Every supplier quotes a lead time. Very few explain the six variables that decide whether that number holds — which is why buyers who plan backwards from a retail date get caught every Q4.
For this range, production runs 20-25 days in stock colours and 30-35 days once a custom printed colour box is involved. Add sample approval before that, and sailing after it. A first order placed today, with a sample to approve, lands in most markets in roughly nine to eleven weeks.
| Stage | Duration | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Sample (stock colour) | 5-7 days | Colour mismatch on the shell |
| Sample approval by buyer | 2-7 days | Silence — approvals stall more orders than factories do |
| Deposit and artwork | 2-4 days | Carton artwork arriving without the warning wording your market needs |
| Production, stock colours | 20-25 days | Colour way change mid-run; component shortage |
| Production, printed carton | 30-35 days | Carton printer queue — the single most common delay |
| Pre-shipment check | 1-2 days | A failed check adds a re-run of the affected component |
| Trucking and loading | 1-2 days | Container not released by your forwarder |
| Sailing | 22-50 days | Port congestion, blank sailings |
Short lead times are possible in exactly one situation: the goods already exist in that colour, in that carton, in that quantity. That is a stock sale, not production. It is fine if you want what is on the floor — but three things follow: you cannot change the carton, you cannot change the colour, and if a defect appears you have no leverage, because the batch was made before your money arrived.
Work backwards and the arithmetic is unforgiving. Retail shelf date minus 30 days sailing minus 3 days port and trucking minus 25 days production minus 7 days sample equals the date your deposit must clear. For a Q4 shelf date in early November, that lands in late July — which is exactly when cluster capacity is still open.
| Target shelf date | Container must sail by | Deposit must clear by |
|---|---|---|
| Early November (Q4) | Mid September | Late July |
| December (holiday) | Late October | Late August |
| March (spring) | Mid January | Late October — before CNY |
| June (summer) | Late April | Early March |
Concretely: V3011 and V6333 are produced continuously in stock colours, so they are the fastest models to add to a short-deadline order, while a shell like V1569 with a new colour way needs the longer window.
Straight answers to what buyers ask before the first order.
20-25 days in stock colours and 30-35 days with a custom printed colour box, counted from deposit cleared and artwork approved — not from the date you enquire.
Because the goods already exist in that colour and carton. It is a stock sale: you cannot change the carton or colour, and a defect found later gives you little leverage.
Two to three weeks of full stop plus ramp-up on both sides. Orders that would finish in late January typically finish in March, so spring-season orders should be placed before November.
Choose a stock colour, take the stock carton for the first order, and approve the sample within 48 hours. Those three remove the masterbatch, print-queue and approval delays.
Deposit cleared by late July for a mid-September sailing and an early November shelf date. Cluster capacity is still open in July and tight from August.
Send the models and quantity you have in mind. You get carton size, CBM, gross weight and FOB Tianjin price in writing, usually within one working day.