If you’re an online seller, importing from China for Christmas can be really stressful if you aren’t organised in time! The holiday season is probably one of the most important parts of your year – you’re preparing to see sales booming, profits soaring and stats the like of which you’ve only ever dreamed of.
The only issue is how you’re going to get all of your goods here and ensure that they arrive on time. Christmas is an absolute goldmine, which means that you need to know how to take advantage. Let’s look at what you need to do to make sure that your goods arrive in time for Christmas when you’re importing from China.
Importing From China For Christmas: Advice For Gettign Your Goods By Friday 1st December
If your goods are coming from Northern China (Qingdao/Beijing/Tianjin/Xingang) then the total transit time from your supplier’s factory to your door in the UK will be around 8 weeks:
- Delivering to your own premises in the UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 30th of September
- Delivering to Amazon UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 23rd of September. If your goods are coming from Central China (Shanghai/Ningbo) then the total transit time from your supplier’s factory to your door in the UK will be around 7 weeks:
- Delivering to your own premises in the UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 7th of October
- Delivering to Amazon UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 1st of October*
If your goods are coming from Southern China (Shenzhen/Guangzhou/Hong Kong) then the total transit time from your supplier’s factory to your door in the UK will be around 6 weeks:
- Delivering to your own premises in the UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 14th of October*
- Delivering to Amazon UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 7th of October*
*These dates don’t factor in possible delays in transit.
Importing From China For Christmas: Advice For Gettign Your Goods By Friday 21st December
If your goods are coming from Northern China (Qingdao/Beijing/Tianjin/Xingang):
- Delivering to your own premises in the UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 21st of October
- Delivering to Amazon UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 14th of October
If your goods are coming from Central China (Shanghai/Ningbo):
- Delivering to your own premises in the UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 28th of October
- Delivering to Amazon UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 21st of October*
If your goods are coming from Southern China (Shenzhen/Guangzhou/Hong Kong):
- Delivering to your own premises in the UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 4th of November*
- Delivering to Amazon UK – Goods need to be ready in China by the 28th of October*
*These dates don’t factor in possible delays in transit.
Our Top Tips For Holiday Season Importing From China
For Early December Delivery, Get Your Goods On The Water Between The 8th and 22nd October
For delivery in early December, goods from China need to be ready and booked onto a vessel between the 7th of October and the 21st of October. This is dependent on where in China the supplier is located (it takes longer to ship from Northern China than from Southern China).
The Earlier The Better
Although we may be starting to creep into the holiday season, the earlier you can import your goods, the better. There is more space on ships during the non-peak periods, which in turn means the rates cost much less because the shipping lines need to price their rates attractively to bring in customers. Make sure to try to get your goods shipped out with time to spare so that you can avoid that Autumn price bump. If you’re ordering goods now, the prices are already starting to creep up – so don’t delay! Don’t waste any more time and see your freight costs rocket.
If Possible, Import Quickly Manufactured Products
If you’re not sure what products to import and you’re just looking for stock as opposed to specific products, remember that some products take longer to make than others. This makes sense; some things are carefully assembled by hand and some things are popped straight out of a machine. Manufacturers aren’t going to have 1,000s of the product you want just lying around taking up space – a vast majority of products are made to order. So you order and pay, and then the goods are made and finally shipped. This all contributes to the time it takes your goods to reach your door – and then you have to package them and send them out again.
You can streamline this process by choosing more quickly made products, which ensures that they’ll be sent out much sooner. Ask your supplier for an estimation of how long it will be before they can get your goods out of their door.
Take Amazon Delays into Account
In recent years, Amazon has had some major delays in receiving goods into their UK fulfilment warehouses. This year their Coventry location (BHX4) has been severely affected with Leicestershire centre (BHX2) suffering issues last Christmas as they were put under so much strain that Amazon asked hauliers to reroute deliveries elsewhere. For the Christmas market, this is exacerbated!
Our above dates suggest that it could take a week or so longer to deliver to an Amazon location than it would to deliver to your own premises. his is a guide and certain Amazon locations may take longer than others to allocate a delivery slot and take in your goods.
How To Work Out When You Need To Order Products From China To Get Them In Time For Christmas
Make Sure Your Goods Can Get Into The Country In Time For Christmas
Customs. It’s a tip we share with most posts – but that’s because it’s a biggie. You need to make sure your goods can clear customs – and that they can do it quickly. When importing for the seasonal traffic, you don’t have time to lose! Having them held, tested and eventually released by customs is just adding time to an already tight deadline.
If you want further explanation about Customs, we’ve already written a post explaining clearing UK Customs to you and telling you how to make sure your goods are viable to enter the country fast and painlessly.
Just a quick tip – here are a few products that customs are very likely to hold and test:
- Hoverboards/Segways
- Electronics
- Any type of food
- Medicines or supplements
Shippo
In summary, if you want your goods to arrive in time, October is the very latest you need them ordered. On average, it takes about 7 weeks for goods to reach the UK from overseas and mid-to-late October is the latest we would recommend pushing it if you want your goods on time. What does this mean? You need to act now!
If you’re interested in importing goods for Christmas, want to know if it’s too late (it’s not!) or just want some advice contact us.
We have used Shippo for each of our shipments now for the past 18 months and the service has been great! Communication is excellent – we are kept fully up to date with shipping schedules and changes. Everything is kept very straightforward, prices are competitive, and it is wonderful to know that we can rely on them to deliver all our products when they say they will. Thanks Shippo!Amanda McDowell