Ordering Custom Clothing for Delivery to the USA
By The Velocity Wear Team
Velocity Wear delivers custom apparel to the USA on a tracked service. Plan for longer transit than UK delivery, factor in that import duties and taxes are determined by the destination country's rules, and check current official guidance for your situation rather than assuming.
Planning the Timeline
Production is the same regardless of destination: around 10–15 working days from artwork approval for screen printing and embroidery, or nearer 15–20 for sublimation and complex jobs. What changes is transit. International delivery takes longer than the 2–5 working days typical for UK addresses, and it is less predictable because it involves customs processing that is outside anyone's direct control. For a fixed date, that means ordering earlier than you would domestically and building in more contingency.
Duties and Taxes
This is the part that most often surprises first-time international buyers. Import charges are set by the destination country, not the sender, and they are typically the responsibility of the importer — which is usually the recipient. Rules, thresholds and rates change, and they depend on what is being imported, its value and its origin. Rather than relying on general summaries, check current official guidance for the destination and, if you are importing commercially or at scale, take proper advice.
What to Sort Out Before Ordering
A short list prevents most complications.
- Confirm the full delivery address in the destination's own format, including any state, ZIP and unit details.
- Establish who is responsible for import charges and make sure that party is expecting them.
- Allow a longer, less certain transit window in your planning than you would for a domestic order.
- Order earlier than feels necessary if the delivery is tied to an event, since customs timing cannot be compressed.
Consolidate Where Possible
For international orders there is a strong argument for ordering less often and in larger quantities. Each shipment carries its own transit time and its own customs processing, so several small orders multiply both the cost and the uncertainty. Bulk discounts reach up to around 40% as quantities rise, which means consolidating is usually cheaper per piece as well as simpler. If you supply a US-based team, club or stockist, planning a single larger order rather than frequent top-ups is generally the better structure.
“"Every extra international shipment is another transit time, another customs process and another chance to be late."”
Sizing for a Different Market
One practical detail worth flagging: sizing conventions differ between markets, and a size spread that suits UK customers may not suit US ones. If you are ordering for a US audience, publish actual garment measurements rather than relying on size letters, and consider weighting the spread differently. Ordering at the 20-piece minimum with mixed sizes first is a low-cost way to establish what the spread should be.
Getting It Right
Preview placement and scale in the free Design Studio before approving, since a correction after an international shipment has left is considerably more costly than a domestic one. Model quantities in the free instant price calculator, and remember that the production clock starts at artwork approval — so proofing delays extend an already longer timeline.