Custom Merchandise Lead Times: The Right Time to Order
Custom merchandise lead times are the weeks between a finished brief and the goods arriving where you need them. They cover artwork, approvals, a physical sample, production, quality checks and shipping, so the factory sets only part of the date.
This guide is for clubs, federations, event organisers and brands that need pins, medals, keyrings or trophy replicas by a fixed date. It explains each step between brief and delivery, what stretches or shortens it, and how to count back to the right order date, with a worked example for a championship in April 2027.
Key Takeaways
- Count back from the date you want the goods in your hands, not forward from the day you order.
- On average, a sample takes 2 to 3 weeks and mass production about 4 weeks after the sample is approved, depending on complexity and volume.
- Approval by photo typically takes a couple of days. If the physical sample has to be shipped to you and held in hand, allow about 2 weeks.
- Shipping often decides the date: sea freight from Asia varies with route and season and can take up to about three months door to door.
- In the worked example, medals made in Asia and shipped by sea for a championship on 17 April 2027 arrive on time when the sample is ordered by the end of October 2026, 23 to 24 weeks ahead.
- Lunar New Year falls on 6 February 2027. If production at a factory in Asia runs into February, ask for its closure dates.
- Agree the Incoterms rule in the quote, so everyone reads the delivery date the same way: goods leaving the factory or goods at your door.
In This Article
- Key Takeaways
- How Long Are Custom Merchandise Lead Times?
- When Does the Clock Start?
- How Much Time Does Licensor Approval Add?
- What Happens Between Sample and Shipment?
- How Does Shipping Change the Date?
- Which Holidays Should You Plan Around?
- When Should a Federation Order Medals for an April Championship?
- How Can You Shorten Custom Merchandise Lead Times?
How Long Are Custom Merchandise Lead Times?
A sample takes 2 to 3 weeks and mass production about 4 weeks on average. With sea freight from Asia of up to three months, approvals and a buffer, order the sample 23 to 24 weeks ahead.
Production is the predictable part: with one sample round, sample and mass production take about 6 to 7 weeks on average. Everything else depends on decisions and on the route: how complete the artwork is, who signs it off, whether a rights holder reviews it, where it is made and how it travels.
The figures in this guide are averages from the partner factories described below, not promises, and they vary by product and volume. The table shows what typically moves each step.
When Does the Clock Start?
The sample clock starts when the artwork is approved, not when you first ask for a quote. Everything before that, from brief to signed proof, depends on how complete your files and decisions are.
A brief that names the product, size, finish, quantity per version, packaging and delivery date gets to a proof faster. Vector files with colour references, such as Pantone numbers, save a redraw. Changes after the proof cost the most time, because the tooling is made from the approved artwork.
Product details that add steps
Some product choices add their own artwork, data or parts. Each is easier to plan when it is in the first brief:
- Medals: a custom ribbon needs its own artwork and approval, and names or categories engraved at the factory need a final data file before mass production. Winners’ names and finishing times only exist after the event, so they are engraved later.
- Pins: a printed backing card is a second piece of artwork, and a pin set in a display box adds packaging to approve.
- Keyrings: extra parts, such as a logo tag or a rotating centre piece, add assembly and more to check on the sample.
- Trophy replicas: a sculpted cup or shield form needs a 3D reference model before the tooling is made, and a base or engraved title years add parts.
How Much Time Does Licensor Approval Add?
There is no fixed figure: it depends on the rights holder and how many review rounds a product needs. Plan for at least one revision, and ask the rights holder how long each review takes before you set dates.
For licensed merchandise, the rights holder reviews the product in several stages, from the concept to the samples and often the packaging. Our guide to how sports merchandise licensing works describes each stage and what to prepare. Each review runs on the rights holder’s own schedule, and a rejected sample sends part of the sequence back to the start.
For trophy replicas, the rights holder approves the design and the sample before production starts. Artwork that follows the rights holder’s brand guidelines from day one usually moves faster. Submit the packaging design with the product, since it may need its own approval.
Your own sign-off counts too. A federation’s own medals need no licensor, but a sponsor’s logo on the ribbon or the box brings that sponsor’s approval into the plan. Name one person who approves for your side, and agree how fast they answer.
What Happens Between Sample and Shipment?
The physical sample is made from the tooling and checked against a written specification. After you approve it, mass production takes about 4 weeks on average, followed by a final inspection and packing.
Sample and approval rounds
A sample typically takes 2 to 3 weeks. Approval by photo can come within a day and typically takes a couple of days; if the physical sample has to be shipped to you and held in hand, allow about 2 weeks. A photo cannot show plating wear or how a piece feels, as our quality control checklist for metal merchandise explains, so decide early which pieces you need in hand.
Approve the sample in writing against the specification and keep one as the reference for the run. If something is wrong, ask for a corrected sample before production. A second round costs time, but a run made on a flawed approval costs more.
Mass production and quality checks
Mass production takes about 4 weeks after sample approval, depending on complexity and volume. More enamel colours, plating steps, parts to assemble and pieces to engrave all add work. The averages in this guide come from Am Ball, which manages production at long-standing partner factories in Portugal, Germany, Poland and Asia; its orders typically start around 300 units. Raw materials and the sample are checked on-site at these factories before mass production starts.
Inspecting the finished goods against the approved sample before packing is standard good practice, so ask your producer how it is done. Goods that fail are reworked before anything ships, which is one reason a good plan ends with a buffer.
Packing and labelling
Packing belongs in the lead time as well. Decide in the brief whether each piece is bagged, carded or boxed, and whether cartons are packed and labelled by version or category. Then nobody has to sort hundreds of pieces on site.
If you have the products made and sell them under your own name or trade mark, EU rules treat you as the manufacturer. The EU’s Your Europe guidance on product compliance says the product needs a type, batch or serial number and the manufacturer’s name, registered trade name and postal address on the product, its packaging or accompanying documents. Put that information into the backing card or box artwork before it goes to print. Our guide to GPSR and nickel rules for metal pins and keychains covers the rest of the file.
How Does Shipping Change the Date?
The shipping mode can move the date by months. Sea freight from Asia can take up to about three months, air freight is faster but costs more, and goods from outside the EU have to clear customs on arrival.
Sea, air or road
Door to door covers more than the voyage: collection at the factory, export clearance, waiting for a sailing, the voyage itself, import clearance and delivery. Am Ball prefers sea freight to air freight where the date allows, and in its experience the whole trip from Asia varies with route and season and can take up to about three months. The worked example below plans with the full three months, so a faster crossing gives you slack.
Ask your supplier for the expected door-to-door time on your route when you order. On request, production can also run at the European partner factories, which shortens this leg for a European delivery address. Air freight for part of a late order is worth pricing when a date is tight.
Incoterms and customs
The quote should name an Incoterms rule. The International Chamber of Commerce publishes the Incoterms 2020 rules: 11 rules with a clear allocation of cost, risk and obligations between buyer and seller. Each rule fixes where the seller’s delivery happens, so the same quoted date can mean goods leaving the factory or goods at your address.
For goods from outside the EU, the importer needs an EORI number and a customs declaration, according to the EU’s guidance on import procedures, and a customs broker can file it. Until the goods are cleared, they stay under customs supervision. Agree before shipping who files the declaration, and check that the invoice and transport documents are ready.
Which Holidays Should You Plan Around?
Lunar New Year falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, according to the Hong Kong government’s list of general holidays. If production in Asia runs into February, ask the factory for its closure dates in writing.
Lunar New Year is also called Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival. Where production in Asia overlaps the holiday, this guide assumes 2 weeks without production. That is an assumption for planning, not a published figure, so replace it with the factory’s own dates as soon as you have them.
Holidays at your end count too. A sample that arrives between Christmas and New Year waits until someone can approve it. Ask every factory, in Europe or in Asia, for its holiday calendar when you order, and add your own closing days and those of the delivery address.
When Should a Federation Order Medals for an April Championship?
Approve the artwork and order the sample by the end of October 2026, 23 to 24 weeks ahead, if the championship is on 17 April 2027 and the medals come from Asia by sea. A faster crossing gives slack.
Take a national federation that needs 600 medals in gold, silver and bronze, with the category laser-engraved on the back and a custom woven ribbon. The plan takes sea freight at the full three months it can take, and approval at about 2 weeks, because the federation wants the physical sample in hand.
Three details shape this plan. Mass production ends before Lunar New Year on 6 February, so no holiday pause is needed; if you count on a faster crossing and start later, production in Asia runs into the holiday and needs the factory’s closure on top. Approval by photo, where that is enough, gives you about a week and a half more before the sample order. And a final list of categories before mass production starts on 5 December keeps the engraving on plan, because every medal is engraved at the factory.
On request, the same medals can be made at a European partner factory. Assume 1 week door to door by road, keep the 2 weeks for approval with the sample in hand, and the sample can be ordered by 23 to 30 January 2027, 11 to 12 weeks ahead. Our custom medals guide explains which design choices are fixed in the tooling, so settle them before you order the sample.
How Can You Shorten Custom Merchandise Lead Times?
Most of the time you can win sits outside the factory. It comes from final artwork on day one, one approver, an early call with the rights holder and a shipping mode chosen with the date in mind.
- Send vector artwork, colour references, quantities per version and the delivery address with the first request.
- Agree the specification in writing before the sample, so the sample is checked against numbers rather than taste.
- Approve by photo where a photo shows what you need to check, and ask for the physical sample only where you need it in hand.
- Book review slots with the rights holder or sponsor when you order, not when the sample arrives.
- Decide packaging, backing cards and labels in the brief, since each has its own artwork.
- Put holiday closures on the plan, at the factory and at your end.
- Ask whether the tooling from an earlier order is still stored, and what a repeat order needs.
- Keep the two-week buffer. It covers a second sample round, a delayed sailing or a recount on arrival.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to make custom medals or enamel pins?
On average, a sample takes 2 to 3 weeks and mass production about 4 weeks after sample approval, depending on complexity and volume. Approval takes a couple of days by photo or about 2 weeks with the sample in hand, and sea freight from Asia can take up to about three months door to door. Planned with the full three months and a two-week buffer, the sample is ordered 23 to 24 weeks before your date.
When is the right time to order medals for a championship in April?
For 17 April 2027, with medals from Asia shipped by sea, approve the artwork and order the sample by the end of October 2026, planning with the full three months that sea freight can take. Made in Europe on request and delivered by road, late January 2027 can still work. Approval by photo or a faster crossing gives you slack.
Can custom merchandise be made faster?
Mostly by saving time around production: complete artwork, one approver, approval by photo where it is enough, early reviews by the rights holder and a faster shipping mode. Air freight shortens the shipping leg but costs more, so decide it per order with your supplier.
How long does licensor approval take?
It varies by rights holder and product. The rights holder reviews several stages, from concept to samples, so plan for at least one revision round and ask for review times up front.
What does door to door mean in a delivery quote?
The quoted time runs from the factory to your address, including collection, the main transport leg, customs clearance and delivery. By sea from Asia it can take up to about three months. Check which Incoterms rule the quote uses, because the rule fixes where the seller’s delivery happens.
When is Chinese New Year 2027?
Lunar New Year’s Day, also called Chinese New Year, is Saturday 6 February 2027. If your goods are made in Asia, ask the factory for its closure dates around the holiday; where production overlaps it, this guide assumes a two-week pause.
Conclusion
Custom merchandise lead times are set by the whole chain. Sample and mass production take about 6 to 7 weeks on average, and artwork, approvals, shipping, holidays and a buffer come on top.
Sea freight from Asia alone can take up to about three months, so count back from the day you need the goods and plan with the full crossing. A faster one gives you slack, and a photo approval saves days.
If your date is already fixed, send it to us and we will count back from it with you.
