Where To Go If You Need Printed or Engraved USB Sticks In A Hurry
If you’ve been dropped in it at the last minute and given the challenging task of finding a company that can deliver USB memory sticks printed (or engraved) with your logo on within 24hrs or so then good luck because you might need it.
Whilst there are lots of companies that claim to be manufacturers of USB memory sticks with some even stating they have their own dedicated factories the reality is that the vast majority are simply middle men who take your order and place it on a supplier in China. The value they add to this process is, in many cases, limited and because they are dealing with factories in China the lead times tend to be at least 10-14 days (although some will suggest they can do it more quickly). So, beware of companies offering fast lead times if all they are going to do is ship them in from China.
What lots of suppliers won’t tell you is that even if they manage to get their Chinese supplier to produce them quickly and ship them out there is still a risk that they will get delayed in customs – it’s not unheard of for customs (at either end of the shipment chain) to impound goods and demand more information before releasing them. This is a particularly common problem if the brand printed on the USB sticks is a well-known, global brand like IBM, Nike or Microsoft because the customs teams are always on the lookout for forged goods.
If you are in a hurry for your printed USB memory sticks you need to find a local supplier that not only holds blank stock of the sticks but has the capability to print or engrave the sticks in-house and get them delivered to you within a matter of hours or days. This way you de-risk the whole thing because you know the USB sticks are being held locally and you can confirm an exact printing and shipping schedule – you could even arrange a “point to point” same day van or collect them yourself.
The challenge of course is finding such a supplier because very few are willing to hold in stock a wide range of USB memory sticks that they “might” sell particularly because the price of the sticks drops over a relatively short period – so holding stock is a risk and of course requires a capital investment that not many of the smaller suppliers can carry.
In the UK one of the few suppliers that hold stock and can offer a rush 24hr service are USB2U. They’re in their 10th year of supplying USB products are your best chance if you need digging out of a hole.