Sock WholesalersPage last updated: October 27, 2026
Gifting and promotional socks: plan backwards from the campaign date
A promotional run has one immovable date, and everything else is arithmetic: the sample, the bulk run and the shipping leg all have to fit in front of it. This page puts the published figures in that order, so you can see on one screen whether your date is possible, and what the trade-offs are if it is tight.
The figures below are the ones printed on the quote page and the buyer FAQ, not a best case. The minimum is 1,000 pairs per style. If your date does not fit those figures, the honest answer is a shorter range or a different shipping leg — not a shorter lead time.
Six decisions a campaign owner has to make
Novelty pattern, gift packing, quantity per style and the shipping leg are the four that usually decide a campaign. The other two are the sample and the colourway count.
Novelty patterns are knitted, so they survive washing
Seasonal motifs, lettering and 3D jacquard are knitted into the sock on the machine. There is no print layer to crack after ten washes, which matters when the gift is meant to be worn through the winter rather than displayed once.
Where it applies: Seasonal gifting, novelty ranges, event giveaways.
You decide: Colour count and motif, and whether the pattern wraps the sock or sits in one panel.
Evidence: the pattern field on a style sheet — see the specification sheet for this style.
The gift is the pack as much as the sock
A header card, an OPP bag or a printed box carries the campaign message where the sock cannot. Packing is specified with the sock and confirmed as its own line on the proforma invoice, so the pack that arrives is the one that was signed off.
Where it applies: Client gifts, conference packs, employee kits.
You decide: Which pack level the campaign needs, and what artwork goes on it.
Evidence: the packing fields on a style sheet — see the specification sheet for this style.
The minimum is 1,000 pairs per style
One design in one colourway is one style, and the minimum is counted per style, not on the campaign total: a campaign that carries four designs is four runs at 1,000 pairs each. That arithmetic is the first thing to run before the artwork is commissioned.
Where it applies: Multi-design campaigns, office-wide gifts.
You decide: One design at volume, or several designs at the minimum each.
Evidence: the MOQ line on this site — see the specification sheet for this style.
What is printed here, and what your campaign sets
Read the published column as the floor’s real clock. The quoted column is where your own artwork, colourway count and freight choice enter.
Promotional and gifting terms. Published lines are printed on this site; quoted lines are settled per style on your proforma invoice.
| Stage | What we publish | How your campaign sets it | Where it is published |
|---|---|---|---|
| PublishedSampling | Typically 3–5 days after the brief and artwork; charged per style, credited against the first bulk order; you cover the courier. | One sample per design; a second design is a second sample. | Quote page, terms card, buyer FAQ. |
| PublishedBulk production | Typically 20–30 days after deposit received and sample approved. | Counted from deposit and approval, design by design. | Quote page and buyer FAQ. |
| PublishedSea freight | Approx. 25–40 days, depending on destination. | The leg you book, from the port your forwarder names. | Quote page, shipping section. |
| PublishedAir freight | Approx. 5–10 days, depending on destination. | The leg a late campaign usually needs. | Quote page, shipping section. |
| PublishedExpress | Approx. 3–7 days, depending on destination. | For samples and short air-freight top-ups. | Quote page, shipping section. |
| PublishedOrder size | 1,000 pairs per style for bulk orders. | Counted per design and per colourway, not on the campaign total. | Quote page and every product page. |
| QuotedGift packing | Header card, OPP bag, printed box, export cartons. | Which pack level, and the artwork on it, is confirmed per style on the invoice. | Packing fields on the style sheet. |
| QuotedCosting | No price list is printed on this site. | The binding price sits on the proforma invoice against your specification and quantity. | Terms page and quote page. |
The single most common mistake in a gifting run is commissioning artwork before the per-style minimum has been counted against the campaign. Run the arithmetic first.
Working back from the hand-out date
Add the published lines together and the same sum answers the question a campaign owner actually has: how early does the brief have to land? The sums below use nothing but the figures printed above.
| Leg booked | Sample + bulk | Transit | Brief has to land, before the hand-out date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea freight | 3–5 days + 20–30 days = 23–35 days | 25–40 days | 48–75 days before |
| Air freight | 3–5 days + 20–30 days = 23–35 days | 5–10 days | 28–45 days before |
| Express | 3–5 days + 20–30 days = 23–35 days | 3–7 days | 26–42 days before |
The sums assume the deposit, the approved sample and the final artwork all land on the day the brief is sent; every day spent on artwork before that is a day added to the front of the calendar. Worked once, for a hand-out date of 1 December: by sea the brief belongs somewhere between mid-September and mid-October, by air in the second half of October, by express from late October to about 5 November. Past that the arithmetic stops closing, and the useful answer is a different hand-out date.
On the price question: this page prints no per-pair band, because the cost of a pair moves with yarn, needle count, colour count, pack level and quantity band, and a band printed here would be wrong for most campaigns. What comes back instead is a costing against your own specification, within one working day of the brief.
The timeline starts at the sample, not at the order
The sample is typically 3–5 days after your brief and artwork, and bulk runs typically 20–30 days after deposit and sample approval. Those two figures come before any shipping leg, and the sample is what the bulk run is knitted to.
Where it applies: Deadline-driven campaigns.
You decide: When artwork is final, who signs the sample off, and how many days that leaves.
Evidence: the sampling line on this site — see the specification sheet for this style.
The shipping leg is the variable you control last
Approx. 25–40 days sea, 5–10 days air, 3–7 days express, depending on destination. Sea is the leg that suits a brief landing early; air and express are what make a late brief possible, and the freight belongs in the campaign plan from day one.
Where it applies: Fixed launch dates, event hand-outs.
You decide: Which leg the date forces, and how many days that leg adds to the countdown.
Evidence: the shipping section of the quote page — see the specification sheet for this style.
A late date is better served by a shorter range
If the arithmetic does not fit, the useful reply is a narrower brief: one design, one colourway, air freight. We would rather say that on day one than promise a date the floor and the freight forwarder cannot both meet.
Where it applies: Tight deadlines, single-design campaigns.
You decide: What to cut first: designs, colourways or the sea leg.
Evidence: the lead-time lines on this site — see the specification sheet for this style.
Styles from the catalog for this buyer
Both are current listings on this floor, and both are quoted on the terms in the table above. Each card opens the style’s own page.
What a campaign owner should not assume
A promotional order is judged on one date. These are the things this page will not pretend about.
- No lead time shorter than published. The sample and bulk figures are the floor’s real clock, not a negotiating position.
- No order below 1,000 pairs per style. Counted per style, not on the campaign total; under that line the sample route is the only alternative.
- No promised delivery date. We book the freight you choose; the transit figures above are the published ranges.
- No instant yes on a construction. If the motif or the shape sits outside this floor, the reply says so.
- No price list. Costing follows your specification and quantity onto the invoice.
- No buyer names. Campaign clients are not ours to publish.
Dates, designs and gift packing
Can this reach us before our event date?
Work it backwards with the published figures: sample typically 3–5 days after artwork, bulk typically 20–30 days after deposit and approval, then the shipping leg — 25–40 days sea, 5–10 days air, 3–7 days express. If the total does not fit, the honest answer is a shorter range or a faster leg.
Can the minimum be split across several designs?
The bulk floor is 1,000 pairs per style, counted per style rather than on the campaign total, so four designs means four runs of 1,000. Splitting a campaign across designs is the single most common place a gifting plan breaks.
Can the sock arrive in gift packaging?
Yes, as packing specified with the sock: header card, OPP bag or printed box, with export cartons outside them. The pack level and the artwork on it are confirmed as their own line on the proforma invoice.
Send the date first, then the design
Tell us the date the box has to be in hand, how many designs the campaign carries and what the gift pack should look like. The countdown table above already says whether that date is still reachable, and which leg it forces. The reply comes back within one working day with the timeline that date allows, the MOQ in writing and the freight options.
Michelle Zhang, Export sales manager, answers enquiries within one working day — sales@sockwholesalers.com, +86-13761030160 (WhatsApp same number).