Black Friday and Cyber Monday Prep for Stores Shipping From China
Quick answer: Black Friday falls on November 27 in 2026 and November 26 in 2027, with Cyber Monday three days later. If your products come from China, BFCM is won in September: promotional stock should be produced before China's National Day holiday (the week from October 1) and sitting in the warehouse by late October. Run your deals on stocked items only, size the order from your own sales data, and publish delivery times you can actually hit. US rules require a reasonable basis for any shipping promise, and a delay notice with a cancel option when you miss it.
Key dates
| 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| China's National Day holiday (factories stop) | October 1–7 | From October 1 (official dates set late 2026) |
| Singles' Day in China (domestic parcel peak) | November 11 | November 11 |
| Thanksgiving (US) | Thursday, November 26 | Thursday, November 25 |
| Black Friday | November 27 | November 26 |
| Cyber Monday | November 30 | November 29 |
Two of those dates are Chinese, and they matter as much as the American ones. Golden Week stops production for a week and slows logistics for longer; forwarders describe the effect running from late September to around October 20. Then China's domestic courier network hits its own yearly peak in the run-up to November 11, carrying 13.94 billion parcels between October 21 and November 11 in 2025, according to the State Post Bureau.
Capacity: three bottlenecks, and only one of them is packing
- The factory. In September and October a factory is filling Christmas and BFCM orders for every customer at once. Book your production slot early and get the finish date in writing. If a product needs custom packaging, book the packaging supplier at the same time; a missing box holds up a finished product.
- Inbound freight. Goods need to reach the warehouse, and if you use one, the US warehouse, before the late-October rush. Anything still in production in mid-October is a risk.
- Pick, pack and dispatch. This is the part sellers worry about most, and often the easiest to plan for. PackQuay handles up to 8,000 orders a day and ships stocked orders within 24 hours, or within 48 hours at peak. The real constraint is whether the stock is on the shelf.
A warning on running deals on items you don't hold: an unstocked dropship order takes an average of 4–5 days after payment just to be purchased, before it ships. During the factories' busiest weeks, that's the part most likely to slip. Keep BFCM promotions on products you already have in stock.
Sizing your BFCM inventory
There's no industry multiplier you can safely borrow; use your own numbers.
- Start from your daily run rate for each product over the last four to six weeks.
- Apply the lift you saw last year during BFCM week, per product if you have it. No history? Use a cautious lift and plan a reorder instead of a deep first order.
- Cover the whole window, not just the weekend. Many stores run deals from mid-November through Cyber Monday, and Christmas orders follow straight after.
- Add the reorder lead time. Stock must last until a reorder can arrive. For a product made in China, that's production plus inspection plus transit, and in December it's longer than in May.
- Split by destination. Proven sellers can go to a US warehouse in bulk for fast delivery; the long tail stays in China and ships direct.
What a peak day costs to pack
PackQuay's pick-and-pack fee drops as your paid orders for the day (Beijing time) pass each tier, so busy days get cheaper per order. Here is Black Friday at 160 single-item orders, using our published rates:
| Orders | Rate per order | Count | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–19 | $2.00 | 19 | $38.00 |
| 20–49 | $1.70 | 30 | $51.00 |
| 50–99 | $1.50 | 50 | $75.00 |
| 100–148 | $1.20 | 49 | $58.80 |
| 149–160 | $1.00 | 12 | $12.00 |
| Total | 160 | $234.80 (about $1.47 per order) |
Extra SKUs and extra units in an order add a smaller fee each; the full table is on our pricing page. Shipping is charged at cost, and for US orders your landed cost should include duties: the $800 de minimis exemption no longer covers parcels from China.
Delivery promises: what you can say, and what the law expects
Black Friday buyers are often Christmas shoppers, so they read your delivery promise closely. Under the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule:
- You need a reasonable basis to expect you can ship within the time you state. If you state no time, the default is 30 days.
- If you can't ship on time, you must tell the customer before the promised date, give a revised date (or say it's unknown) and offer the option to cancel for a full, prompt refund.
- Instead of sending a delay notice, you can cancel and refund within the same time limit.
In practice: state processing time and delivery time separately ("ships in 1–2 business days, delivered in X–Y business days"), base the delivery range on the slow end of your shipping line's quoted transit time, and add a line about the peak period. If a product ships from China and another from a US warehouse, show each one's own delivery time on its product page.
Then set your Christmas cutoffs. Our Christmas sourcing calendar shows how to work out the last order date for China-shipped and US-shipped items.
BFCM readiness checklist
- Promo products chosen by early September and production booked
- Packaging and insert cards ordered with the products
- Stock received, inspected and counted by late October
- Bestsellers moved to a US warehouse if you use one
- Deals limited to stocked items; out-of-stock variants hidden or set to pre-order with an honest date
- Processing and delivery times updated on product pages, cart and shipping policy
- Delay-notice email drafted, with revised date and cancel option
- Landed cost checked so discounts still leave margin after duties and shipping
- Store connection to your fulfillment partner tested, so orders and tracking sync during the rush
- Christmas "order by" dates decided before Black Friday, not after
How PackQuay helps
PackQuay sources, stores and ships from its own warehouse in Xinxiang, Henan. Orders come in from Shopify or WooCommerce automatically, or as a CSV upload from other platforms, and tracking goes back to your store. See Shopify fulfillment for how the connection works.
- Up to 8,000 orders a day; stocked orders dispatched within 24 hours, 48 hours at peak.
- 20% of each batch inspected free before the rush.
- Storage free for your first 2 months and while you have orders to process.
- 18+ overseas 3PL warehouses for 1–5 day delivery on your bestsellers. See third-party logistics.
Tell us your BFCM products and expected volumes on WhatsApp, and we'll work out stock and shipping dates with you.
FAQ
When is Black Friday in 2026 and 2027?
Black Friday is November 27, 2026 and November 26, 2027, the day after US Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday follows on November 30, 2026 and November 29, 2027.
When should I order Black Friday stock from China?
Book production by early September so goods are made before China's week-long National Day holiday from October 1, and aim to have stock in the warehouse by late October.
Can I run Black Friday deals on products I don't stock?
You can, but it's risky. Unstocked dropship orders need several days just to be purchased, and factories are at their busiest in Q4, so delays are more likely. Keep promotions on stocked items.
What delivery time can I promise on Black Friday orders shipped from China?
Promise processing plus the slow end of your shipping line's quoted transit time. The FTC requires a reasonable basis for any shipping promise and a delay notice with a cancel option if you can't meet it.
How much does PackQuay charge to pack orders on a busy day?
The per-order fee drops as the day's paid orders pass each tier. For example, 160 single-item orders in one day cost $234.80 to pick and pack, about $1.47 per order.