How print on demand shipping works, and why it takes longer
Nothing is made until you order it, which changes the timeline. What production time is, why it is separate from shipping, and how to plan for a date.
Ordinary online shopping ships something that already exists in a box. Printed to order does not work that way. Nothing is made until somebody buys it, which is why there is no minimum order and also why it is not next day.
Two clocks, not one
- Production: the time to actually print and finish the item
- Shipping: the time for a courier to carry it to you
Delivery estimates cover both. A quote of ten to twenty days is not twenty days of a parcel moving; it is a few days of making and the rest in transit.
Why nothing is held in stock
Holding stock means guessing what people will want, printing it in advance and throwing away what nobody buys. Printing to order removes the guess, which is what makes one shirt with one person's name on it possible at all.
Standard against express
| Typical | Suits | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 10 to 20 days | Planned ahead |
| Express | 4 to 8 days | A fixed date |
Both are priced for your destination before you pay, and standard is free above a threshold, so the choice is visible rather than buried.
Work backwards from the date you need it. For an event, order at least two weeks ahead on standard, and use express if you are inside that.
One order, one shipment
Ordering a group in one go is cheaper than splitting it and arrives together. Splitting an order to add one late person means paying shipping twice and receiving two parcels on different days.
Why a group order is one parcel
Every item in an order is printed together and shipped together, which is why twelve shirts cost one shipping fee rather than twelve. Adding a thirteenth person the next day is a second order, a second production run and a second shipping fee, so it is worth waiting a day for stragglers before ordering.
Tracking
A tracking number appears once the parcel is actually with the courier rather than when the order is placed, because until then there is nothing to track. The gap between paying and seeing tracking is production time, and it is normal.