These days, well over half of the promotional products/advertising specialties/premiums used originate in Chinese factories. That’s the reality of it. And, there are reasons for it.
Quality has continued to improve, and there’s certainly a value and flexibility there that’s hard to achieve in the US for custom or labor-intensive projects. But there are many potential pitfalls which can cause take a toll on your time, your finances, and your sanity.
1. If you don’t have the lead time, don’t do it. You can think about it, but don’t do it. Even if your purchase order is very direct in indicating a bill of lading date by which you require shipment, most factories regard this as a strong suggestion, and don’t understand just how important it is for your client, especially when the goods are being used for something like a date-sensitive special event. An agreement for the specific stages of the production plan and the boat you’ll ship on helps. So does the ol’ ‘fake date,’ where you actually have an extra week to accommodate eventualities in case they occur. Of course, to employ this latter technique, you need the time.