Ordering for a Deadline: How Hotline Delivers On or Before Your Date
How Hotline’s guaranteed delivery dates work when you’re ordering for an event, why there’s no need to call for a quicker date, and how to track your order.
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View allWhy the delivery date matters when you order merchandise
The delivery date matters more for promotional products than for most things you buy online, because the merchandise is usually for a particular day. Event bags that arrive the day after a conference have missed their moment, however good they look.
Merchandise also tends to be ordered close to the event, once the plans are settled, which leaves little room for a date that slips. That's why we show a date rather than a lead time for you to work out, and why we treat that date as a commitment from the moment you order. Our article on guaranteed delivery dates explains how each date is worked out.
The date you see is the date we deliver by
Every product page shows a guaranteed delivery date, and you'll see it again on your Visual Proof™ and in your basket before you order. Once you've placed your order, the date is locked in. If you pay by BACS, the date moves forward each day until your payment arrives, and then it's locked.
Our dates are ‘delivery by’ dates. For Standard and Express delivery, the date shown is the latest we'll deliver your order, and it can arrive sooner, so we can't take requests for delivery on a specific day.
We don't recommend having your order delivered straight to an event venue. Venues are busy places where deliveries can go missing, and we can't help if goods can't be found once they've been delivered there, so it's safest to have your order delivered to your office or home ahead of time.
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Each product in your basket has its own delivery options and its own date, so you can put the items you need first on the fastest option and the rest on a slower one. Free No-Rush delivery, where a product offers it, gives an estimated date rather than a guaranteed one, which suits an order that isn't tied to a deadline.
We deliver across the UK apart from Northern Ireland, and we can't currently deliver outside the UK. For addresses outside mainland UK, such as the Scottish Highlands, we always aim to deliver on the date shown, but it can take a little longer.
Why there's no need to call for a quicker date
Some suppliers show an estimated date online and suggest calling if you need your order sooner. We work the other way round: the date we show is already the quickest we can guarantee, so there's no faster date to ask for, and you can plan around it without picking up the phone.
If the date shown is later than you need, the website will show you what can arrive in time. Use the Delivery By filter on the left of our category pages to choose the date you need your merchandise by, and you'll see the products available for guaranteed delivery on or before it. If your deadline is very close, our Express products are set up for fast turnaround, each with its own guaranteed date.
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What happens after you approve your Visual Proof™
Your Visual Proof™ shows how your logo will look on the product, with your quantity, the all-inclusive price and the latest guaranteed delivery date. The price is held for 14 days, but delivery dates are live, so your date is secured when you place your order rather than when the proof arrives. Once you've approved your proof and placed your order, it goes straight into our production schedule, with your delivery date locked in.
We plan production around the date you've been given, which is how we deliver 99.9% of orders on time.
Following your order to your door
You don't need to contact us to find out where your order is. Use the 'Track My Order' link at the top of any page to sign in to your account, where the Order History tab shows each order's progress from placing it, through production, to delivery. Your guaranteed delivery date stays there for the whole of the order, so you never have to ask us for it. We only use tracked couriers, such as DPD, DHL, UPS and TNT, and you can follow your delivery with the courier's tracking from the Order History tab. A signature is needed on delivery, so for an event order, make sure someone's there to sign. If no one's available, the courier will leave a calling card so you can arrange another delivery with them.
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What customers say about delivery
Customers often mention orders arriving on time, or before the date they were given. These are from our Reviews page and from Trustpilot, the independent review website.
- "The Orders I’ve made so far have all arrived on or before the expected delivery date." (Trustpilot review, September 2026)
- "Notebooks arrived ahead of the delivery date and they look great." (Trustpilot review, September 2026)
- "I contacted hotline on a Tuesday and by the next Tuesday I had my Merch all personalised and ready to go at the rugby club." (verified customer, February 2026)
"I ordered lots of debossed notebooks with the matching pens for a work event and they did not disappoint! They looked sleek, professional and the shipping was very quick."
You can read more on our Reviews page and on Trustpilot.
If something does go wrong
If anything puts your delivery date at risk, you'll hear it from us first, with a new date and what we're doing about it. If what arrives doesn't match the Visual Proof™ you approved, we'll replace or refund it, and our article on Hotline's guarantees sets out what's covered.
If you have a question about an order at any point, raise it in our Support Centre, which keeps all the details in one place so anyone on our UK team can pick it up. Our guide to who looks after your order at Hotline explains how that works.
Ordering for an event: four things to check
- Start from the date you need the merchandise in your hands, not the date of the event. For an exhibition, that's usually the build day.
- Check the guaranteed delivery date on the product page, or use the Delivery By filter on our category pages to see what can arrive in time.
- Approve your Visual Proof™ and place your order as soon as you're happy with it, to secure the date shown.
- Have your order delivered to your office or home ahead of time, rather than straight to the venue.
Hotline has been delivering promotional products to UK organisations since 1989. To see the date for something you need, choose a product from our best sellers and request a free Visual Proof™. It's usually back within 20 minutes during working hours, with the price and your guaranteed delivery date alongside it.
Ordering for an event: four things to check
- Start from the date you need the merchandise in your hands, not the date of the event. For an exhibition, that's usually the build day.
- Check the guaranteed delivery date on the product page, or use the Delivery By filter on our category pages to see what can arrive in time.
- Approve your Visual Proof™ and place your order as soon as you're happy with it, to secure the date shown.
- Have your order delivered to your office or home ahead of time, rather than straight to the venue.
Hotline has been delivering promotional products to UK organisations since 1989. To see the date for something you need, choose a product from our best sellers and request a free Visual Proof™. It's usually back within 20 minutes during working hours, with the price and your guaranteed delivery date alongside it.
