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Weather Impact On Long Shipments

During certain times of the year, and especially in certain parts of the country, you may want to pay attention to the current weather when having a PC shipped. This is particularly so if you are having it sent from far away using ground shipping.

In the summertime, it can get very hot inside trucks, warehouses and other areas where packages sit while being shipped. In the winter, of course, it's the opposite: equipment is exposed to potentially sub-freezing temperatures. Even if you live in an area with cool summers or warm winters, you may find yourself ordering from companies whose warehouses are in different regions climactically.

Now most equipment can handle fairly wide extremes of temperatures without being damaged; I'm not suggesting that you will receive your package and find the item inside destroyed. But at the same time, I prefer not to expose particularly delicate equipment to unnecessary temperature swings. Perhaps I am overly cautious, but if you are too, consider going with air shipment instead of ground shipment for long deliveries during extreme temperature conditions.

Tip: If you can arrange for a shipment to be sent on a Monday or Tuesday, this increases your chances of the item showing up the same week and avoiding a weekend spent in a warehouse or on a truck somewhere. Also try to avoid holiday periods.

In the case of cold weather, there is another consideration. You must acclimate the equipment before using it, especially if it has been below freezing for any reasonable length of time. If you do not, it can be damaged due to condensation--see here for more details. This acclimation can delay your use of the machine by as much as 24 hours, so plan accordingly.

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