Shipping deadlines approaching for gifts to arrive by the holiday; free shipping day is Monday

CLEVELAND - If you still have holiday gifts to buy, Monday might be one of your last chances to order online and have it delivered in time for the holidays. The deadlines for shipping items are approaching, and that's why an estimated 2,000 retailers are expected to offer free shipping on this one day.

This is the fifth year for Free Shipping Day , a day that's usually celebrated on a Friday. This year, with the longer holiday shopping season most shipping deadlines are Dec. 17 so the event was moved to a Monday.

Last year, there was more than $1 billion in online sales.

To qualify for free shipping, you may have to spend a minimum amount of money.

The Free Shipping Day site also broke down the shipping deadlines for the various retailers. For standard shipping, some retailers list Dec. 16. Other stores give you until Dec. 19 or 20.

The Post Office said Dec. 20 is the deadline for first class mail, and Dec. 21 for Priority Mail to arrive by the holiday.

The last day to ship FedEx Ground is Dec. 17. So, you get an extra few days with the Post Office.

You can see the retailers who are participating now, but all the deals will be revealed at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 17.

Don't just save on the shipping. Save on the purchase price by looking for discount codes. Retailmenot is a good site to see if there are codes that will help you save even more.

Also, earn money for shopping online with Ebates . Stores typically offer earnings of 3 to 10 percent on your purchase. You have to link to the store through Ebates to qualify for your reward. All your purchases are tracked throughout the quarter, and a check is mailed to you.