Processing times explained
How long Tiptrans needs on its side. We usually add a delivered package to your account within 24 hours and handle dispatch and consolidation requests within one working day. Weekends, holidays and busy periods add time; carrier transit is extra.
We usually add a delivered package to your account within 24 hours, and we usually handle dispatch and consolidation requests within one working day. We work on working days only, so weekends, public holidays and busy periods add time. These times aren't guaranteed, and the carrier's delivery time comes on top.
Usual times
| What we do | Usual time |
|---|---|
| Add a delivered package to your account | Within 24 hours |
| Handle a dispatch request | Within 1 working day |
| Finish a consolidation | Within 24 hours. Up to 5 working days when the warehouse is very busy. |
| Take content photos | Within 24 hours. Other special requests depend on the work involved. |
| Reply to an Assisted Purchase request | Within 1 working day |
All times count working days only. We email you when each step is done: when a package is added, when a consolidation is finished, when a special request changes status, and when a package is shipped.
Adding a delivered package
"Delivered" in the seller's tracking means the carrier handed the package to the warehouse. Our staff still have to identify it, weigh, measure and photograph it, and add it to your account. If it is still missing after one working day, see Why is my delivered package not in my account?
Dispatch requests
- Requests are handled in the order they come in. Writing to us doesn't move a request up the queue.
- After we prepare the package, the carrier still has to collect it. Some carriers collect only once a day, so a package prepared after the pickup leaves with the next one, even with Priority Dispatch.
- If you choose a carrier based in another country than your package, we move the package there first. Between the Czech and German warehouses this usually adds 1 working day. From Shenzhen to a Hong Kong carrier, it can take up to 5 days until the carrier has the package. See Which carriers ship from each warehouse?
- Tracking starts when the carrier accepts the package. See Why is my tracking not working or not updating?
Faster processing
- Priority Dispatch: on the package page, click Priority Dispatch instead of Dispatch package. Your request goes to the front of the queue. It costs $2 on Standard, $1 on Premium and $0.50 on Business Premium.
- Business Premium: dispatch requests from Business Premium members always go to the front of the queue.
Weekends, holidays and busy periods
- Our warehouses are closed on weekends and public holidays. A request you place then is handled on the next working day.
- Before a closure, a Holiday closure notice with the dates appears next to that warehouse's address in your account, up to 7 days ahead. Requests placed during the closure are handled after the warehouse reopens. For opening hours and seasonal closures, see Warehouse opening hours and contact details.
- Each warehouse works in its local time. The current times in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, in the Czech Republic and Germany, and in the UK are shown at the bottom of every page in your account.
- After holidays and in very busy periods, we can be temporarily overloaded. A consolidation can then take up to 5 working days, and adding a package or another service up to 3 working days, counted from the next working day after you place the order.
What these times don't include
The carrier's transit time starts when the carrier collects the package. See How long does delivery take?
When to contact us
If a package or a request takes longer than 3 working days, or a consolidation longer than 5 working days, and no closure has been announced, contact us. Include the package ID and what you ordered (dispatch, consolidation or which special request). For a package that is missing from your account, add the tracking link.