Free Shipping: The Gift You Give Yourself

By Candice Choi, AP Personal Finance Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — There was a time when free shipping was a rare deal. This holiday season, you might feel it's your right as a paying customer.

With so many discounts up for grabs online, a hefty shipping charge at checkout can be an unwelcome surprise. You might even be annoyed enough to cancel the order and look for a better deal elsewhere. Your chances of succeeding wouldn't be half bad.

If you can't bear the thought of paying for delivery, here's how to get around it.

GET THE DEAL

FreeShipping.org lists about 1,900 stores (and counting) that offer delivery deals. Minimum purchase requirements, coupon codes and expiration dates are noted when applicable.

If you're scrolling through the site and spot an offer that ends soon, don't feel rushed into buying. Free shipping is becoming an increasingly popular way to drive sales. So even after one promotion ends, another could be around the corner, said Luke Knowles, founder of FreeShipping.org.

Dec. 17 is also the site's second annual Free Shipping Day. Participating retailers guarantee that purchases made on the day will be delivered by Dec. 24. The idea is to keep people shopping online in mid-December, when some worry it's too late to place orders for Christmas.

A recent check of FreeShippingDay.com showed 449 retailers signed up so far, including Anne Klein, Kmart, Macy's and Sephora.

Another site, Istobe.com, lists around 500 retailers, whether they offer free shipping, and how much you need to spend to qualify. You can find the list here.

The most direct way to learn about free shipping deals is to sign up for e-mail alerts on the retailer's Web site. This is a good route if you're a fan of a certain store, and want to stay on top of other promotions it runs.