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What's going on guys. How do you ship from China to your doorstep?

by storefrontt
10 replies
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I'm about to buy some stock from China after lingering for some time and I found a good product and supplier.

What is the best way that you guys use to import from there to here.

Let's talk boxes instead of huge containers or even a couple of boxes, not enough for a full pallet.

I'm not into containers. At least not yet hopefully.

Thanks.
#china #doorstep #guys #ship
  • Profile picture of the author Importexport
    Make sure you have it totally sorted out before you commit to buy, and get everything in writing.

    There are quite a few things you need to know before you do that:
    • Is the supplier a manufacturer or as is the case with most suppliers listed on the popular sites, just a trader or wholesaler?
    • Have they quoted you FOB, EXW , C&F, or door to door Courier?
    • How heavy are the boxes?
    • What are the box dimensions?
    This is only a start, but I wanted you to avoid rushing in and getting burnt.

    Walter
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    Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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  • Profile picture of the author kjamesnv
    Spend the money and buy Walter's eBook. Look in his signature above.

    Its definitely recommend before you import for the first time.
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  • Profile picture of the author macher
    Originally Posted by storefrontt View Post

    I'm about to buy some stock from China after lingering for some time and I found a good product and supplier.

    What is the best way that you guys use to import from there to here.

    Let's talk boxes instead of huge containers or even a couple of boxes, not enough for a full pallet.

    I'm not into containers. At least not yet hopefully.

    Thanks.
    It's the bottom line that counts. What I mean is the net cost of the goods delivered to your door, door to door delivery. When I was in another business I imported a lot. 100% by air freight; door to door(my door) then I would re-ship. When I first started doing this and cutting out the wholesalers and was getting quotes from China factories the price FOB price looked EXCELLENT. The air freight charges in my eyes looked outrageous BUT that's the cost of door to door delivery and quicker delivery. Even with what I thought were high shipping costs they weren't really high because it's the bottom line that counts. Air freight/door to door is part of your net costs.

    Get a quote on air freight from the factory. Air freight will come to your door. It depends on the item, weight etc. I found that not only the price of the goods is important when pricing from different factories but freight charges are just as important. You might get a cheaper price from a factory for the exact item but the factory may not get freight discounts compared to a factory that quoted more on the item. It's the bottom line that counts. Going air freight and having the factory ship is the easiest way to go. The carrier is the broker. The air freight charges are charged to you by the factory on the invoice. All you have to do when your package is delivered is pay the proper duty fees and taxes and depending on the carrier a very small brokerage fee.

    Another suggestion is besides looking for price look for the factories who make your product that get the best freight discounts and pass their discounts to you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by macher View Post

      It's the bottom line that counts. What I mean is the net cost of the goods delivered to your door, door to door delivery. When I was in another business I imported a lot. 100% by air freight; door to door(my door) then I would re-ship. When I first started doing this and cutting out the wholesalers and was getting quotes from China factories the price FOB price looked EXCELLENT. The air freight charges in my eyes looked outrageous BUT that's the cost of door to door delivery and quicker delivery. Even with what I thought were high shipping costs they weren't really high because it's the bottom line that counts. Air freight/door to door is part of your net costs.

      Get a quote on air freight from the factory. Air freight will come to your door. It depends on the item, weight etc. I found that not only the price of the goods is important when pricing from different factories but freight charges are just as important. You might get a cheaper price from a factory for the exact item but the factory may not get freight discounts compared to a factory that quoted more on the item. It's the bottom line that counts. Going air freight and having the factory ship is the easiest way to go. The carrier is the broker. The air freight charges are charged to you by the factory on the invoice. All you have to do when your package is delivered is pay the proper duty fees and taxes and depending on the carrier a very small brokerage fee.

      Another suggestion is besides looking for price look for the factories who make your product that get the best freight discounts and pass their discounts to you.
      You are talking about air couriers, but you refer to air freight. It is important to use the right terms when dealing with suppliers in China.

      If you ask for the manufacturer to quote on air freight and you accept their quote, you could be in for a rude shock when the goods arrive in the country, because air freight is not a door to door service.

      Air freight is generally used for larger urgent shipments of high value. The freight is usually charged on an airport to airport basis, and the delivery process begins with the manufacturer delivering the goods to an airport on an FOB basis. The airline then transports to the destination airport and it is then your responsibility to clear the goods through Customs, pay any Duty and Taxes, and then collect the goods. Most people would arrange the whole process though a freight forwarder.

      Air couriers are generally used for smaller shipment. The service usually involves the courier picking up from the factory, shipping by air, clearing the consignment through Customs, paying any Duty and Taxes, and delivering to your door. The Customs clearance service should be a pre-arranged part of the total freight cost and should not be left to the air courier to charge as an add on, otherwise they may charge excessively for a 20 second electronic clearance. The only extra charge is the actual Duty and Tax.

      I have explained this in detail because your post could confuse newbies with no understanding of freight terms.

      I teach that it is the bottom line that counts, and that provided the importer buys at the right price, the air courier part of the cost is not going to be a problem and very high profits are possible.
      Signature
      Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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  • Profile picture of the author DexterGallagher
    Make sure you get the goods inspected BEFORE they are shipped! You can ship any where using DHL Fedex and the like. If air freight you may want duty paid, so you have no tax to pay when delivered. It is paid upfront.
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    • Profile picture of the author Importexport
      Originally Posted by DexterGallagher View Post

      Make sure you get the goods inspected BEFORE they are shipped! You can ship any where using DHL Fedex and the like. If air freight you may want duty paid, so you have no tax to pay when delivered. It is paid upfront.
      It is very rare to get a supplier to quote on a duty paid basis. Even if you do manage to arrange that, there may still be sales tax payable on arrival.
      Signature
      Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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      • Profile picture of the author DexterGallagher
        Your supplier may not want to quote you, it is best to get a shipping agent to quote for shipping, usually a supplier will mark up the shipping more than the product!

        We found several shipping agents and the prices are always 50% less than the supplier of the product.

        Remember, you do NOT have to have shipping through the supplier, they Rip You Off. Duty paid is exactly that, all dutues paid so deliver to your door without additional (shock) additional costs.

        Originally Posted by Importexport View Post

        It is very rare to get a supplier to quote on a duty paid basis. Even if you do manage to arrange that, there may still be sales tax payable on arrival.
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        • Profile picture of the author Importexport
          Originally Posted by DexterGallagher View Post

          Your supplier may not want to quote you, it is best to get a shipping agent to quote for shipping, usually a supplier will mark up the shipping more than the product!

          We found several shipping agents and the prices are always 50% less than the supplier of the product.

          Remember, you do NOT have to have shipping through the supplier, they Rip You Off. Duty paid is exactly that, all dutues paid so deliver to your door without additional (shock) additional costs.
          When you referred to airfreight with duty paid I assumed you were referring to the INCOTERM DDP which means delivered duty paid. It is a term quoted by suppliers, but not by freight companies. As I said, it is very rarely offered. If you have been given those terms you would be the exception rather than the rule for the simple reason that overseas suppliers do not want to take the risk of paying more duty than they expected to when they quoted you.

          From your comments in your latest post I now think you mean using a freight service that includes clearance through Customs and payment of duty on your behalf. This can be done two ways:
          1. Use a freight forwarder who has included door to door delivery and customs clearance. The clearance service also invariably involves payment of duty and tax (if applicable) on your behalf. You then pay the forwarder and they deliver the goods to you.
          2. Use a door to door air courier service. This can be arranged by you or by your supplier. Just like the freight forwarder service I describe, it also normally involves payment of duty and tax (if applicable) on your behalf. You then pay the air courier and they deliver the goods to you.
          Neither of these services meets the description DDP. Please see my post #5 above because it seems that like @macher you are mixing up airfreight and air couriers.

          All intending importers should be aware that it is not possible to know in advance the exact amount of duty payable. Your Freight Forwarder or Customs Broker should be able to give you a close estimate, but there are variables that can result in Customs imposing a lot more or a lot less duty than even those experts would expect.

          Walter
          Signature
          Use emotions and perceptions to build a great brand. Ask me about my book LabelsThatExploit. For safe sourcing and easy importing from 41 countries globally, see https://provenglobalsourcing.com
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          • Profile picture of the author erickz
            Yes, it is better to ship by courier instead of air freight for just a few boxes. There are now plenty of forwarding companies in China providing such services. Most of the times, a lot of factories just doesn't really handle the logistics, so it is definitely better if you can source for you own logistic partner. And by the way, it is definitely better if you know how to speak Chinese, because it will be easier to communicate, although some of them may be able to speak English, but errr... definitely a plus point if you speak their native language. Better still, if this supply chain is an important part of your business, then you need to get down there and have a look, I mean get into China, see how it works, talk to them.
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          • Profile picture of the author erickz
            Originally Posted by Importexport View Post

            When you referred to airfreight with duty paid I assumed you were referring to the INCOTERM DDP which means delivered duty paid. It is a term quoted by suppliers, but not by freight companies. As I said, it is very rarely offered. If you have been given those terms you would be the exception rather than the rule for the simple reason that overseas suppliers do not want to take the risk of paying more duty than they expected to when they quoted you.

            From your comments in your latest post I now think you mean using a freight service that includes clearance through Customs and payment of duty on your behalf. This can be done two ways:
            1. Use a freight forwarder who has included door to door delivery and customs clearance. The clearance service also invariably involves payment of duty and tax (if applicable) on your behalf. You then pay the forwarder and they deliver the goods to you.
            2. Use a door to door air courier service. This can be arranged by you or by your supplier. Just like the freight forwarder service I describe, it also normally involves payment of duty and tax (if applicable) on your behalf. You then pay the air courier and they deliver the goods to you.
            Neither of these services meets the description DDP. Please see my post #5 above because it seems that like @macher you are mixing up airfreight and air couriers.

            All intending importers should be aware that it is not possible to know in advance the exact amount of duty payable. Your Freight Forwarder or Customs Broker should be able to give you a close estimate, but there are variables that can result in Customs imposing a lot more or a lot less duty than even those experts would expect.

            Walter
            Yup, nice information Walter, I will probably take a look at your book, looks to contain a ton of information.

            Always better to go through a logistics provider/ forwarder/ etc to handle your logistics. Never let the factory do it, unless the quote that you get from them is much cheaper than you get from other providers, which rarely is the case. You need to check out the charges involved (freight charges, taxes, duties payable, other misc costs etc) by getting quotes from a few reliable providers before you make the decision. Just provide them the details of the shipment (content, weight, height, cost, destination, etc) and they will be able to provide an estimated quote.

            As for someone mentioning inspecting the quality of the goods before shipping out, there is no way you can do it unless you are there to inspect it yourself. And further more, even if you had inspected it yourself before the shipment, there's no guarantee that you will see the exact same goods when you received it upon arriving at your destination. Because they can do anything to the goods in between the transition from the factory to the customs (just FYI). Just pray hard you won't bump into those dishonest traders, we called it "奸商". My friend encounter that, but so far my experiences with the Chinese has been good.
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