China Golden Week 2018 - What to expect
China's Golden Week is an annual event which is always at the back of our minds when entering into September. As has been the case for many years now, we always try and give our customers enough notice of it's impending arrival to ensure that disruption during what can be a month long period is kept to an absolute minimum.
This article is here to help provide you with the relevant information for this year's Golden Week and what you can expect when ordering in September/October time. For more background information feel free to take a look at our 2017 guide.
What is Golden Week?
Golden Week is a Chinese national holiday which takes place between the 1st to 7th of October and celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China. During this period most of the country's manufacturing shuts down as workers return home to families to celebrate.
While the national holiday typically only lasts 7 days, it is often the case that factories remain closed or operate at a lower capacity for a further 2 weeks. This is primarily due to workers taking extended leave during this period with some choosing not to return to work at all.
How does this effect USB2U?
As with most promotional tech suppliers, a lot of our products are traditionally imported from China including USB flash drives, power banks, wireless chargers and speakers. When factories, therefore, close down there is generally a delay for these types of orders either when we haven't got stock of a particular item in-house or on occasions when we have to outsource print, engraving or custom jobs to the Far East.
What sort of delay can be expected on my order?
We anticipate that any order that requires us to import stock from the Far East or outsource product print or engraving can take over a month if ordered within the national holiday, therefore we often recommend ordering as soon as possible to ensure you receive your promotional products on time.
When should I place my order by to avoid delays?
USB2U recommend ordering before the 17th September to ensure there is plenty of time for items to be produced and shipped to us. Orders placed after this date may be subject to delays.
Mid-Autumn Festival - Another reason we select this date is due to the Mid-Autumn Festival which takes place on the 24th of September which causes similar levels of disruption (many workers again take extended leave which runs up to and includes Golden Week).
I can't order before the 17th of September, what should I do?
Don't panic! While certain product lines are less available during Golden Week, USB2U hold a large number of items in UK stock ensuring that there are plenty of products still to choose from. You can usually find such products listed on our express service pages...
Express Service USB Sticks Express Service Power Banks Express Service Tech Gifts
Anything else I should be aware of?
It's probably worth noting that from September through October, the price of flash memory can fluctuate due to the supply of these sort of products predominantly coming from China. While USB2U will do our best to ensure that prices remain relatively static for our consumers i.e. by buying stock in advance. Nominal increases on certain product ranges should be expected.
Click here if you'd like to find out more about why the prices of USBs can be volatile.
If you have any further queries about Golden Week or about any of our promotional tech products be sure to get in touch with our sales team at [email protected] or call us on +44 (0) 1604 685 040