Northwest Custom Apparel — family-owned in Milton, WA since 1977

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253-922-5793 · Mon–Fri 9 AM–5 PM PT

sales@nwcustomapparel.com

2025 Freeman Rd E, Milton, WA 98354

Shipping & Turnaround

Last updated: September 24, 2026 · Version: shipping-2026-09-24

This page explains how long orders take, how we ship and how pickup works. It's part of our Terms of Sale, and the words defined there, such as "business days," mean the same here.

The short version

  • Your production time starts once you've approved your proof and we have your payment or deposit (or you have credit terms we've approved). Your checkout, your quote or your account executive (AE) gives you the date for your order.
  • Our dates are ship dates from Milton, WA, or ready-for-pickup dates. Carrier transit time comes on top.
  • Shipping is the carrier's charge plus a packing and handling charge for each box. You see it, or an estimate, before you pay, unless your AE tells you up front that it will be billed after shipping. Some online orders ship at a flat rate or free, as checkout shows. Pickup in Milton is always free.
  • Paid on teamnwca.com and we're running late? We'll tell you before the promised date, and you can cancel for a full refund.
  • We ship to the 50 states and Washington, DC. Tell us within 48 hours of delivery if a box arrives damaged.

How long your order takes

When the clock starts

Every order is made just for you, so production time doesn't start the moment you order. It starts when all of these are done:

  1. You've approved your proof. Approve in writing: click Approve on your online proof, reply to our proof email, or sign a digital proof. We can't accept a verbal OK. On Custom Tees, if your file doesn't need a proof, the design you place on the shirt on screen is your approval.
  2. We have your payment or required deposit, or your order is on credit terms we've approved in writing.
  3. If you're supplying the garments, we've received and counted all of them. See our Garment Liability Waiver.

Some steps happen before the clock starts and take time of their own: preparing your artwork, making your proof, and digitizing a new embroidery logo. Your AE can tell you where your order stands.

Business days are Monday through Friday. They don't include US federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, or our year-end closure (December 26 through January 2).

Standard turnaround

Turnaround depends on the decoration method, the product, the quantity and our schedule. Here's where to find the time for your order:

How you order Where you see your date
Custom Tees (pay online) Checkout shows your ship date, or a date range, before you pay. If it's a range, we go by the last date. Your order status page shows it too.
Custom Caps (pay online) Checkout shows 7–10 business days after you approve your proof, and your promised date is 10 business days after the day you approve. Your confirmation and order status page show a date that assumes you approve right away.
Custom Stickers and Custom Banners The product page shows the standard time, counted from your proof approval.
Product pages and the quote cart You may see an estimated ship-by date. It assumes you approve your proof promptly, and we confirm your date with your proof.
A quote from your AE Your AE confirms the timing. Your quote can show a ship date ("Req Ship Date") and a "Drop Dead Date" (the latest date that still works for you).
Online Sample Program Samples ship blank, with no decoration. Paid samples ship within 2 to 3 business days of payment.
Webstores Most orders ship within about two weeks of being placed. Your store organizer or your AE can confirm.

Custom Tees orders that need a proof: the date at checkout assumes you approve your proof quickly. If you approve your proof more than one business day after you order, your date becomes 10 business days after the day you approve (3 business days for 3-Day Rush). For example, order on Monday and approve on Wednesday: your date is 10 business days after Wednesday.

Rush orders

Need it sooner than our standard time? Here's how rush works.

On orders your AE quotes. Ask your AE before you approve your quote.

  • Rush depends on our schedule and garment stock. Our production team approves every rush before we promise you a date.
  • A rush fee may apply. It's a percentage of your order total, and your quote shows it before you approve.
  • Faster shipping costs extra. Services like next-day air, and faster freight from our garment suppliers, are added to your order.
  • Adding items to a rush order doesn't guarantee the added items make the rush date.
  • Custom Stickers and Custom Banners: rush is available. Ask your AE.

On our pay-online stores.

  • Custom Tees 3-Day Rush is available on select styles. Order before 9 a.m. Pacific on a business day, and your order ships 3 business days later. The exact date and the rush price show before you pay.
  • Custom Caps don't have a rush option.

In-hands dates

Have an event or a deadline? Tell us when you ask for a quote. Our request-a-quote form asks when you need your order, and the quote cart has room for notes. Or just tell your AE.

  • A deadline is a request until your AE confirms we can make it. We check our production schedule and garment stock first.
  • Once your date is confirmed, we plan production and shipping to meet it. If that takes rush production or faster shipping, your AE tells you the cost before you approve.
  • We plan around carrier transit times, but those are the carrier's estimates, not guarantees.

If something slows your order down

  • A garment is out of stock. If a garment is backordered at our supplier, we'll tell you the expected date and suggest an alternative. We never swap a garment without your OK. On Custom Tees and Custom Caps, we check stock when you check out.
  • We're waiting on you. If we're waiting on your proof approval, artwork, payment or your own garments, your date moves. On orders your AE quotes, we'll confirm the new date with you. On Custom Tees and Custom Caps, the promise table below sets your new date.
  • The delay is on our side. If we can't make your date, your AE will tell you as soon as we know, with a new date and your options. If you paid on teamnwca.com, our ship-date promise below applies too.

This applies when you order and pay on teamnwca.com. The date we promise depends on what you ordered:

What you ordered and paid for online The date we promise
Custom Tees The ship date shown at checkout (the last date, if it's a range). Files that need a proof: if you approve your proof more than one business day after you order, your date becomes 10 business days after the day you approve (3 business days for 3-Day Rush).
Custom Caps 10 business days after the day you approve your proof (the end of the 7–10 business-day window shown at checkout).
Paid samples 2 to 3 business days after you pay, so no later than the third business day.
A quote you accept and pay for on teamnwca.com The ship date on your quote (shown as "Req Ship Date"). If your quote doesn't show a ship date, ask your AE for one in writing before you pay. That is the date we promise.

For pickup orders, the promised date is the day your order is ready for pickup.

  • If we can't ship your order, or have it ready for pickup, by the date we promised, we'll email you before that date with a new date.
  • You choose: keep your order with the new date, or cancel for a full refund to the card you paid with. Reply to our email or call us to tell us which.
  • This promise covers delays on our side. If you approve your proof late, your date moves. On Custom Tees and Custom Caps, the table above sets the new date. On a quote, your AE confirms the new date with you.
  • On Custom Tees, the promise on our Custom Tees page also stands: if we miss the ship date, shipping's on us.

Shipping

How we ship

  • We mostly ship UPS Ground or USPS, and FedEx for some faster shipments. Custom Tees and Custom Caps orders ship UPS Ground from Milton.
  • PO boxes can only be reached by USPS, so let us know if you're shipping to one.
  • Faster services are available if you ask, for an added charge.
  • Your own carrier account: we can ship on your account. Give your AE the account details, and we'll confirm the account is active before we ship.

What shipping costs

  • Orders quoted by your AE: shipping is the carrier's charge plus a packing and handling charge for each box. Carrier charges depend on weight, box size, distance, speed, fuel surcharges and residential delivery fees. Your AE confirms the shipping charge, or an estimate, before you pay, unless they tell you up front that freight will be billed after your order ships. If the final charge will be very different, we'll explain before we ship.
  • Custom Tees and Custom Caps: see "Free shipping offers" below. Checkout shows your shipping charge, or FREE, before you pay.
  • Seasonal offers show their own shipping terms on their page.
  • Sales tax: on orders delivered in Washington, sales tax applies to the shipping charge too. See our Terms of Sale.
  • Payment before shipping: we ship once your order is paid in full, unless you have credit terms we've approved or your AE told you up front that freight will be billed after shipping.

Free shipping offers

Offer Conditions
Local pickup in Milton Always free.
Custom Tees Standard UPS Ground is free when your product subtotal is at or over the free-shipping amount shown at checkout. Under that amount, it's a flat charge, also shown at checkout. For addresses in the 50 states and DC.
Custom Caps Standard UPS Ground is free on Custom Caps orders today. The Custom Caps page and checkout show the current offer. For addresses in the 50 states and DC.
Online Sample Program Shipping on sample orders is free.

Free shipping covers standard ground service. Faster services cost extra.

Local pickup in Milton

  • It's free. Choose pickup at checkout, or when you accept your quote.
  • Wait for our "ready for pickup" message. It tells you the amount due, our hours and where to go.
  • Where: 2025 Freeman Rd E, Milton, WA 98354. Pickups are usually at our Shipping/Receiving entrance. Ask your AE if you'd like to pick up in the showroom.
  • When: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific. We're closed on weekends and holidays, and during our year-end closure (December 26 through January 2).
  • Payment first. We release orders once they're paid in full, unless you have credit terms we've approved. Whoever picks up signs for the order.
  • Sales tax: pickup orders are taxed at the Milton rate.
  • Switching to shipping? Tell your AE. We'll add the shipping charge before your order leaves.

Tracking

  • When your order ships, we email you the tracking number. For Custom Tees and Custom Caps orders, that email also links to your order status page.
  • If you use our customer portal, you can see shipping and tracking for your recent orders there.
  • Questions about a shipment? Your AE can help.

Please get the address right

  • It's up to you to give us a complete, correct shipping address, including any suite or unit number. Please check it at checkout or on your quote.
  • Need to change it? Tell your AE right away. We can update it before your order ships.
  • If a carrier returns your order because the address was wrong or incomplete, you pay the cost to ship it again.

Damaged, lost or missing packages

  • Check your order when it arrives. Count the boxes and the items.
  • Tell your AE within 48 hours of delivery if a box arrives damaged. If a box is missing or tracking says delivered and you can't find it, tell us right away.
  • Pieces missing from a box that arrived? That's covered on our Returns & Reprints page. Tell us within 7 business days of delivery or pickup.
  • Keep everything: the boxes, the packing material and the labels. Photos of the damage, the box and the shipping label help.
  • We handle the carrier claim. When we ship on our carrier account, we file the claim with the carrier and replace or credit what's damaged or missing. We won't make you wait for the carrier to settle.
  • Carrier delays. Once your order is with the carrier, delivery times are the carrier's. We can't control weather or other carrier delays, but we'll help you track your package down.
  • A problem with the decoration itself? See Returns & Reprints.

Where we ship

  • We ship to addresses in the 50 states and Washington, DC. We don't ship outside the United States.
  • On Custom Tees and Custom Caps, checkout shows your shipping charge for any address in the 50 states and DC.
  • On orders your AE quotes, we can arrange special shipping to Alaska, such as by barge. Ask your AE about timing and cost.

Holidays and busy seasons

  • When holiday order deadlines apply, your AE can tell you the dates.
  • During the peak holiday weeks, carriers may suspend their delivery guarantees. Order early and allow extra transit time.
  • Business days skip holidays and our year-end closure (see "Business days" under "How long your order takes"), so plan around them.

Webstores

Most webstore orders are made and shipped within about two weeks of being placed. Larger group orders can take a little longer; we confirm timing with the organizer when we build the store. Orders ship to one location or to each shopper, depending on how the store is set up.

About this page

This page is part of our Terms of Sale. If your accepted quote or your checkout page gives a specific date or charge, that is what applies to your order, with one exception: for every order you pay online on teamnwca.com, the date we promise is the one in "Paid online? Our ship-date promise" above.

We may update this page from time to time, and it always carries the same version date as the Terms of Sale. Section 20 of the Terms of Sale explains which version applies to your order. You'll always find the current version at teamnwca.com/shipping.

Contact us

Your account executive (AE) is your best first stop for questions about a quote, an order or this page. Not sure who your AE is? Contact us and we'll connect you.