Shipping Hacks to Receive Packages Before the Estimated Delivery Date

Wit here. One of the questions we get from customers is, “How can I get my order delivered faster after it was already shipped?”

I’ve been doing this for a long time and have learned a lot of cool tricks when it comes to shipping and receiving packages that I never knew about before starting Festival Drip.

Getting your packages earlier than expected isn't always guaranteed, but there are several smart strategies that can significantly increase your chances of faster delivery that I want to share with you today that will forever change not only how you perceive shipping and deliveries, but help you consistently get your packages before the estimated delivery date.

 

📍 Use Package Intercept or Rerouting

• USPS: Package Intercept

·         You can also request that USPS hold your package so that you can intercept it.

·         Be aware that some local couriers may charge extra for holding a package.

• FedEx & UPS: Reroute or reschedule deliveries to pickup lockers or access points, which can be faster than home delivery.

 

You might already know about Package Intercept. What most people don’t know is a little shipping hack for getting your packages up to 24 hours earlier than the estimated delivery date listed on your tracking.

Just a heads up that this little-known trick is something that mail carriers HATE doing, but can and will do as long as you're respectful. For this reason, the method I'm about to show you should never be abused or overused. We have personally verified and successfully used this trick to receive important packages 1 day before they were scheduled for delivery with USPS, FedEx, and UPS. 

 

🏠 Pick Up at the Carrier Facility

• Some USPS, UPS, or FedEx hubs allow package pickup as soon as it arrives, rather than waiting for the driver to deliver.
• Call the hub once the package is “Out for Delivery” and ask to intercept it.

 

When tracking your package, you can usually intercept it at any post office or ship center as soon as it is scanned in. Yes, you can even pickup your package from any distribution center near you, even the ones that aren’t normally open to the public.

Here’s how it’s done.

1.      Sign up to receive ALL tracking notifications via SMS for the important package you want to receive early.

2.      As soon as you receive a text message saying something along the lines of “Arrived at sorting facility”, get ready to pickup your package.

 Sometimes they call the sorting facility a distribution center or shipping hub, or in rural areas it’ll be a post office. None of that matters. What’s important is that the package is now close enough to you where you can physically go and pick it up instead of waiting another day or two for it to be delivered to your door.

3.      Get the facility address. The tracking update will have a zip code or the name of the city where the sorting facility is located, but not the actual address. Simply Google the matching zip code and the name of your carrier (USPS, FedEx, UPS…) and you should easily find the address for the correct facility. I’ve personally never seen two sorting facilities located in the same zip code, so there is only one possible address where your package could be located.

4.      Go to the facility where your package is located and request that they bring it to you. Have the tracking handy and don’t forget to bring your ID or something official with your name and address on it.

For example, if you ordered USPS Priority Express and your package is tracked to your local post office, but your postman usually doesn’t deliver the mail until 2 p.m., you can go to the post office as soon as they open (9 a.m. in most cities) and ask that they find your package before it is loaded on your postman’s truck for delivery.

Keep in mind that you are asking the postal worker at the counter for a favor and that they are not obligated to sort through piles of mail to find your package, but this lifehack works 9 times out of 10. There is only a small window between when the package arrives at your local USPS facility, is sorted, then loaded onto the mail truck for delivery, but you may be able to save yourself half a day of waiting for your package to be delivered.

5.      Most importantly, for this to work, you must to arrive at the facility before your package gets loaded onto a truck for delivery. At which point, you blew it and will have to wait until your package is delivered like usual. Unless…

If you receive a tracking notification “On truck for delivery”, then there is only one last option for receiving your package earlier instead of waiting around all day for it to come to you – which I will explain later in this post.

 

💡 Bonus: Shipping Hack for Consistent Faster Deliveries

Want to know another shipping hack that will help get you your packages earlier than expected? This is another trick that practically no one today actually uses, but we have verified that this will actually work with any mail carrier.

The best, most effective way to make sure your packages are top priority and delivered ahead of other mail on your carrier's daily route is also completely free. How does it work, you ask? It's called - "Being nice to your delivery driver".

And that final option for getting your package after it’s already been loaded onto the delivery truck I mentioned earlier? Simple.

 

Call the delivery driver and ask them to bring it to you.

 

That might not have been the answer you were expecting, but it's the truth.

 Shipping and logistics are all about building relationships. No matter where you live, it's the same person who drops off your packages every single day. USPS and UPS have specific drivers assigned to each route, so getting to know them should be easy. FedEx is a bit more random, and unless you're receiving/shipping out FedEx packages multiple times throughout the week, making FedEx friends is challenging. Fortunately, I've had nothing but success in using the previously mentioned shipping hack - intercepting a package at a FedEx Distribution Hub.

I'm not telling you to go out and bang your delivery guy or anything like that, although I imagine that would also put your packages to the front of the line. Here are a few ways you can build a bond with your mail carrier, even if you only see them for 30 seconds every weekday.

📬 Courier Confidantes - How to Befriend Your Delivery Person

• Start by knowing what time of day your packages typically get delivered. The only way for this to work is through face-to-face interactions with your regular delivery person.
• I personally bake Christmas cookies for our regular USPS and UPS delivery drivers every year.  
• Bring them a cold bottle of water when they come by. You have no idea how much they appreciate this, especially in the summer.
• Find common ground. Talk about sports, music, the weather. Then casually slide in a few choice comments about your “extremely important” packages and how messed up the delivery scheduling is.
• Do I really have to explain how to make friends? Just go talk to them already!

 

Yes, this really works. When I moved across town, I went from getting my mail around 11 a.m. -12 p.m. everyday to 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. I suddenly found myself on a different USPS driver's delivery route - and my neighborhood was the last stop on that route, literally. Because of the increased amount of mail USPS delivers on every Monday, sometimes my USPS driver didn't even have time to make it to my neighborhood before the end of the day. She would just deliver my mail on Tuesday instead.

I had to wait by my mailbox for a while during the time frame I knew she'd be coming, pretending to walk my dog just to not look sus. When my mail carrier finally arrived, I casually struck up a conversation, found common ground, and then she fell in love with my dog. I talked with Agnes (I call her Aggy) for such a long time that she got a call from her boss (or someone) asking where she was. 

Aggy is going to be 50 next year, and I convinced her to come to her first rave with Festival Drip. 

"I've seen videos of that EDC thingy in Las Vegas. I think that's too wild for me."

"It doesn't have to be EDC. You should come to a warehouse rave this weekend. And you should wear your USPS uniform."

"I think that would remind me too much of work. What's the point, anyway?"

"Dancing and drugs is the point. Wait, what if all the people who come to the rave also wear USPS uniforms?"

"Then it's not a rave. That's called 'work'. Only with more dancing and less drugs. Wait, will there be drugs?"

"Everyone will be on drugs, probably."

Agnes pauses for a second to think about it, then asks me, "Should I buy glowsticks?"

It only took one conversation with my USPS driver to convince her to reverse her normal delivery route. Now, instead of getting packages delivered around 8 p.m. (or later), my mail comes at 9 a.m. consistently, every day. 

 Convenient for me. Sucks for everyone else on that route.

 

BUT WAIT!  THERE’S MORE…

 

Bonus Shipping Tips to Ensure Faster Delivery Speeds

🚀  Choose the Fastest Shipping Option Upfront

• Expedited, Priority, or Express shipping always move faster.
• With carriers like USPS, UPS, or FedEx, 2-day or overnight services are often available.
• Faster shipping options also come with better carrier insurance and more security than cheap services, like USPS First Class.

📬 Ship Early in the Day

• If you're the sender, drop off your package before the carrier’s last pickup time (usually before 3–5 p.m.).
• Packages dropped off early are more likely to go out that same day instead of the next.

📅 Order Earlier in the Week

• Avoid ordering on Fridays or weekends, especially with USPS, as weekend transit can delay delivery.
• Monday or Tuesday orders usually ship and move fastest through the week.

✈️  Understand the Seller’s Shipping Policy

• Skimming through a seller’s shipping policy will help you understand what to expect and often provide helpful tips of how you can receive your package sooner than normal.
• You can find Festival Drip’s shipping policy here.