Delivery Times for Wholesale T-Shirts
By The Velocity Wear Team
Delivery starts after production, which runs 10 to 15 working days from artwork approval. We ship to the UK, USA and Europe, and invoice in seven currencies. Transit time depends on the destination and the size of the consignment rather than on the order itself, so the number to plan around is production plus transit, quoted for your specific address before you commit.
When does transit actually begin?
When the run is finished, checked and packed, which is the end of the 10 to 15 working day window rather than a stage inside it. Nothing ships partially completed unless you have asked for a split delivery, because a half-run arriving first creates more problems than it solves. If your deadline is tight, the useful question to ask is not how fast the courier is but how much float sits between the production finish date and the day the shirts are needed. Product details are on our wholesale t-shirts page and quantity tiers on the pricing page.
Where do you deliver, and how is it invoiced?
Orders go to the UK, USA and Europe, and invoicing is available in seven currencies. That combination matters most to buyers whose delivery address and finance department are in different countries, which is common for agencies, hotel groups and brands with a distributed team. It is worth naming the delivery country at the quoting stage rather than at the end, because it affects packing, documentation and the transit estimate you are given.
What slows a shipment down?
Customs documentation errors, an address nobody can sign for, and peak season congestion, roughly in that order. Apparel is straightforward to ship, so most delays are administrative rather than physical. A delivery going to a residential address or a small office with no goods-in process is a common cause of a failed first attempt, and a re-delivery can cost more days than the original transit. Giving a business address with a named contact removes most of the risk in one step.
Can a large order be split across addresses?
Yes, and it is worth doing when the shirts are going to several sites. A hotel group with four properties, an agency running an activation in three cities, or a retailer holding some stock and sending the rest to a fulfilment centre all benefit from the boxes being packed to destination rather than redistributed on arrival. Tell us the split before production so the packing and labelling reflect it. How pieces are packed and labelled covers the finishing side of that.
How should a fixed deadline be planned?
Count back: the date it is needed, minus transit, minus 15 working days rather than 10, minus a week of float for proof revisions, minus a sample round if you are taking one. Placing the order at that point rather than later also leaves room to reach a better quantity tier, since discounts rise with volume up to 35% and a last-minute order is rarely consolidated well. The full chain is set out in how long bulk t-shirts take.
How should the boxes be labelled?
Ask for a packing list per box and the contents marked on the outside. For a uniform order that means sizes and counts, so whoever distributes them is not opening six boxes to find the larges. For retail or fulfilment it means the count and reference your warehouse expects, because a consignment that does not match the partner booking can sit unbooked for days. This is a packing instruction rather than a change to the garments, so it costs nothing, but it has to be agreed before production ends rather than discovered when the pallet arrives.
