How long does DHgate take to ship and deliver?

DHgate is a top-class online B2B and B2C e-commerce marketplace used by dropshippers, retailers, and wholesalers to ship products worldwide. Keep reading to know more about their shipping schemes. 

Shipping products from DHgate takes different amounts of time for different sections of the world. Stay connected to know the factors that influence the shipping times. 

Chinese wholesale markets have been growing in popularity ever since platforms like AliExpress, Alibaba, DHgate, etc., gathered all the best wholesalers together. DHgate is primarily known for its unbounded variety in stock, low prices with attractive coupons and schemes all year-round, as well as reasonable shipping times. 

In this article, we’ve summed up the delivery time and the processes a product goes through before delivery by DHgate. We’ve also briefed their delivery modes and the estimated time of delivery for each of those modes. 

Everything You Need To Know About DHgate Shipping:

There are several modes through which DHgate can deliver your order. This, coupled with the factors that influence the shipping time, decides how long it will take to get your order delivered. 

Item processing time by DHgate:

Shipping time is not the only thing that affects the order delivery time. Usually, DHgate takes a certain amount of time to process the order, including packaging and steps that need to be taken before the order can be sent over to their logistics partner. 

Generally, the processing time depends on the stock of the product ordered and how heavy it is. Products with low stock take longer to get processed as DHgate needs to wait for their sellers to refill their supplies. All things considered, it usually takes 3-15 working days for DHgate to process your order. 

Factors determining the shipping time:

The shipping time depends on the following factors, as discussed below. 

1. The item processing time as discussed earlier. 
2. The shipping time also depends on the shipping method, which the importer can choose at their discretion. 
3. It depends on the location of the buyer and the seller and how far apart they are located. 
4. It may be affected by holidays, festivals, or unforeseen accidents on the way. 
5. It is influenced by the type of products ordered, order volume, and the rarity and availability of the products. 
6. While not as critical as the abovementioned factors, the seller’s reputation may also affect delivery times. Depending on how established they are, they may or may not have the facilities and resources to deliver products faster. 

Shipment Methods:

DHgate has a wide array of shipping methods to deliver products, depending on the distance the package needs to travel. You will gain access to a tracking number once your order has been dispatched for delivery. Generally, this is provided by the seller. You can use this tracking number to sign in to your registered account on the DHgate website. Following this, visit the “Order Detail” tab. This tab will offer you every insight regarding your package, including the delivery time. DHgate uses delivery services like China Post, EMS, DHL, FedEx, TNT, Singapore Post, Post Link, and HK Post. 

Shipment through air freight:

Customers in a hurry can avail of air freight shipping for the fastest delivery. The expected time of delivery is 5 to 14 days. However, it depends on individual sellers and the shipping partners they choose. The costs, however, are really high. 

Air freight is your go-to option when the cargo being shipped is not considerable volume-wise but has a significant weight. Examples include electronic equipment, medical, and clothing products.

Air freight is also a highly preferred option when shipping precious items like gold and silver jewelry as it offers considerable security. Air freight remains the best shipping option when shipping perishable items like flowers and food. 

Shipment through sea freight:

Sea shipment is the most common delivery option availed by customers. It is slow but cost-effective. For a 20ft container, the shipping cost is typically about USD 3000-3900. The usual time frame for shipping across the sea is 30 to 45 days. 

Since many factories are located near the sea, choosing sea freight is often convenient if you are not in a hurry. Waterways are often the only option for a considerable volume of goods since Airplanes can’t carry so much load. 

Rail Freight:

Rail freight is a relatively unpopular shipping method, but they sit somewhere between sea freight and air freight in terms of utility and convenience. There are not a lot of countries connected with China through railways that import products – most of the countries are overseas. 

However, countries like Germany and the UK have railway connections with China and it provides a significantly cheaper and faster shipping method compared to the waterways. 

Some of the goods you can quickly ship from China via rail include dry cargo, liquid cargo, heavy machinery, bulk cargo, etc.

China Express shipment:

China Express Shipment is the fastest delivery option, used by logistics companies like FedEx and DHL. With this shipment method, delivery times can be as low as 3-5 days. 

However, there are strict weight limits in express shipment as the product will be coming by air. Usually, small and lightweight items that are precious in value are express shipped. The costs are pretty high too. 

Usually, after the product is shipped, it’s better to contact the freight forwarder for details regarding the product’s delivery time. 95% of the time, the freight forwarder chooses China Express Shipment. 

How long does DHgate take to ship and deliver goods?

Air Freight:

Air freight is typically the fastest way to get things delivered from DHgate. It only takes a few hours for DHgate to deliver their products to Germany. Air freight is chosen when the cargo is heavy but small in volume. 

Ocean Freight:

There are three most popular ocean routes between China and Germany. 

Jinan Port is one of the most famous centers witnessing goods imported to Germany. The distance between Jinan Port and the Port of Bremen is nearly 13074 nm. It takes roughly 55 days for the shipped goods to reach the destination port.

Another critical destination port is the Port of Hamburg which is placed at a distance of 13108 nm from Jinan. The journey to transport the shipment takes around 52 days. 

The Hamburg Port also witnesses considerable ocean traffic from the Port of Zhenjiang. The intermediate distance of 12391 nm takes nearly 52 days to cover. 

Railway:

The Germany-YuXinOu railway route is the only one used by DHgate to deliver their orders. The route covers a distance of about 11,179 km. The shipped cargo arrives at Duisburg in Germany within 13-16 days on an average.  

Shipping Time from China to the US:

It’s important to note that beyond the actual time taken for the cargo to cross the sea, several days are usually spent in packaging, handling, customs, and other processes the cargo has to go through. It can take from a month to 33 days to prepare a cargo and six additional days after it reaches the US for it to be released from customs. 

Air Freight:

Even though planes are the fastest, it can take up to 10 days for the cargo to reach the USA. Using Express shipping can cut 1the time by 2-3 days. For express freight, the rule of thumb for lead times is three days, while regular posts take about one to two weeks. 

Ocean Freight:

Ocean freight usually is the slowest, taking about 30-40 days to deliver the product. 

Shipping Time from China to the UK:

Ocean freights can take up to 7 weeks if there are no unexpected delays on the way. The actual time depends on your location and the cargo ship’s route. 

For air freight, it takes 4-7 days. The actual flight is completed in just a couple of hours. Most of the time is spent on the processes before and after the flight. 

Shipping Time from China to Canada:

Delivering products to Canada is a little complicated when compared to the USA. DHgate, on their official website, provides an estimated delivery time of 20-25 days when shipping to Canada. 

Shipping Partners for DHgate:

DHgate uses big, international couriers like China Post, EMS, FedEx, DHL, TNT, Singapore Post for delivery. Usually, expressionless deliveries are handled by UPS, FedEx, and DHL for fast delivery times. The other shipping partners handle the less urgent deliveries in this list. 

DHL is one of the fastest delivery partners for DHgate. They are capable of delivering products within 3-4 days. 

Delivery time is also affected by the type of product. Bulkier items may take longer to be processed. Primarily, ocean freight is the only way to ship bulky products. 

Free Shipping vs. Paid Shipping:

Free shipping is sometimes available on select few products, or you can apply coupons that eliminate shipping costs on products. E-Packet is a delivery service provided by DHgate which offers free or low-cost shipping. Sellers using economy class delivery services like China Post, Singapore Post, etc., usually result in longer delivery times. 

Choosing DHL, UPS, or other top-tier delivery services is faster but not free most of the time. Only if the product has a high value or a significant demand in the market the seller may consider shipping them for free. 

Sellers may sometimes mislead buyers by offering free shipping with every product, while in fact, they don’t. The shipping providers vary with sellers, hence the variation in shipping times. 

On-Time Delivery and Estimated Delivery:

DHgate usually displays two delivery times: estimated delivery and on-time delivery. We have discussed them in detail below.

On-Time Delivery Guarantee:

The sellers on DHgate are bound to provide the guaranteed date to the customer regarding their on-time delivery of products. 

Now, this delivery time is made of two parts.

• The first part is the time taken by the seller to ship the product, i.e., the processing time.
• The second part is the time taken by the shipping company to deliver the product to the customer. 

Once the seller uploads the tracking number, which you can check on the DHgate website, the guaranteed on-time delivery period starts. 

According to the DHgate website, every seller should abide by specific regulations. Each of them is bound to provide an ‘on-time delivery’ guarantee on the page that lists their products. The sellers must set up and display this delivery guarantee against every item that finds its place on the item details page. The buyer is entitled to a complete refund if their desired goods are not received on time despite an on-time delivery guarantee. 

Some factors that may hamper guaranteed delivery:

1. Your order might not reach you if you provide the wrong delivery address. 
2. Natural disasters or other factors outside DHgate’s control may affect the delivery times. 

Estimated Delivery:

This is the period that the official website provides as a reference to the on-time delivery period. It is a rough estimate that deviates somewhat from the on-time delivery guarantee. The estimated time of delivery has no parameter for accurate calculation as well. 

Estimated Delivery Time vs. On-Time delivery:

Some points separate the two that are provided below. 

1. The seller offers an on-time delivery guarantee. On the other hand, the estimated delivery time is provided by DHgate.com. 
2. The time provided by the seller is genuine and precise, but the estimated time is just a reference provided by the platform to delineate the rough delivery time. 
3. The guaranteed delivery time is calculated from the exact moment the seller uploads the tracking number. However, there are no such stringent regulations when it comes to the estimated delivery time. 

Factors Causing a Delayed Shipping:

Several factors could delay the shipping even if the seller had previously provided them with an ‘On-Time’ delivery guarantee. 

1. During overseas delivery, the reshuffling of the flight times due to bad weather or other causes can result in delayed shipping. 
2. Low efficiency in customs clearance may also cause delays. Workers may show unprofessional behavior and don’t perform the task on time, delaying delivery. 
3. The lower number of flights during the COVID-19 Pandemic has severely affected the delivery time in many areas. Especially when the COVID graph keeps climbing up in a particular location, sellers may decide to stop all deliveries to that location midway in fear of a lockdown. 
4. Holidays or major events may cause delays too. Although, it’s worth mentioning that holidays are fixed throughout the year, giving buyers enough time beforehand to plan out their purchases so that the delivery period doesn’t fall within the holidays. 

With these points, you can have a rough fair estimate of the shipping times for various modes of transport from DHgate. Keeping in mind the various factors that influence the delivery time, use this knowledge to plan before making purchases.

Although DHgate prioritizes customer experience, the fact that they have to coordinate with a bunch of 3rd party sellers and freight forwarders means that something can go wrong. So it’s better to be aware of the processes that come into play for the best purchase experience. 

• How long will it take to deliver to the USA and Canada through DHgate?

 DHgate takes 5-11 working days to deliver the products to the USA and Canada by Air.

• Which couriers does DHgate use for deliveries?

DHgate uses couriers like China Post, EMS, DHL, FedEx, TNT, and Singapore Post to deliver their goods. 

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