Shipping & Lead Times

Buying equipment from overseas raises fair questions: how long will it take, and what happens between paying and receiving? Here are real numbers instead of vague promises.

Consumables: built to order, then stocked to your cycle

Masking film and abrasives are produced to order. A first order takes roughly 6–8 weeks from confirmation — production, ocean freight, customs clearance, and domestic transit.

Once you are reordering on a regular cycle, that changes. We will carry inventory in the United States sized to your consumption, so your resupply ships domestically instead of waiting on a container. Tell us which SKU you use, how many, and how often, and we stock against that.

We size stock to real demand rather than filling a warehouse speculatively. Masking film has a defined best-use period, so holding every thickness and width “just in case” would mean sending you material that has already aged in storage. Stocking against known consumption keeps turnover fast and the film fresh.

Evaluating for the first time? Request a free sample — material is free, you cover shipping, and it moves far faster than a production order.

Machines are built to order and shipped by sea

Machines are not stocked units. Each one is built for your configuration, then shipped by ocean freight. The timeline breaks down into distinct stages:

Stage	Typical time	What affects it
Production	10–30 days	Which machine, and how customized the configuration is
Ocean transit	20–30 days	West Coast ports are faster than East Coast
Customs clearance & inland delivery	Varies	Your port of entry and final destination

What changes the timeline

• Machine and configuration. A standard model moves faster than a customized one.
• Destination port. West Coast arrivals (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle) are typically quicker than East Coast (New York, Savannah, Houston).
• Time of year. Chinese New Year and peak shipping season can add time. We flag this when quoting.

Customs clearance and import duties

ArtCut handles customs clearance. You are not filing paperwork with U.S. Customs, hiring a broker, or chasing down documentation. We manage that process as part of delivering the machine.

Import duty is a separate matter, and we want to be straightforward about it.

Why we quote duty as a current figure, not a fixed one

U.S. import duty rates on machinery in this category have been revised a number of times in recent years, and further changes are possible. A rate quoted today is not guaranteed to be the rate in effect when your shipment actually clears — and that gap can be several weeks.

So we do two things:

• We quote the duty rate currently in effect when we prepare your quote, so you can budget with a real number rather than a guess.
• We confirm the actual amount at clearance, when the applicable rate is known with certainty.

If the rate has moved between quotation and arrival, you will hear it from us directly. We would rather tell you about a variable cost upfront than surprise you with it later.

What this means practically

Treat the duty figure in your quote as accurate-as-of-today rather than locked. For most buyers the amount does not shift dramatically, but it is not a number any importer can promise months in advance — and anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing.

What you get before you commit

Your quote includes freight options to your location, the destination port, and an estimated delivery window. You will not be guessing.

Common questions

Can I get a machine faster?

Sometimes. Air freight is possible for smaller equipment but costs considerably more than sea freight. If your timeline is tight, tell us the deadline when you request a quote and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable.

Which port will my machine arrive at?

We ship to the port most convenient for your location. Tell us your city and state and we will quote the routing that makes sense.

Do you ship outside the United States?

Yes. ArtCut ships worldwide. Lead times for production stay the same; ocean transit time varies by destination.