From First Message to Landed Goods
Six stages, and you know where the order is in all six. The numbers below are the ones we actually work to — a sample in 15–20 days, production 35–45 days after you approve it — but they move with the season, so treat them as planning figures and confirm on the quote.
1 · Enquiry
Send a spec, a reference rod, or just the species and the price point. The configurator on the OEM page produces the most useful first message, but an email or a photo works too.
You hear back within one business day (GMT+8).
2 · Quotation
A costed build sheet: blank, components, cosmetics, packaging, labour, MOQ, sample cost and an estimated freight figure. Each part on its own line so you can see what the reel costs against the rod.
3 · Sample
One pre-production sample built to the agreed spec, ready in 15–20 days. Sample cost is normally credited against the production order.
4 · Approval
You test it. Changes at this stage are normal and cheap — changing a guide layout after 3,000 rods are wrapped is neither.
5 · Production
35–45 days after sample approval. Photo reports at blank, wrapping and finishing milestones; pre-shipment inspection against an agreed AQL.
6 · Shipment
Consolidated sea or air from Qingdao with full export documentation. We track until it is on the water and confirm the arrival estimate.
Where the Weeks Actually Go
| Stage | Typical duration | What can delay it |
|---|---|---|
| Quotation | 1 business day | A spec that needs component makers to price — reels and line add two to three days. |
| Sample build | 15–20 days | Custom blanks, hydro-dip patterns and printed packaging each add time. |
| Sample shipping | 3–7 days by air | Customs clearance at your end, which we cannot control. |
| Production | 35–45 days | Peak season (roughly September to February for the following spring), or a change of spec mid-run. |
| Sea freight | 15–20 days to Australia, 30–40 days to Northern Europe | Port congestion and transhipment. |
Plan backwards from the date the rods need to be on the shelf. For a European spring season, the conversation starts in the autumn.
Trade terms & payment
- EXW / FOB Qingdao — the default for volume orders. You control the freight forwarder, or we quote one.
- CIF / DDP — available to major ports and, for DDP, selected markets. Slower to quote and worth it mainly for first-time importers.
- Payment — 30% deposit with the order, balance against bill of lading. Other structures are negotiable on repeat programs.
- Samples — paid up front, credited back when a production order is placed.
What slows a program down
- A target retail price that is not shared — every component decision then has to be re-quoted twice.
- Choosing a carbon grade before choosing the species and method.
- Printed packaging approved late; the printer is usually the longest lead item.
- Compliance questions raised after tooling, especially REACH for the EU and UKCA for Great Britain.
Tell us these four things in the first email and the quote will be right the first time.
Start With a Specification, Not a Price List
The OEM builder takes about two minutes and gives us everything we need for an accurate first quote — including the two answers that matter most: how many, and what it sells for.