and use the tracking number provided by the retailer to keep an eye on its progress.
    

So, with all those great tips in mind, what are you waiting for? Sign up to one of our great value plans today.