Every night of Hanukkah, Barbara Adler gave one gift to each of her three sons. Until the last night of the eight-day holiday, when she presented an electronic puzzle game to the trio, for all of us. The other gifts, ordered from Amazon.com affiliates, hadn t arrived at their Roslyn, N.Y. home even though she d ordered them some 11 days before.

No one keeps track of real-time complaints like these, but anecdotal evidence suggests that plenty of shoppers are still waiting on holiday gift orders placed weeks ago. SmartMoney heard from similarly frustrated Ann Taylor Loft (ANN) and Toys "R" Us shoppers whose Cyber Monday orders hadn t arrived 10 days later. Although that might be technically within the realm of retailers official shipping windows and spokespeople for the stores deny any widespread problems, it s longer than shoppers are used to, or expect, says Dan Butler, the vice president of retail operations for the National Retail Federation.

To some degree, online retailers are still adjusting to ever-increasing online shopping. Traffic has been increasing steadily over the last decade, and that s compounded now as spending picks up: FedEx alone expects an 11% increase in packages shipped this year, largely from online retailers. When traffic increases, every step of the process gets stressed. As thousands of shoppers browse and order items, the sites aren t always able to keep track of what s in stock, says Dawn Andre, a spokeswoman for RedPrairie, a supply-chain management consultant whose clients include consumer goods manufacturers and large retailers. Stores systems don t always compare inventory against items in shoppers carts until checkout or, worse, after an order has already been sent for processing, she says. At the same time, increased shipping demand has also pressured retailers supply chains, which experts say is leading to more instances of oversold stock, unexpected backorders and longer order processing times.

For consumers, this means the best intentions may still lead to a last-minute trip to the mall. Even if the item s in stock and ships on time and a FedEx spokeswoman says the company has added staff, so once an order is out the door, shipping shouldn t take any longer than usual there s always Mother Nature. Meteorologists are predicting monster snowstorms over the next week. Weather experts say the snow could be bad enough close roads in the Midwest and Northeast.

Here s what you need to know to improve the chances of your presents arriving on time.

Get decisive

Most inventory problems occur when you let an item linger in your cart for hours and then return to purchase it. In the interim, other shoppers may have depleted the site s stock, which won t necessarily be reflected when you check out, Andre says. Shop when you can place the order quickly, without interruptions that lead you to temporarily abandon your cart. And if you change your mind, call customer service ASAP. Canceling is usually easy if the order hasn t been sent to the warehouse for processing, says Andre, which could happen quickly. Macy s (M), for example, gives consumers just an hour after order placement to make adjustments. Call too late and you re subject to the store s standard return policies, which could mean paying for return shipping or an extra trip to the store later.

Take the store s policies with a grain of salt

Yes, smart shoppers will read the details on the shipping time estimated by the retailer and what might happen if shipping s delayed. But those estimates and guarantees might not mean much. Shipping estimates can be thrown off by weather and shipping delays, in which case, any guarantee the store has offered might be void. It s common for stores to exclude delays related to the weather or shipping company snafus, Butler says. Also keep in mind that a pre-holiday offer of free shipping doesn t necessarily guarantee on-time delivery. Furniture retailer CB2, for example, offers free standard shipping (that s three to five days) for orders of $100 or more placed by 12 p.m. Central time on Dec. 22, but notes in the fine print that customers are responsible for rush delivery charges at which point, that free shipping could actually cost a few bucks.

Pay up for shipping

There s another hidden down-side to all those free-shipping deals: They re clogging up the system. Retailers tend to separate order-processing queues by shipping timeframe, Butler says. With so many shoppers focused on getting free standard shipping this year, those willing to pay extra also get a shorter wait to have their orders clear the warehouse. If a delayed processing time could make a difference in getting that order or not, consider trading up for faster shipping.

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