Everyone at Icons wants every one of our customers to get their order in time for Christmas. We will do everything we can to help but we wanted to explain the deadlines and why they are what they are, and try to lay this out as clearly as possible.

Icons use FedEx for 98% of our shipments. The remaining 2% is for shipments too Scotland, Northern Ireland the UK islands such as Jersey where we ship using the Royal Mail next day signed for service to keep costs down.

 

As such we have to go by FedEx's own delivery guidelines. There general postage guidelines to us are as follows and importantly, days here refer to working days. Our post goes at 4pm each working day, we get all orders out that have come in over night and up to midday, but after that they then go out the next day from the office. This is why we say on the site that it takes 48 hours to dispatch. Then the FedEx timings kick in. If you order beyond midday on a Friday for instance, it isn't dispatched until Monday 4pm from London.

• Ireland, Benelux & Mainland Europe - next working day by 10am
• Non-EU and Eastern Europe and the Balkans - next working day by the end of the business day
• USA and Canada - next working day by 10.30am (to the vast majority of ZIP codes)
• The Middle East, Carribean, Central and South America - within 2 working days
• China, Australasia and Africa - within 2-4 working days

We send out normal and deluxe packaged items direct from the UK office so you can get them within these time constraints (Dispatch times plus FedEx delivery times). Now things go wrong of course, like last year when the UK postal system ground to a halt when snow closed the airports, which is why we use FedEx. They allow us to send out tracking numbers to all our customers so they can see where their item is on the road. Last year most non-UK customers could see that their presents were stuck on airfields. We know FedEx is more expensive but we don't want to cut corners with the delivery of our items, we want to do everything we can to get them to you on time and in perfect condition.

 

BESPOKE FRAMED ITEMS

It takes the same 48 hours to process and order, then an overnight postage to Coventry where our framing factory is. It takes 7 working days to have something framed. We cannot stress enough that that is working days, and does not include weekends. On our site we have the option to frame any product listed. We call this bespoke framing and up until Thursday December 10th you can get anything framed, to anywhere on the planet in time for Christmas. However, a bespoke framed item to China, Japan or Australasia needs two working days to be processed, one day to get to the framers, seven working days to be made and then 4 working days for FedEx to get it to you. Therefore an order placed on Friday December 11th before midday, will arrive in say Australia on Christmas Eve. Hence the warning and the point of this blog and calendar

PRE FRAMED BEST-SELLER ITEMS

For the first time this year, we are going to pre-frame a number of items for about 15 best-selling shirts, boots and photos. This isn't everything on the site, just the best sellers, and there will be finite amounts of these. Because these items will be framed and ready to go we can dispatch these items with the same deadlines as the normal FedEx post. As such we can send a pre-framed Gerrard Liverpool Shirt to Japan on Monday December 19th, if the order is placed before midday UK time. We can dispatched pre-framed, deluxe and normally packaged items right up until Thursday December 22nd as it takes one working day to get to the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe and most major cities in USA and Canada. Obviously this leaves no margin for error on the delivery side, so if you live outside of a major city in these, or any other country, factor this into your timings. We are open til 5pm that day so you can call into to our Kentish Town office, or asked for something to be biked if you want to pay for it, but these are for real last minute special exceptions.

FINAL FINAL DEADLINE

We are working on Friday December 23, but not Saturday 24th. We can dispatch an item using FedEx's Saturday delivery service to any of the countries that are within one working day. This costs more so you will have to ring or email the site and pay over the phone or through another channel. The office is on +44 020 7267 3934. Again the post comes at 4pm and we need some time to process the order, so realistically the order needs to be placed before 2pm. We are in the office on each day until 6pm and in at 9am so you can call between these times, or email any time.

CHRISTMAS

Of course if you item is not for a Christmas present then please, please tell us. We will assume everything is and rush around getting it sent or framed, but if it's for work, a January birthday or you don't care about Christmas, then let us know and we can put it on a different schedule.

OFFICE OPENING TIMES

We are not in the office from the end of the day on Friday December 23rd and we're back in again at 9am on Wednesday December 28th. The days in between are all UK holidays, we will be checking the email and backend system to check if there are any disasters but we'll be on a skeleton staff rota.

JANUARY SALE

The January sale always starts on Christmas Eve, so we will change the site and put up the showcased special offer products then. If you have questions about them, we will most likely respond when we're back in on the Wedensday.

 

 

 

Icons have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the world's most famous department store for over four years now. Our world class signed sporting items are loved by their international clientele. Harrods have been stocking our items from the world's best footballers since the start but they also now stock items from the superstars of tennis, boxing, cricket, basketball and the NFL.

This September Harrods have expanded the area in their sports department where the Icons products are showcased. The new gallery area shows off our unique, one-off and specially framed items that their customers love. If you're in town from now until Christmas check it out.

Players like Jamie Carragher are fast becoming a throwback. Liverpool's defensive rock and vice-captain has only ever played for one club, and chances are that's how it will stay. In an era where players chase lucrative wage hikes and transfers, our Icons Legend of the Week #6 stands out for his unwavering loyalty.

Like fellow Kop legends Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush, Carragher was a boyhood Everton fan. After signing up with Liverpool, however, it soon became clear where his true allegiances lay. Liverpool is his club, and he is their legend.

The boy from Bootle signed a professional contract with Liverpool in October 1996, and three months later former manager Roy Evans handed him his debut in a League Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough. Now 33 years old and in his 16th season on Merseyside, Carragher boasts a total of 669 appearances for the club, making him their second longest-serving player after Ian Callaghan.

Fittingly, Carragher's first Liverpool goal came in front of the Kop. Since that strike - a header in a 3-0 over Aston Villa in early 1997 - he has added only four more. But it's at the other end of the pitch where Carragher excels. A brave and astute defender, Carragher first cemented his place in the first team as full-back during the 1997/98 season. It wasn't until the arrival of Rafael Benitez in 2004 that Carragher was moved to centre-back, where he's been a commanding presence and a driving force ever since.

Carragher celebrated his first senior trophies at the end of the 2000/2001 season. Playing at left-back, Carragher was a regular starter in the side that won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.

It was in the 2004/2005 season, however, that he truly blossomed. Carragher made 56 appearances alongside Sami Hyypia at the heart of Liverpool's defence during that campaign. The formidable partnership he formed with the Finn was integral to Liverpool's successful Champions League campaign, which culminated in that famous comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul. In extra-time, suffering from cramp and with the scores level at 3-3, Carragher pulled off some typically heroic last ditch blocking to deny the Italians. His bravery and never-say-die attitude pulled Liverpool through to win the penalty shoot-out. He was voted the Reds' player of the year.

Carragher's international career never reached the same heights. He featured 27 times for the under-21 side before making his debut with the seniors on 28 April 1999 against Hungary. Despite an impressive total of 38 caps, Carragher never managed to consistently hold down a starting place, and in 2007 he retired from international football citing a lack of playing time. In 2010 Carragher was persuaded to come out of retirement by Fabio Capello for the World Cup in South Africa, but England endured a disastrous campaign, and Carragher subsequently reaffirmed his desire to devote his focus to Liverpool.

To the Anfield faithful, Carragher's international career is of little concern. With Kenny Dalglish back at the helm, there is a feeling on Merseyside that this could be Liverpool's year. The legend in the dugout will be looking to his counterpart on the pitch to keep things steady at the back. If there's one man who can make that happen, it's Jamie Carragher.

Here at Icons we obviously love a good game of football - and we also love new football games.

We've all entered the new game from Fantasty Football League. It's called Fantasty Fives and to find out more click on the link below. Personally, I've gone for Given in goal, Samba at the back, Adam in midfield with Chicarito & Defoe upfront. Good luck beating that tasty lot.

So sign up for the great new Fantasy Fives game – pick your dream Premier League 5-a-side team & win £1,000 (as well as tremendous Icons prizes)! Enter here now!

We predicted that Sergio Aguero was going to be one of the biggest names in world football when we did a signing with him way back in April 2010. Icons, as ever, was first, undertaking signings with the best players in the world.

We did Lionel Messi when he was 18 before he'd play 30 times for Barcelona...

...we did Cristiano Ronaldo when he was 20 and had just arrived from Portugal...

..and we did the first signing with Fernando Torres as soon as he arrived in England.

As each of these players has grown into a global superstar they've regularly signed with Icons, partly out of a sense of loyalty to a company that showed faith in them from an early age.

As for Sergio and his arrival in England, probably the best parallel we can draw is with his predecessor at Atletico, Fernando Torres. Before El Nino arrived, he was well-known in Spanish football but not that well-known in world terms. Within a year or so he was biggest Premier League shirt seller in the world. Aguero has the package to do the same: he plays the beautiful game in his own unique way - think Zola, mixed with Dalglish and a hint of Romario - and with his movie-star looks, Japanese nickname and Diego Maradona as a father-in-law, he is going to be a sensation over here.

We have Argentina and Atletico shirts and photos as well as Nike boots which can be framed with a Manchester City background for any fan of the Citizens. Sign up to the icons newsletter too as we're sure to make an announcement of his first UK signing soon.

Icons, signed by the world's best, spotted early by the world's best signed football site.

Icons have been conducting exclusive signing sessions with Leo Messi since 2006. The season before Leo had made his debut for Barcelona and at the end of the 05/06 season he was part of the Champions League winning Barcelona squad, but didn't actually play in the Final against Arsenal. Here's a photo from our first signing with Leo, as you can see we've improved our photography skills over the years!

Icons have now done five signings with Leo and seen his meteoric rise to become widely acknowledged as the best player in the world. Here are some of the signing photos from the various sessions we've had with him.

Barcelona April 2008

Barcelona April 2009

Barcelona September 2009

Leo was a little busy in 2010 playing in the World Cup and scoring 47 goals for Barcelona so we were delighted to meet up with him again in May 2011. Amazingly Leo was able to fit a signing session in with Icons in the week leading up to the Champions League Final at Wembley. Despite the chaos caused by the ash cloud we pulled off the signing with the world's number one player, just before he reminded everyone of his talents in the final.

Such is the popularity of Leo we sold out of his signed Barcelona shirts in 17 days. Another record broken by Leo. This is on the back of winning his third Champions League, his fifth La Liga title and becoming the first man to top score in the three consecutive Champions League seasons.

At the end of the 2011 season he had scored 53 goals in only 55 games and seems destined to be crowned World Player of the Year for the third time this December. What a player and what an icon.

Sign up to the icons newsletter to be the first to hear of future signings with Leo. He only signs for us and we know he values the faith Icons had in his talents back in 2006. Long may this successful relationship continue.

England played Ghana this week in a cracking friendly at Wembley but the icons team didn't really see the game. We were manning our temporary gallery space in the Club Wembley area as we displayed all our top products to the Wembley crowd.

Here's Ben in the middle of his sales pitch.

We made a number of new friends and many of the crowd went away with a smile on their face and an Icons product under their arm. As you know Icons are the best signed football memorabilia company in the world and credibility is everything to us. No other company can say they display their products next to the '66 World Cup plaque at the greatest football stadium there is.

Chelsea made two major sigings in the this January transfer window and we were lucky enough to meet both of them on the same day. We were in a London hotel doing our signing with Fernando Torres and look who walked past.

It's Chelsea's new Brazilian crazy-haired goalscoring centre-half David Luiz. We had to have a chat and photo with him, so watch this space for future signings with one of the most excited new players to come to England in ages.

Luis Suarez's impact at Anfield is already substantial: a debut goal inside 16 minutes, a classic turn to set up a goal against West Ham, a now legendary dribble round the entire Manchester United defence and a cracker against Sunderland at the weekend. Not only that but his arrival on Merseyside seems to have lifted the team and all the supporters as they look forward to a brighter future. This all adds up to an impressive start by the livewire Uruguayan.

Icons is always the first to bring you signed products by the world's greatest players, and it's now time to add Luis to that list. He's sure to be a fans' favourite at Liverpool for years to come, so get yourself a piece of Suarez signed memorabilia today and you can say you were first to spot an icon in the making.

Icons have been doing signings with Fernando Torres, the Spanish superstar, ever since he arrived in England in 2007. While at Liverpool he was a firm favourite with the fans and especially with Icons' customers all around the world.

Following his January move to Chelsea our relationship with him has continued and on Thursday March 10th, Icons were proud to carry out the world's first ever Fernando Torres Chelsea signing session. Check out the full range here.

As with all the great players, form is temporary and class is permanent. We know El Nino is going to be a massive hit at Chelsea so Chelsea fans get your Chelsea signed shirts, boots and photos now before they sell out.

And for Liverpool fans don't worry, sign up to the Icons newsletter to be the first to hear news of your new talismanic number 9, Luis Suarez, signing for Icons very soon.