Ordering Custom Clothing for Delivery Across Europe
By The Velocity Wear Team
Velocity Wear delivers custom apparel across Europe on a tracked service. Production timelines are unchanged, but transit is longer than UK delivery and involves customs processing, so build extra contingency into any order tied to a fixed date.
Timeline Planning
Production runs around 10–15 working days from artwork approval for screen printing and embroidery, or nearer 15–20 for sublimation and complex jobs, regardless of destination. European transit then adds more than the 2–5 working days typical for UK addresses, and the variability matters as much as the duration — customs processing times are not something anyone can compress on request. For an event or a season start, order with genuine margin rather than a tight calculation.
Customs and Charges
Goods moving between the UK and the EU are subject to customs processes, and import VAT and duties may apply depending on the destination, the value and the nature of the goods. Rules have changed in recent years and continue to develop, and they differ between member states in their practical application. Check current guidance on GOV.UK and the destination country's own customs authority, and take proper advice if you are importing commercially or regularly rather than relying on general summaries.
Practical Preparation
The things worth settling before ordering.
- Confirm the complete delivery address in the destination's own format, including postal code conventions that differ from UK ones.
- Establish who is responsible for any import charges, and confirm that party knows to expect them.
- Allow a wider delivery window than domestic orders, and avoid promising a specific arrival date to a third party.
- Keep documentation of what was ordered and its value, since that is what customs processes work from.
Consolidation Matters More Internationally
Each separate shipment carries its own transit time, its own customs process and its own uncertainty. For a team, club or stockist based in Europe, several small top-up orders multiply all three. Bulk discounts reach up to around 40% as quantities rise, so consolidating into fewer, larger orders is generally both cheaper per piece and substantially simpler to manage. Where you can forecast a season or a year's requirement, ordering it in one run is usually the better structure.
“"Domestically, a second small order is an inconvenience. Internationally, it is a second set of everything that can go wrong."”
Sizing Across Markets
Sizing conventions vary across European markets, and a size spread that works for UK customers may not translate directly. Publishing actual garment measurements rather than relying on size letters removes most of that ambiguity for customers, and ordering at the 20-piece minimum with mixed sizes first is a low-cost way to establish the right spread before committing to volume.
Reducing Risk
Because corrections are far more costly once an international shipment has departed, the proofing stage deserves extra attention. Preview placement and scale in the free Design Studio and check the proof carefully against your specification before approving — production starts at approval, and a mistake caught there costs nothing. Model quantities in the free instant price calculator when planning consolidation.