What to Do if Your Amazon Order Got Caught in the Holiday Rush

It wasn't just your dumb luck. Thanks to foul weather and a shortened Christmas shopping season that saw a record number of customers purchasing online, there has been an unusually high number of packages that failed to arrive in time for Christmas.

Retailers and carriers are already offering refunds and apology gifts, but if you're one of the affected customers, you may have a lot of questions that need to be answered. Here's what you need to know:

1. Why did this happen?

The Great 2013 Christmas Delivery Debacle (alternate title: The Year Without a Christmas) is the result of a confluence of events. With Thanksgiving occurring so late in November, the official Christmas shopping season was just 26 days this year, shorter than usual. Obviously this isn't the first year Thanksgiving has fallen on Nov. 28, but the abbreviated shopping season was compounded by a record number of online shoppers, further straining delivery companies being pushed to their breaking points. Read more...