Custom Made Toys | Plush Custom

Peak Season Alert

Details and Information

Every company in the world is pushing very hard to get their product made and shipped out of China, from June 1st right through until Christmas. This puts a strain on all resources we need to use. The material factory gets backed up, our designers feel the pressure, and our shippers see deliveries backed up at major points. What does this mean for you at each stage?

Sketch Stage

You may have changes to your sketch and if so, you should include all of your changes at once. This list will be considered one set of changes. We can take that set to our graphics people, and get them to work on it. If you think of new ideas, or want to undo some changes you made after seeing that sketch, then we have to ‘get in line’ with the graphics people to get your new changes shown, and approved by you. Normally we can turn these changes around in 3 to 5 business days, but at this time of year you should add a day or two to this timeline. That means each set of changes will take a week to get your approval. If you push for 3 or 4 sets of revisions (meaning a set of changes, followed by a new set of changes) that means we are not starting your prototype for another month. Get your ideas organized, and we can get your sketch turned in to a prototype more quickly.

Prototype Stage

At this time of year, our talented prototype designer’s time is at a premium. Their time is so stretched that we see prototypes coming back an extra week or more after our quoted four weeks turn around time. Our designers also have less choice in materials at this time of year, since the choices are being snatched up quickly. What can you do to help? Take an extra day to look over your prototype and make sure you have listed all the changes you want in writing. Make sure that the changes you want are ‘critical’ to the sale of your toy. Think about the first order as a trial run, and make changes in second and future production orders.

Production Stage

This stage means we have more power than at any other stage. Why? Because “money is on the table”! With your production deposit, we can push the material factory to get the material completed, and we can negotiate seriously with our production staff to schedule production time in advance for your toy.

Shipping

This is where things can get tricky. We can guarantee a delivery date when using air shipping, but air shipping is really expensive. Ocean shipping is cheap, but there are a number of potential obstacles in the way. The West Coast can get backed up, customs can hold a shipment for inspection, and shipping space can be limited. Even with all of these obstacles, we deliver dozens of projects on time successfully every month. In general, shipping is complex all year long, but those complexities are exaggerated during this peak season.

What you can do to help!

Approve artwork for your accessories quickly
Keep changes to a minimum
Arrange any shipping details early
Ask for Air Shipping quotes early

You can always ship a portion by air, and another portion by ocean. Don’t hesitate to remind your project manager about important dates. Manufacturing a custom toy can be complex, but if any company can do it, we can.

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