Four steps from quote to delivery.
Same process whether it’s 25 pairs or 2,500. You’ll know what’s happening and when at every step.
1Quote & mockups
Send us the styles you’re considering, your logo, the quantity, and the in-hands date. We come back with pricing, timing, and free digital mockups on each style, so your client sees it before anyone commits.
- Artwork: vector (AI, EPS, PDF, or SVG). PMS colors if you need a match.
- Mockup turnaround: [fill: business days]
- Size charts, pricing, and client-safe mockup files available on request.
2PO & sizes
You gather sizes and send a PO. The PO tells us whether we’re buying the footwear or your client is shipping it to us, and it locks the in-hands date. Mix styles and colors on one order; most programs do.
- If we’re sourcing: footwear is bought at full retail in the confirmed sizes, nothing before.
- If your client is sending it: pairs must arrive brand new, in the box. See the FAQ.
- Size list: a spreadsheet with recipient name, size, and ship-to address if drop-shipping.
3Production & approval
Decoration happens in our Pennsylvania facility using methods we developed in-house over sixteen years. On orders of 25 pairs or more, we photograph the first finished pair for your sign-off before running the rest. Every pair is inspected before it goes back in the box.
- Turnaround: 10–14 business days from the day footwear and approved artwork are both in hand.
- If we’re sourcing: add [fill: N] business days for the footwear to arrive.
- Any footwear: sneakers, boots, slides, golf shoes, rain boots. If it has a surface, we’ve probably decorated it.
4Delivery
Shipped to one address, split by office, or drop-shipped to each recipient, with packing lists, manifests, and tracking for every box.
- Carriers: UPS and FedEx, on your shipping account or ours.
- Blind shipping under your brand on request: your packing slip, your return address.
- Kitting available: assembly with your supplied custom box, bag, notecard, laces, or inserts.
Questions we get
Can you rush an order?
Sometimes. Rush is quoted case by case based on the footwear, quantity, and what’s already in production. Send the date and we’ll tell you yes or no the same day.
What if a recipient’s size is wrong?
Decorated footwear can’t be exchanged or returned, by us or by the retailer. Confirm sizes before the PO. If your client is unsure, a size chart for the specific style is available on request, and many programs order one or two extra pairs in the most common sizes.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes, on your shipping account. You or your client handle duties and brokerage. Transit time is added to the standard turnaround.
Can you split-ship to multiple offices?
Yes. Send the ship-to list with the size list and we’ll pack, label, and manifest by location.
Who buys the footwear?
Your client decides. Either they buy it and ship it to us, or we buy it on their behalf at full retail in the confirmed sizes. Either way the product belongs to the end user from the day it ships. It is never resold.
Can the client send their own shoes?
Yes, and many do. Pairs must arrive brand new, unworn, in the original box, with a packing list that matches your size list. We bill decoration and handling only.
Is this allowed? Do the footwear brands let you do this?
The Ave is an independent decoration and fulfillment shop. We’re not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by any footwear brand. The footwear is genuine product, bought at full retail by the client or on the client’s behalf. We add the client’s branding to footwear they own, for use as gifts, uniforms, and awards.
The finished pairs are never offered for resale or marketed as a collaboration with the footwear brand. Our service is decoration, kitting, and fulfillment; footwear sourcing, when requested, is handled on the client’s behalf.
Two things we ask of every client: don’t sell the pairs, and don’t use the footwear brand’s name or logo in your own announcement. Your logo is the story.
Have a program in mind?
Tell us the quantity and the date. We’ll reply within one business day.
Start a program →