Importing From China: The Definitive Guide

A large percentage of items that we see around us are either made or assembled in China. An importer somewhere just did you and me the favor of getting these products from China. And, this is just so that we can access them quickly. But then again, why should you import from China?

Importing from China is Good for Business

It makes perfect economic sense. Be it importing from China for personal use or reselling.
Here are reasons why;

• China offers you a wide variety of goods. Here, you have a choice of what kind of products you should import. Besides, as a business, this can help you to diversify. By doing so, you increase your business’ chances of growing. Diversifying can also help maximize your market share.
• Products from China are often low priced. This is great as it allows you to resale them competitively thus giving you an edge over your competitors.
• The Chinese trade sector is growing, and new trends keep emerging. This means that there’ll always be new products on the market. With this, it’s easy for you to sell different products to consumers at different times.
• China is continental trade-wise. As I’ve told you, it is the world’s second-largest exporter and a trading and manufacturing powerhouse. Importing from China, therefore, provides you with lots of markets at so many different levels. Generally, the country opens up lots of opportunities for businesses and individuals.
• Cheaper wages, easily accessible materials and expert designers characterize the Chinese manufacturing industry. These three things allow for products to be made quicker, cheaper and in large volumes. Thus, it is hard to dispute that China is just the place to manufacture or even assemble your goods.
• Another thing, the demand for goods from China is rapidly increasing worldwide. This is mostly due to their affordability. It, therefore, means that you’ll never run out of the market for goods you import from China.

Cheaper wages, plenty of resources, expert designers, trade infrastructure, friendly trade laws and all makes China a perfect trade hub.

Here is something that might interest you:

Initially, the Chinese economic model was designed to focus on often producing low-end goods. These goods were then exported in mass volumes to other parts of the world.

Today, however, I must say that China has done well in streamlining its economy to one that is more consumption driven. With the demand for goods in the US, European and Japanese markets are slowly decreasing, the change had become inevitable. New ideas, innovations, and strategies were necessary to help China grab a share at more emerging markets. They also had and still have to meet the expectations of these markets.

That’s why the Chinese manufacturing industry is currently adopting technologies with new levels of sophistication. The type of goods they are producing is not just the usual electronic components and apparels. China today produces a wide range of goods including vehicles, aircraft components, medical equipment, etc. The country is currently moving towards high-value production not the usual low-end goods with mass exports. Honestly, the transformation in China ‘s economy is real and sound.

Even western manufacturers are finding themselves competing with China for global market share.

I mean, with little steps as you can see, China is now dominating world trade. Its GDP alone in 2017 stood at USD 11.7 billion. This is the second best after US’ USD 19.4 billion. You can follow this link to learn more about Chinese economic outlook. As I’ve told you severally, China is the world’s biggest exporter and the largest trading nation in the world.

We can’t expect less of a country whose annual export for goods estimates totals USD 1.904 trillion. Take in 2017 alone for example; China shipped a whopping USD 2.271 trillion worth of goods to destinations across the world. Comparatively, there has been a significant increase in these figures since 2016, an increase of at least 8.3%.

Most of the goods that account for these figures include;

• Electronic devices and equipment
• Clothing and accessories
• Agricultural produce, i.e., cotton, tea, soybeans, potatoes, and rice
• furniture
• Plastics and associated items
• Organic chemicals
• Vehicles
• Machines, engines, and pumps
• Medical and technical equipment
• Ores
• Oil feeds
• Copper
• footwear
• confectionary

Those are not the only products that China exports. There are more that unfortunately, we won’t be mentioning today. You can, however, find them online to have a better understanding of the best products to import from China. You also should know what destinations you should import your made-in-China products. Read on to find out more about this.

This was before the advent of technology and globalization. Today, nonetheless it is possible for small and inexperienced individuals to look across China for the next product idea.

You don’t need to have a massive office with hundreds of employees to be able to import from China.

Besides, you don’t need to:

• Be Chinese
• Live in China
• Have any Chinese relations

There are so many ways of finding the best products and shipping it to your country. For example, you can use a Chinese sourcing agent and hire a reliable freight forwarder in China.

All you need is:

• Identify a product
• Know where to find suppliers
• Find the supplier
• Make your order and you are set.

The first step to finding the right products in China is to decide on the kind of product you want to source. Do you want to source an existing product, a deviation or an invention? Existing products, are those that are continuously made by factories in China.

If you plan to source an invention, you’ll have to ensure that suppliers clearly understand your specifications. Not only that, but they also have to be sure that they can meet the specifications with whatever resources they have.

Some of the items (deviations and inventions) that can be bought from China cheaply include;

• Un-branded electronics
• Stationary
• Non-designer wear clothing
• Device accessories.

So if you decide to import off-the-self or customized items from China, avoid suppliers that offer branded items. Most of the suppliers that claim offer branded items are mostly aiming to scam unwary and inexperienced buyers. So where can you find reliable suppliers in China? Find out below.

Knowing where to find the right suppliers is essential to finding the right products for your business. Fortunately or unfortunately, China has too many suppliers and manufacturers. They are so many that you can’t afford to look through all of them. Luckily, there are lots of ways through which you can locate these suppliers easily and quickly

These include;

Trade Fairs

While looking to find the right supplier, I recommend that you look through the following websites.

If you didn’t know, the above is the largest online marketplaces in China and the Far East. These sites are known to contain valid information about a majority of Chinese suppliers and manufacturers.

However, not all suppliers on these sites are top quality. As such, you must do your due diligence to ensure that you pick a reliable and trustworthy supplier. (I’ll show you how in section 4.2 of this chapter). Don’t let that discourage you though; you may find valid information here about hundreds of Chinese suppliers. Besides, there is an advantage to using these sites. You can contact suppliers directly on the websites and get quick responses.

What’s more?

You have an option of requesting for a proposal from some suppliers. You can find this on ‘request for proposal option’ on some websites. Please note however that when requesting for a proposal you may not get a response from all of the suppliers. But then, this is no matter when it comes to business.

Market Places

Another way to find suppliers in China is through trade fairs. Attending trade shows can help you find reliable information on possible suppliers and manufacturers. In China, for instance, the ‘Canton‘ fair is the most popular trade show where you can find the information you need. The Canton fair often holds every twice a year.

Besides this, there are also industry-specific trade shows that are often held around the world especially in Europe. Through these, you can meet Chinese suppliers directly and build guanxi (Chinese for connections or relationship).

Other trade fairs in China include:

• Yiwu Trade Fair
• Beijing International Auto Show
• Bauma China 2016
• East China Import and Export Commodity Fair (ECF)
• CPhI China

Apart from these, you can find other trade fairs here: Trade Fair Dates.

Online Exchanges

I understand that attending trade fairs can be restrictive regarding time and resources. Not to worry though as there are other efficient ways of finding a reliable supplier or manufacturer. One such way is through online exchanges. This is by far the easiest and most efficient way of finding a supplier in China from any part of the world.

Its advantages are vast:

• You can find a wide range of suppliers.
• Save thousands of money in commissions and marks up from intermediaries.

Generally, online exchanges also are the perfect way of finding a suitable manufacturer for your products.

Recommendations

Keeping recommendations from your importing agents can help you find a reliable supplier in China.

Now, let me take you through how to verify suppliers from various B2B sites like Alibaba.

When importing from China, the first step is always to find a hot product. But how can you find a hot product if you can’t find a reliable supplier in the first place? Well, as I told you, in this section, I am going to show you how to select and verify suppliers.

But before that;

Note that finding a company/factory that can supply you with a quality product is very important. In China, many suppliers and manufacturers can do this. The problem, however, is that they won’t come to you.

You need to find them, and Alibaba is just the right place for this. On Alibaba, you can find the goods you want cheaply and be able to sell them at competitive prices for a reasonable profit. It is easy enough to identify a product to import.

However, finding a legitimate and reliable supplier is not a walk in the park especially on a platform like Alibaba. Let’s be honest:
Not all suppliers on Alibaba are trustworthy. A good number of them are fraudsters and scammers.

As such, you must be able to verify suppliers that you find on this B2B site to avoid falling victim to scammers. First of all, you need to always get the suppliers business name and registration number from their website. Just click on the supplier contact information. If they have provided a website name or link, click on it and get this information.

If you find this impossible, ask straightway for contacts details like complete physical address and phone number. The phone number should be a landline. It is easier to verify the credibility of businesses using landlines. Once you get these details, check their validity especially the address. You can use address directories available online for this. Best of all, call the supplier on the phone and talk to them.

So if you are unsure of conducting over the phone transactions or negotiations don’t stress over it. Just let the supplier have their local representative to talk to you in person.

Insist on getting a product description and photos of products you intend to buy. The supplier should be able to provide these. You should also ask questions about the method of shipping and possible delivery date in case you order goods.
You don’t want to rush into ordering goods from a supplier that will take forever to deliver. Be aware that a trustworthy supplier will always tell you at once when and how you can expect to receive your order.

If the supplier you’re dealing with gives vague answers to questions you ask, then it’s likely that they are fake.

Another thing, to verify the credibility of the supplier, you should be able to confirm the quality of their products. You can ask the supplier to send samples and makes arrangements for you to visit their warehouse or factory.

A legitimate supplier will readily accept these requests. A fake one will be quick to give excuses as to why you cannot visit their warehouse and such like things. Now, here is where the problem often comes in; Some suppliers will readily agree to almost all of your conditions and requests. If a supplier quickly agrees to your given delivery schedule, order quantity, packaging, etc., be wary.

Any reliable and trustworthy supplier will have questions of their own and will try to negotiate some conditions. They will want to know the exact specifications of your order, preferred shipping method, etc.

That is why I said, if you are unsure of the credibility of a supplier, have them send a representative.

This will give you a chance to determine if the supplier is legitimate or not. How do you avoid scammers and fraudsters on Alibaba? Well, Alibaba itself has put up measures to help visitors quickly identify credible suppliers.

In your search, you find there are suppliers whose profiles have an ‘A&V check’ ‘trade assurance’ and ‘Assessed tag’.

What do they imply?

• ‘A&V check’ – shows has successfully undergone Alibaba’s authentication and verification process.
• Trade assurance – this means that a supplier takes part in Alibaba’s trade assurance program.
• Assessed – shows that a supplier has been inspected on Alibaba.com by third a party inspection company
• Gold supplier – these are supplier that have paid to undergo additional verification process. Note that they are suppliers who have completed onsite authentication and verification.

So do you want to find a trustworthy and reliable supplier quickly and without running any risk? Well then you’ll have to filter your search to the above named aspects.

A trustworthy and reliable supplier is crucial to the success of your importation business. So as you venture into the business of importing from China, find a supplier that can provide you with cheap but quality items. Once you find that supplier, you can proceed to the next stage which is to;

Trust me, the hardest part of importing from China has always been to find the right supplier. Once you find that one supplier you can trust, everything else falls into place.

Request for a Product Sample

After finding a potential supplier, the next step should be to order for a sample before you make the actual order.

The truth is:

It is easier to verify the quality when you have it physically. If the quality satisfies your needs, proceed to order.

You need to agree on the:

• MOQ
• Price
• Terms of payment
• Shipping method, etc.

As you negotiate, don’t forget the fact that every supplier would have a price limit below which they can’t go. This means that you’re likely to end on the negative side. When this happens, the supplier may end up using low-cost materials, low quality, manufacturing, shoddier packaging among other things.

As such, take importance in your primary objective to build a long-term relationship. You should never negotiate too much during the first order. Agreeing to a slightly higher price the first time increases your chances of getting discounts for subsequent orders. One more thing, coming to terms with Chinese suppliers is an unending process. It is quite a common thing that you should anticipate when importing from China. So how do you go about negotiating?

While Negotiating the Price, Focus on Long-term Partnership

First, find a reasonable price front through email, Skype or telephone. Negotiate the target price on this front keeping in mind the possibility of a long-term relationship.

Make sure you agree on the:

• Price
• Minimum order quantity
• Method of shipping
• Delivery period
• Terms of payment, sale and return

You must verify all these before signing any contract. Also, check with the supplier for any other due diligence that you have to meet and complete. After this, you can then proceed to make your order knowing that you will get absolute value for your money.

Just remember this:

There is never an end to negotiating when importing from China. So, when buying goods from China never stop negotiating. You’ll think that you’ve gotten the best price in the first instance.

But wait until you realize how low you can get the goods on your 5^th order. Sometimes, you can even get goods at 50% lower than the original price. That’s just China. Nothing remains constant. In all this though, I must say that guanxi plays a significant role.

So if you can, try to build strong and lasting relationships with the key players in the business. Also, cut links with your suppliers in China just because you’ve built up your business. Keeping in touch can help reduce your allowable MOQ by up to 50%.

I realize that I’ve mentioned MOQ many times up to this point, but I haven’t really told you what it is. Some of you may know what an MOQ is while some may not. Either way, MOQ is an abbreviation of minimum order quantity.

For that, they have to sell in large volumes otherwise they want to be able to break even. Another reason for the high MOQs in China is because the suppliers also struggle to meet MOQs set by their subcontractor. Remember that manufacturers’ source materials and components from other suppliers. These other suppliers have a set MOQ for their products too. So, to meet the subcontractors, MOQ products suppliers in China also have to set high MOQs.

This is the only way they can be able to keep buying on the order-to-order basis. And by the way, this is the reason why you’ll see different items in China having different MOQs.

A third reason for the high MOQ could be because Chinese suppliers specialize on make-to-order production.

Most of them don’t keep stock. If you consider this, you’ll realize that it is hard for them to supply goods in small quantities.

And please, don’t get me wrong:

You should think of MOQ this way:

The more times and quantity you buy, the more the cost per unit gets. For instance, if you are buying 10 units, don’t expect to get the price of 500 units because the quantity is simply lower. Also, a supplier will not sell you ten units because they can’t invest their manufacturing resources to produce a small quantity. If they do this, will they end up losing a lot of money?

It is just the same when you go buy goods from a wholesale shop. You cannot buy one item at the price of when you buy ten. Unless of course if you don’t mind buying the item at the price of one.

Actually, for those of you that don’t want to import in large volumes, you don’t have to worry about MOQs. As I’ve told you, some suppliers don’t have MOQs. Most suppliers on AliExpress, for instance, don’t have MOQS. You might not like the prices there if you compare with what you would pay for the same item on Alibaba.

As an importer, however, you have to ensure that the landed cost of your items makes economic sense. Unlike duty and taxes, most of the charges, in this case, are often fixed, i.e., CHA, multimodal freight, and warehousing charges. So if you are importing for commercial purposes; You must ensure that your imports quantity divided by the CIF charges are competitive even after adding the profit margin.

The overall value per unit item should suit your target market.

The bottom line:

When considering MOQ, it is always best if you ask around and research more before you decide to get into a supply contract.

Now, you’ve done your research to find a good supplier, finally found one and have even made an order for products. The next step should be to perform quality checks. Quality control, should be done well before the manufacturing process begins. So that after verifying the sample product, you can now find out what step the supplier will take to keep quality under check.

Keep this in mind:

Product quality often depends on the raw materials used to produce it. The steps that a manufacturer will take during the process of manufacturing is also vital and should be continuous. So once your order is ready, you can do either of the following things to verify their quality;

• Trust the supplier and their steps for quality control. This is only recommended if your order is small. If you made a larger order, then this might not be the best step.
• For larger orders, you can have a representative from your supply chain to manage quality control. Note, that this is only possible if you have resources in China. You can use the resources to keep watch on the product quality throughout the production stage.
• Or, you can hire a third party inspection company to manage the quality inspection on your behalf. If you’ve ordered a considerable amount of goods, this may be your best option.

Let’s talk about the latter which is using third party inspection services.

First of all, what is a third party inspection company? Well, this is a company that acts on behalf of companies and individuals that import from China. They are companies that act in your best interests (as a buyer) to ensure that you receive goods of good quality. Basically, what these companies do is send inspectors to your supplier’s factory/warehouse to verify the quality of goods produced.

Please note:

While third-party inspectors work in your best interest, they always try to stay neutral during the inspection process. This neutrality helps them greatly to provide nonbiased reports.

So how do you contact them?

Easy, there are very many companies offering third-party inspection services in China. All you need to do is search online and pick a company whose package, experience and service provision seem to be most promising. As you do this, ensure that you consider companies that are recognized by the Chinese government.

These should be companies that have ISO 9001 and AQSIQ certification

Once you find a potential company to work with, you can contact them directly on their website. You can also make contact via email, phone call or Skype to the company and inquire about their services and charges.

When importing from China, the process as you can tell is quite straightforward. You identify a product, find a supplier, make negotiations, agree on terms, order goods, and make payment. When paying for goods in China, you can either pay in part or in full. Part payment is where you deposit production to commence and finish up when goods are ready.

So once you’ve made your order, you wait for the supplier to produce the goods and get them ready for shipping. Now, as I’ve told you before, it is your responsibility after making an order to ensure quality control. You need to ascertain that you are getting what you pay for. Regarding this, it is crucial that as you order for goods, you also specify the product in detail. This should also include the product packaging and labeling. These note as must comply with the import regulations of the product destination. Now, what about packing and labeling? In the import/export business, every country has its regulations on how imports/exports must be packaged.

Okay, you already know how to find and contact a third party inspection company. But do you know how to go about the inspection process?

Well, let’s find out.

As I said, quality control is critical in the import from China business. You don’t want to order and ship goods only to realize that poor quality, faulty or poorly packaged. In that case, inspection is necessary. It doesn’t matter whether you do it personally, get your company agent to do it or a third party inspection company.

The bottom line?

Quality control has to be done right from when manufacturing begins to when goods are packaged. That said, the process of inspection is simple. For one, you need to decide on who will conduct the inspection.

Let’s say you choose to use a third party inspection company; this is how it will go down: You will get samples from your supplier, verify its quality, and make recommendations on how you want the final product to be. After this, you will then give this sample together with the recommendations to the inspection company.

Now, third-party inspection companies work on your behalf as your savior in case of a non-compliant production.

Remember this from our previous discussion in section 4.5?

Good!

What’s worse is that they also won’t be liable for anything at any point. Therefore, be sure to include all that is needed no matter how trivial.

Here is What Happens after Sending Back Sample with Instructions

After the inspection company receives your instructions, it will prepare a checklist which you’ll need to verify. As you do this, you may adjust the list to suit your needs.

This is where you’ll realize the importance of giving clear instructions to the supplier for the sample preparation process. Beware not to allow for the inspection to be done without a sample. Otherwise, you will be disappointed when the final reports do not match your expectations.

Remember;

Suppliers are in businesses such their only concern is to ship out and get paid as soon as possible.

Take this with great importance:

Inspection requirements keep changing year in year out. Here is a simple quality test for photochromic film and sheet.

Today, therefore, it takes a lot of effort to inspect products to ensure that they meet your expectations. Keeping this in mind, you should only use a reliable, professional and experienced inspection company. So don’t rush to hiring an inspector without experience just because they charge less. Now back to the inspection process. You have given the sample with instructions to the inspection company, great! Also, provide the company with a copy of your purchase order.

The point of importance:

Never expose the FOB price in the purchase order. You can blank it out as the inspectors may pass it on to competitors. You may choose to ignore this fact but know this; inspecting companies work for a myriad of customers. This means that they’ll frequently run into counterparts from other companies in their line of work Knowing this, FOB prices is not something you would want inspectors to discuss among themselves. As such, do not give them that chance by showing the FOB price on your purchase order copies.

The bottom line:

Along with other instructions from you, the inspector will include vital information from your purchase order to the checklist. This like I said, you’ll have to okay.

Usually, the checklist contains photos of details the inspection company needs to familiarize themselves with. Generally, the more information you provide, the better the inspection company can do the job. Once everything is clear, you can proceed to book your inspections online. Note that booking the inspection must be done in advance. This should be at least seven working days to when you expect production to complete. It can also be seven days before the date when at least 80% of the production will have been done.

Inspectors will only accept to conduct an inspection when a majority of the production is complete. This includes packaging and labeling of the products whose production has been completed. If you book an inspection when less than 80% production is done, the inspector may refuse to do it. This will mean that the inspection will have failed and as such the supplier will have to incur an extra charge for this.

Remember, once you know the ins and outs of this trade, it all stops being complex. Generally, importing from China isn’t as hard as you may think and so is finding the right goods.

You don’t need to know Cantonese, travel to China or meet the high MOQ that most Chinese factories demand. The moment you decide to source from China, you’ll realize that it’s entirely different from what you’ve been made to believe. In fact, it is effortless to find the right goods for your business. You just need to do your research and follow due processes to ensure that you get the best product from China. If you can hack this, then you can really profit from importing from China.

Up to this point, you know the rules and regulations of importing from China. You’ve found the right goods to import and a good freight forwarder to use. The next move would be to decide how you are going to ship the items and frankly, there are various ways of doing this. However, you need to know which method will guarantee you safe, fast and affordable shipping from China. In this chapter, therefore, you are going to learn about the various forms of freight shipping from China.

You will learn the pros and cons of each form of shipping and suitability of using each means. By the end of this chapter, I hope you’ll be able to know which methods best suits your supply chain needs. So read on.

Ocean Freight from China

Ocean freight is the most common mode of transport used to ship goods across global destinations. When importing from China, ocean freight may be the best option if affordability and efficiency are your key concerns.

Why am I saying this?

Well, China is located in East Asia near Pakistan, India, Thailand, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and South Korea. The country is also on the Pacific Ocean. Its location on the Pacific Ocean makes it ideal to use ocean freight when shipping from China. In China, the Pacific Ocean is located along the southern coast. Most of the manufacturing factories in China are located in the islands along the coast or close to the coast.

Besides, China has very good infrastructure that provides easy access to the cost All these make ocean freight a great option when shipping from China Now, ocean shipping has always been an excellent choice for shipping for a number of reasons.

One is while it takes a little longer to ship from China by sea, it is less costly compared to other modes of shipping. Another reason for the popularity of ocean shipping is that it provides a lot of flexibility as far as what you can ship from China. Other modes of shipping, i.e., air freight tend to limit you on the number of goods you can send. This is often due to space constrictions and additional costs of sending heavy, large or irregularly shaped items. With ocean freight from China, however, these limitations are not much of an issue. A ship can accommodate all kinds of shipments regardless of shape, size or weight.

The cost also typically remains reasonable regardless of what you are shipping. This can allow you to ship large amounts of goods if you are sourcing from China to other parts of the world. So, when ocean shipping from China, use a company that provides quality and flexible ocean shipping services This will enable you to ship more affordable and efficiently. Such a company also gives you the option of sending either LCL or FCL depending on your current shipping needs.

Generally, you should consider ocean shipping for two main reasons;

• cost benefits
• and the flexibility regarding the volume and weight of goods you can ship via ocean freight

Besides, ocean shipping services today give you the option of tracking the progress of your shipment during transit. You just have to find an ocean shipping service provider with a well streamlined logistical infrastructure. Find a company that regularly engages in ocean freight shipping to be sure that your items will be handled carefully.

For successful ocean shipping from China, you should also ensure that your items are properly packaged and labeled. They should also be appropriately secured inside the shipping container for safe shipping. Provided you follow these instructions, your ocean freight shipment should work perfectly.

You should be able to transport goods safely from China to your destination. If using ocean freight, these are the ports that your shipment may be loaded from in China;

• Shanghai seaport
• Shenzhen seaport
• Guangzhou seaport
• Hong Kong seaport
• Tianjin seaport
• Qingdao seaport
• Xiamen seaport
• Hangzhou seaport among others

Air freight from China

Like ocean freight, air freight is also quite popular.

This is especially in cases where you are shipping time-sensitive, high value, express or small shipments. In this cases, air shipping becomes preferable as it saves time and cost on smaller items. Like ocean shipping which delivers goods from seaport to seaport, air shipping ships from airport to airport.

Luckily, China has lots of airports that are located strategically in the country’s most industrious regions. Due to this, it is easy to ship your goods from any location in China using the airport nearest to where your shipment is.

The main airports that you may use to ship goods from China include;

• Beijing capital international airport
• Guangzhou international airport
• Chengdu shuangilu international airport
• Shanghai Pudong international airport
• Shenzhen Baoan international airport
• Kunming Changshui international airport
• Shanghai Hongqiao international airport
• Xi’an Xianyang International Airport
• Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
• Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
• Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport
• Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport
• Qingdao Liuting International Airport

Once the goods reach your destination airport, you’ll have to take care of the customs processes to ensure that your products are allowed entry. As you can see, you can air ship goods from China to any part of the world. This is thanks to China’s numerous airports and airlines that serve most routes across the globe. Air freight is a big industry and, as I’ve told you, you can use it to send practically anything to any part of the world.

About airlines- there are so many airlines operating freight services from China to other parts of the world.

These include major global carriers like:

• Lufthansa Cargo
• Cargolux
• UPS airlines
• Asiana cargo
• Air China cargo.

At this point, you may ask, why should I choose air freight over ocean freight?

Well, air freight is undoubtedly speedier than all modes of transport as it shortens the delivery period for goods. As such, it offers faster shipping of goods from origin to destination. Ocean freight is slower but cheaper. Comparatively, air freight is the fastest way for time-constrained deliveries around the globe.

Ocean freight will have you waiting for the delivery of goods for one month (depending on the destination). Air freight on the other hand only takes five days sometimes three to deliver from China to other parts of the world. Take note however that while air freight delivers faster, it is expensive. As such, you may want to consider a few elements to see if it would be better to use alternative means that are cheaper. One such factor is the cargo destination. Typically, commercial airlines provide direct/nonstop shipping service options. Nonetheless, there are some that do not offer this service option.

Direct service will depart from China and arrive at your destination without having to stop over another country during transit. An indirect service, on the other hand, involves the airliner stopping at one or more countries before reaching its final destination. If you choose indirect air freight services, your cargo may arrive later than it would if you use a direct air freight service. Another thing with air freight is that you can ship items using the next available flight to the intended destination.

This service runs across all major carriers. Typically, the next available flight option is nonstop and very costly. Whenever possible, you should use the standard air freight modes or other cheaper means of shipping instead. Unless of course if your package has to be in its destination overnight. Doing this can give you savings against using the next available flight option.

Please note:

The kind of freight service you opt to work with will determine how often you fly from China to the destination. This also note can affect the arrival time of your cargo is it’s an urgent shipment. Now, if you want to book air freight shipping service, I recommend you do this for an airport that is nearest to your supplier in China. Make the booking early enough to avoid the hassle that accompanies the last minute rush.

Rail Freight from China

If you don’t want to use ocean shipping due to its longer delivery times or air freight as it’s costly, you can opt for rail freight. Rail freight from China is cheaper and quite efficient. If you intend to ship a larger volume of goods that are also bulky from China, you can use rail freight.

Note, however, that rail freight from China is only viable for those importing from China to destinations across Asia, Russia, and Europe. If you are importing to Africa, America or even Australia, then rail freight from China may not apply in your case. I must say that rail freight is the perfect alternative for shipping goods from China to Europe and other parts of Asia. You may wonder how it is possible to ship from China to Europe via rail.

Well, let me enlighten you.

There is a railway network that connects cities in China to others in Asia, Russia, and Europe. This network is commonly known as the Eurasia network derived from Europe, Russia, and Asia. It is also known as the ‘new silk road.’

Now here is the thing; the Eurasia railway network consists of three main operational corridors. There is the northern, southern and central corridors.

What are these and how do they connect?

Well, the northern corridor comprises of routes to Europe through Russia. It kind of follows a similar route to that of the Trans-Siberian railway that connects Moscow to Russian Fareast regions. The trans-Siberian railway network also connects cities in China, Mongolia, and South Korea.

But that is a topic for another day. So there is the northern corridor, and then the central corridor. The central corridor of the Eurasian railway network goes through Kazakhstan from China. It links with the northern corridor on the western part of Russia. And lastly but not least, there is the southern corridor. This one is ideally the longest route among the three. It runs across Kazakhstan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and turkey linking with the European railway network. If using the southern route, you may choose to ship from China through Kazakhstan to Aktau.

Once in Aktau, you can move the goods across the Caspian Sea using ferry before reconnecting. Doing this can help to speed up on delivery time. Note that the Eurasian rail network starts from Yiwu in China.

China Courier Services

I told you that there are multiple ways of shipping goods from China. Among these, we’ve mentioned air freight, ocean freight and rail as these are the main ones. Now, there is also the courier shipping services which you will at some point need to use during your import from China rendezvous.

This is the thing;

Every business at least lands a situation where they need to send an urgent package at some point. During these times, courier services often come in handy. With these, you can be sure that your urgent parcels will reach their destination on time and without any hiccups. So when it is viable to use courier services when importing from China? Of course apart from when you need goods delivered in time.

Well, if you want to ship fragile or delicate items that need to be handled with care, courier shipping could be it. These items could be important shipping documents, product samples, etc. China courier services, in this case, can help you meet your requirements without any hassle. They will ideally guide you on the best way to package the items and ensure that they reach their destination in one piece.

Courier services, note, are pretty fast in delivery. Their delivery schedules are way better than the standard air freight ones. With courier services, you can have goods delivered from China to any part of the world within three days.

Express courier service does deliveries overnight.

The best part;

You don’t have to worry about customs clearance. This is because courier companies tend to handle this bit to ensure that deliveries are conducted as scheduled without any delays. The courier companies have professional customs brokers/agents that do clearances for them quickly and easily. About China courier services, this is where most people get it wrong; that it is expensive to courier ship. Well, courier mostly gets costly when you are moving an unusually large volume of goods.

But if you have small packages, courier shipping is very cost efficient. It provides very competitive freight charges for people shipping small packages. It is cheaper to ship via a courier service than to ship LCL. So where can you find these courier services in China?

Simple: Courier companies are abundant in China. You shouldn’t even waste your resources on finding them physically. Just log on online and search ‘China courier services’. You will get plenty of results with information that’ll help you find the perfect company for your courier shipping needs. Known companies like FedEx, UPS, DHL, and TNT are the major companies operating courier shipping services from China.

These companies have established offices in every major region in the world. As such, finding them shouldn’t be that hard. Once you get on their website, you can access a plethora of information. This will include the cost of shipping, schedules, minimum cargo weight and among other things.

Don’t get me wrong;

The four above are the major courier service companies in the world. However, other companies offer the same service in China. China post, EMS and Hong Kong post are some of the companies that offer courier shipping services from China. The distinction between these and the likes of FedEx is that their transit times are not so dependable.

Therefore, you will have to think hard before you settle on a courier company to ship your goods from China.

We (JMS) work with top courier companies in the world. This means that we can find you the perfect courier shipping service for whatever kind of goods you want to ship. This is no matter how far the goods need to travel.

Popular Incoterms when importing from China

As you can see, importing from China is a systematic process. It involves a lot of things that you must understand to import successfully. That said, this is the one part about shipping from China that you should pay keen attention to.

Why?

This is because a small mistake or misunderstanding on the Incoterms can cost you a fortune. So let’s get to it right away. Incoterms for starters are three letter words that define when responsibility for goods passes on from the seller to the buyer. As I’ve just said, importing from China is systemic.

There are a lot of stages and processes involved for goods to successfully move from an origin China to the destination. Due to this, it is crucial for importers to know where responsibility lies and at what stage of the importation process. Incoterms are all about cost and responsibility. Once you understand them, it becomes very difficult to encounter hiccups or even pay for things that you shouldn’t.

Now, what was the question again?

Aaaah! Popular incoterms when shipping from China right?

Well, there are many, but mainly you’ll come across the following incoterms in your import from China ventures.

EXW (Ex works)

An EXW is usually followed by the name of the place where the shipment is made available to the buyer. In this case, the supplier responsibility is just to avail the goods at their factory/warehouse. If you use to buy goods on EXW terms, it means that you will take control of goods at the supplier door. Any responsibility thereon falls unto you.

Let me give you a real-life example;

Say you’ve bought USD 10000 worth of laptop chargers from me. You then decide to arrange for your transport. On my end, I will quote you my laptop chargers ex-works. This will mean that the price you get from me only includes the price you pay for the final products that I produce. Following expenses after this are actually yours to bear. So, if you buy EXW, you need to consider other costs involving transportation mostly, before taking that figure as your net cost. This means that my only responsibility will be to avail the laptop chargers at my warehouse.

Once I do this, you’ll simply organize your own transportation and have the goods delivered from my base.

Quite simple right?

Let’s move on to the next term.

FOB

FOB which stands for ‘Free on Board or ‘Freight on Board is the most commonly used incoterm when shipping from China. If you import FOB from China, it means that the supplier is responsible for loading and transporting the goods to origin port. On your part as the buyer, you bear the cost of insurance and that of transporting goods from origin port to final destination.

This means that all risks that you may incur during loading at origin port are on you. FOB take note particularly essential if you intend to import a large number of goods from China. In this regard, understanding it will help you know your role in ensuring the safe delivery of goods from China. It will also help you to know at what stage in the shipping cycle you assume possession of goods.

CIF

CIF stands for ‘cost insurance freight’.

A CIF quotation indicates that the supplier is responsible for every shipping expense including delivery and insurance. In CIF shipping, the seller is responsible for delivering the goods to your destination port. It is only after delivery at the destination port that the seller can record a sale and you, an increase in inventory. Take note that CIF is particularly crucial since the supplier pays for the insurance premium. In this case, CIF shipping guarantees you compensation against the loss or damage of goods at any point during shipping

DDP

Delivered duty paid (DDP) is a term that defines who’s responsible for delivering the products at the buyer’s doorstep. This term on a quotation and purchase order is often followed by a named destination place, i.e., DDP Cebu. DDP is more like the opposite of EXW. In EXW, the seller’s responsibility ends at availing goods at their warehouse. DDP, on the other hand, gives the seller full responsibility for goods from their warehouse in China to buyers destination.

This means that the supplier bears all costs of transporting the goods from origin to final destination. The seller in DDP shipping bears all transport costs, customs clearances, duty as well as insurance.

DAT

DAT stands for ‘Delivered at Terminal’.

DAT shipping requires the seller to delivers goods from origin port to a named terminal at the destination port. Let’s say your choice terminal is terminal 2 at anchorage international airport in the US. When shipping on DAT terms, the seller will ship the goods from China to the US (Anchorage) The seller will foresee the unloading of the products and have them moved to terminal 2 as specified in the C/O. From thereon, the buyer will take care of all import clearance procedures and transportation from the terminal to the final destination.

CFR

CFR is an abbreviation for ‘cost and freight.’

It demands that the seller pays for transportation of goods up to the specified destination port. All risks, however, pass on the buyer once goods are loaded aboard the shipping vessel. The buyer is also responsible for all custom export procedures at the country of origin in this case China. That’s not all.

CFR shipping requires that the buyer pays for insurance premium against loss and damage of goods during shipping. So basically, the seller’s role in CFR shipping is to only cater for transportation from origin port to destination. Everything else falls off the buyer. If you want the seller to cater for insurance costs, then consider CIF shipping.

FCA

FCA for ‘Free Carrier’ is where the supplier arranges the shipment and delivers it to the chosen carrier at the selected location. So let’s say you are shipping on FCA terms from Shanghai to Manila. And, you’re using COSCO shipping services. Here, your supplier will produce the goods, package and label them. They will then deliver the goods to the COSCOs shipping yard at Shanghai seaport. From there, the carrier will deliver the goods to Manila from where you’ll take over and proceed with other import processes.

DAP

DAP stands for ‘delivered at place’.</5>

It refers to a situation where the seller takes care of all charges including delivery of goods to the buyer’s address. Customs clearance, in this case, mustn’t be paid by either party as this can be done based on an agreement. So if during booking you agree that the seller will take of care of customs clearance procedure then good. Note however that in DAP, the seller isn’t responsible for paying the import duties and taxes. You, the buyer, will take care of this bit at the destination.

So which incoterms is right for you?

Well, all of the above terms have their own pros and cons. They also all apply to different situations and needs. With this in mind, you should only choose an incoterm that best suits your current needs and situation. Nonetheless, you should always choose a term that won’t strain your pocket nor your business.

Most importers give little importance to how goods are shipped from origin to destination. They don’t know that using an improper mode of shipping can subject goods to damage or even loss during transit. As such, it is always important to move freight using the right mode of shipping. This will help ensure that goods arrive at their destination safe and in one piece. For shipping from China, you can use any of the following shipping modes based on your type of goods, budget, and specific needs.

LCL Shipping from China

LCL stands for ‘less than container load.’ It is a mode of shipping that allows you to ship whatever amount of goods you have. In this case, you won’t have to be able to fill up a standard container to be able to ship. You can ship half or even a quarter a container from China to your destination. You should note by the way that the term LCL is used to refer to when a shipment is not enough to fill a full container. In this situation, you’ll have to find expert consolidation services which will help you ship your goods to destination.

Please note: Consolidators are people/companies that help arrange for several LCL shipments to be shipped together.

When shipping LCL, therefore, the consolidator will arrange for your cargo to ship alongside those of other shippers in one container. Once the goods arrive at the destination port, they are separated and delivered to individual final destinations. In general, LCL shipping kind of provides an economical way to ship items that can’t fill a standard shipping container. It is a prevalent mode of shipping in China, especially for ocean freight.

FCL Shipping from China

As I’ve said to you, LCL is an option that you can use to ship goods that can’t fill up a container. If however, your goods are enough to fill up a standard shipping container, you can book FCL shipping. Shipping Full Container Load (FCL) means that all the goods in one container belong to you or rather a single shipper.

Out of Gauge Shipping from China

Out of gauge or OOG is a type of shipping that is used to ship OOG cargo. This (OOG) is cargo that exceeds the dimension of a shipping container in length, width or height. It could be heavy plant machinery, agricultural equipment, military equipment, helicopters, etc. When shipping such types of cargo, you need a form of shipping that can accommodate its size, shape and general shipping needs.

Roll On/Roll Off Shipping from China

Roll on/roll off shipping or Roro as it commonly known is the most popular service for shipping wheeled cargo. Wheeled cargo, in this case, is motor vehicles mostly trucks, cars, and buses. Roro shipping is usually the cheaper and safer mode of shipping vehicles from China to other parts of the world.

Reefer Shipping from China

Are you shipping perishable items? Or any items that require temperature control or special ventilation? You should book reefer shipping. The word reefer note is an adaptation of the word refrigerator. This is why it is also sometimes referred to as refrigerated shipping. In this type of shipping, cargo ships that are specially designed to transport temperature sensitive cargo are used.

Note that before packing cargo into a reefer container, the container is typically chilled. After this, goods are packed evenly to allow for stable cooling and proper air circulation.

What goods require reefer shipping from China?

Well, there are a lot of these but mostly perishable items like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, and seafood.

The Door to Door Shipping from China

Shipping from China to overseas destinations can be a struggle especially if you are operating on a busy schedule. Fortunately, services like door to door shipping provide a solution for this. Here, professional shippers pick up your items from the supplier’s door and deliver them right at your doorstep. With this, your only job is to find the right products to import and a suitable shipping agent.

What follows after this leave it in the hands of your agents?

Since shipping goods from China can cause added stress levels, having a door to door shipping is very beneficial. Most companies including JMS offer real-time to track on your goods. With JMS’s door to door delivery service, expert agents will pack, prepare and load your goods into the proper container. If you are shipping OOG goods, our team will ensure that this to be shipped correctly. After this, our customs agents will help clear the goods through customs, unpack them and drop them safely at your given address.

So instead of managing your own shipment while simultaneously dealing with other business matters, let JMS help you. The time that you save from this, you can use it to do other important things. Remember that we are professionals at this. We have many years of door to door shipping experience, and for all this time we’ve handled shipping of thousands of items. With JMS door to door delivery service, you don’t have to worry about anything. We can move all kinds of items whether light or heavy, small or bulky – we can handle it all.

Drop Shipping from China

Dropshipping is becoming increasingly popular in China. This type of shipping means that you can sell products even without having any stock of the products. With the advent of technology, it is easy for anyone to start an e-commerce platform to sell a variety of products online, today. This, you can easily do without worrying about the initial cost for stock.

You just need to buy the products that you need from a Chinese wholesaler after you receive an order for it. The Chinese wholesaler will then arrange for the product and deliver it straight to the customers address on your behalf. Chinese companies that offer this service will often ship the products in boxes with your business name and contacts on them.

The essence of this is to prevent customers from knowing that the item is from a Chinese wholesaler instead of you. While drop shipping is known to be quite profitable and hassle-free, it has one major downside.

The downside of this is that it is difficult for an amateur in the business to find a trustworthy Chinese products supplier. As I told you before in chapter 4 of this article, there are many scam Chinese companies who claim to be real service providers. In a real sense, however, most of these are total fraudsters who take your money and go missing. Some are intermediaries offering products at exaggerated prices than the actual wholesaler.

How do you discover these?

Ask the company claiming to be a Chinese wholesale supplier for the contact information of the manufacturer who produces the products. If they resist to, it is highly likely that they are intermediaries offering goods at a higher price to you. Well, this is just a drop in the ocean, there are more trustworthy suppliers in China than there are fakes.

The best part:

Most of the trustworthy suppliers are increasingly covering a broader category of products. This means that nearly everyone can find a product to sell from Chinese product suppliers. It doesn’t matter which products you want to sell or to which market, you will always find the perfect product in China. Just do your due diligence and partner with a reliable China drop shipping company that offers a vast range of products. This way, you can sell without having to worry about stock and delivery of the product from yourself.

The bottom line:

No matter what mode of shipping you are using, there are shipping companies who want your business. These are businesses that will offer you quality shipping services at very competitive rates.

It often requires upfront cash to buy goods, costs to ship and transport the goods. It also requires storage and delivery to the final destination once goods arrive at the destination port. This chapter, therefore, aims at providing some insights on some of the costs of importing from China.

The Main Importing Costs from China

These costs include are but not limited to;

Cost of the Products from a Chinese Supplier

It also includes the cost of:

• Packaging
• Loading, and
• Transporting, the goods to the port of departure.

Local transportation (from supplier’s base to loading port) is not that expensive. A 20 GP FCL container costs at most USD 500 to move, depending on the distance of supplier to loading port. In most cases where you purchase goods on FOB terms, the supplier in China will take care of this cost.

Cost of Shipping

Often referred to as “freight cost”, this is the cost you incur to move goods from loading port to destination port. Frankly, this is the most complex part of it all as it’s more inclined towards the local charges, paid at the destination port. The cost for shipping, largely depends on the distance from the origin to destination as well as the mode of transportation used. In this case, importing from China to the USA by sea will cost less than importing from China to the Philippines. Similarly, shipping by air to the same destinations will also cost more than it would if you ship by sea.

Tax and Duty for Goods Imported from China

In every country, most imports are subject to tax and duties. Take for example, other countries like the USA, goods from China are subject to anti-dumping measures. In this case, importers may be required to pay high additional duties for products to be allowed entry into the country.

Storage and Distribution Costs at Destination

If you don’t have a warehouse of your own, you may need to use a hired one to store your goods from China. This is only if you are not distributing the goods immediately. In this case, you will have to pay for storage costs as none of it is free.

You may incur other costs too like;

• Possible cost for import licenses
• Customs bond costs especially for US importers
• Insurance costs

Factors Affecting the Cost of Importing from China

The cost of importing from China is subject to some factors. Moreover, importing requirements tend to be specific to an importer. From the kind of products, type and mode of shipping, destination, etc. all these vary with individual importers. Because of this, therefore, the cost of importing from China differs significantly from one customer to the next.

Note however that certain major factors influence the overall cost of importing goods from China.

Below given are a few such factors;

Means of Transportation

The means of transport you choose for your imports from China contributes largely in deciding the overall cost of importation In this respect, note that transporting imports can not only be done by moving them across the ocean, air, or rail. Inland transportation, which involves moving goods from port to final destination also makes part of the importing cost.

Mode of Shipping

The shipment mode is another factor that affects the cost of importing from China. As I told you before, there are many modes of shipping from China. You can ship FCL if you have enough goods to fill up a container or LCL if not. You can choose reefer shipping for temperature sensitive cargo or OOG shipping for oversized and irregularly shaped items. If you are shipping wheeled cargo, Roro is the best mode of shipping to use.

If you are into the dropship business, drop shipping would be best. All these shipping modes are provided as services by most companies in China. So naturally, some shipments cost more than others. For instance, shipping FCL will cost you more than it would if you ship LCL. Likewise, the kind of goods as in the case of reefer shipping and OOG shipping will also cost you more. Besides, you may have to pay additional costs for insurance when shipping such fragile and expensive items.

Distance from Origin to Destination

The shipping distance from China will also largely influence your cost of importing from China. The overall travel distance and the difficulties can affect the cost of importation.

In this regard, therefore, it is advisable that you thoroughly research the destination you intend to import to. This will help you understand what costs you may incur and in what range.

Customs and Taxes

Customs and taxes account in the overall cost of importation. Every country, note, has its own customs regulations. So, in essence, the cost of this will depend on the destination to which you are importing to from China. Remember, that taxes and duties are charges that must be paid before goods can be allowed entry into the importation country. To ease the stress that comes with this, it is best to book a customs brokerage service. Although this will add to your overall importing expense, it is worth it as it will free you from a lot of stress and problems with customs. To get some savings, it is wise that you choose a shipping company with experience in shipping to your destination.

Other Factors

In addition to the factors mentioned above, the following elements also influence the total cost of importing from China.

• The time of shipping
• the demand and supply at the time of shipping
• congestion charges at the destination port
• currency adjustment factors
• fluctuation in fuel prices

It is, therefore, necessary that you know what options you have when importing from China to help in mitigating these costs.

How to Calculate the Cost of Shipping from China

This also covers customs duties and taxes, insurance, and handling fees in the destination country. In this case; It will be unwise to import a product and then find out that you’ve spent more to import it than you can actually sell it for. So how can you calculate the cost of importing goods from China?

First, Consider the Cost of the Goods

The supplier quotes this amount for acquiring goods, and it is based on the unit price of products and the quantity.

Secondly, Consider the Freight Charges

Freight costs will depend on the volume of goods you are shipping and the shipping distance (from origin to destination port) It will also vary depending on the time of shipping (peak or low season), shipping company you use, etc.

For this, you may allow at least USD 100 to USD 5000.

Thirdly, Consider the Duty Charges

There will be a variable percentage of the dutiable value put on your goods. Next, consider the taxes which is often VAT (value added tax). Like in duties, the payable tax for imports will be a variable percentage of the total of the following costs;

• the dutiable value of goods
• freight charges
• insurance costs
• custom duty

Other costs that you may include in the calculation maybe custom clearance fees, document fees, surcharges, etc. For this, you may allow an additional 5%.

Simply put:

The landed cost should be the resulting amount after adding the;

• shipment value amount as quoted by the seller
• freight amount as quoted by a logistics company like JMS
• customs amount as quoted by customs in the destination country

This will be;

Landed cost = shipment value + freight value+ customs value

How to Calculate the Duties and Charges When Importing from China

A common mistake that most importers do is to rely on their suppliers and shipping agents for information on duties and charges. Listen, duties and charges on import are only paid at the destination country. Therefore the only way to find out how much it may be is through the customs authority in your importing destination. Certainly, you are solely responsible for paying any duty owed on an import. This means that you are wholly responsible for finding out how much it may be when calculating the tariff amount.

What your supplier provides is often just a basis.

The best way to find the accurate HS is by using the first four or six digits provided on your commercial invoice.

Calculation of tariff, therefore, is done based on the HS code of your imported product and the declared customs value. All this information is usually indicated on the commercial invoice for easy reference. So note that knowing the right HS code for your type of product is essential to your import from China process. Without this code or misusing it can result into clearance delays. It can also make you incur additional unexpected costs.

Enough of that!

So once you have the HS code, customs will use the declared value of your imports to calculate the duties and taxes payable.
This is how it is done:

• Import duty = declared customs value of goods x the customs duty rate (%)
• The declared value note is often based on FOB terms as this is what is commonly used in China.

If importing on CIF terms, then the CIF value will be used. Now, I want you to note that there are some instances where you may not have to pay any tariffs on your imports from China. This will be if you are importing non-dutiable goods or if the declared value of your imports is below the dutiable amount.

As you can see, the declared value of imports is critical in the determination of the import tariff owed. In this regard, it is of the essence to ensure that the correct value is stated on the commercial invoice before shipping goods.

Factors Affecting International Freight in China

Let quickly go through some of these factors:

Demand and Supply

The demand for made in China goods is increasing at a rapid rate worldwide. This means that manufacturers have to up their production efficiencies to keep up with this demand. And, it is important to note that as the demand for goods from China is increasing, so is their cost and freight rate.

Fluctuating Oil Prices

Fluctuating fuel prices is another crucial factor affecting international freight in China. An increase in the fuel prices tends to affect international freight in China. This is because increased fuel prices drive up the operating costs of shipping companies. In this regard, they hike their shipping costs and also reduce the number of freight trips from China.

Availability of Raw Materials

Availability of raw materials is also a factor that affects international freight in China. When raw materials are abundant, manufacturers in China produce more items. This generally increases the availability and variety of products to import from China. However, when there is a scarcity of raw materials and other production resources, the same will reflect in the market availability of goods. In this case, you will find that suppliers will take long to avail of the goods that you want to import. And even they do this on time; it will be a price higher than the normal.

State of Global Economy

Global economic changes are also a factor that influences international freight in China. An economic downtime whether global or in China will lead to a reduction in international freight activities. When the economy is slow, both demand and supply get affected reducing the level of trade across national borders. In this case, very little freight will be moved from China to other parts of the world.

Politics (Political Stability/Instability)

Politics tends to affect the flow and cost of international freight in China. Trade agreements and policies are some of the political elements that influence international freight in China. A good example is the ongoing trade war between China and the USA. Until 2016, it was very cheap and easy to import goods from China to the USA. Today, the US has imposed additional tariffs for imports from China.

These days’ Chinese products are everywhere. If you walk into an office today, you’ll find the reception desk is from China. Walk into a bank, the money counting machines they use, most of them are from China. I mean, made in China products are practically everywhere. Now for the business minded, importing from China brings both excitement and fear. You can make huge profits from selling goods you import from China.

There are many other risks that you may encounter when importing from China. However, these are the most common that you learn to mitigate. The best way to do this is by taking the following actions anytime you import from China.

Deal with Credible Shipping Companies

Before you start the process of importing from China, it is crucial to ascertain that you are dealing with a trustworthy shipping company. Take this with great seriousness. I know I told you that the easiest way of getting reliable suppliers and freight forwarders is online.

However, I also want you to know that most online transactions are riskier when importing from China. You see, when you search the web for a potential supplier or even freight forwarder, you will be presented with a long list of results. Among these, there are often companies that you know nothing about and have no way of verifying their credibility. It is very easy for an unsuspecting importer to fall into the hands of these companies who may end up to be fraudsters.

As such, I recommend that you do your due diligence to ensure you find a credible shipping agent to work with. You should do this before importing from China. Do not hesitate to verify and re-verify the reliability and authenticity of a potential shipping company. Ask for references from the company and check them thoroughly. The chances are that if other importers have done business with your shipping agent and had good, luck, you’ll also do.

Know the Incoterms used when Shipping from China

To avoid overpaying for goods and other related problems when importing from China, it is essential to know your incoterm and be specific about it.

Imagine this scenario;

You order 1000 leather handbags from a supplier in China that you’ve done business with before. You probably had an awesome experience, and you expect that this second round will be as perfect as the first.

Your expectations don’t last long though. And, this is because when you receive the handbags, you realize that they are not made of leather. Instead, they made using cheap vinyl material. After realizing this, you immediately contact the supplier demanding for an explanation. Your instructions as per the purchase orders were that the bags be made using leather.

Why is it that the final product is made of vinyl?

How do they respond?

A typical response, in this case, would be as follows;

“If you wanted your items to be made with real leather, you would have said ‘genuine leather'”

“In China, you have to company leather with ‘genuine’ otherwise you get an imitation.”

Like seriously?

What do you even do this case?

Honestly, there isn’t much you can do other than try to find a market for it and sell at a lower cost than what you had planned. Don’t let this happen to you. Know what you want and state it clearly to the suppliers to avoid such a scenario from happening to you.

Quality Control is Important

If importing from China, you can only be 100% assured of quality if you operate your own manufacturing plant there. This is the only way you can have control over quality. If however, you depend on suppliers from China to control quality, you may be wholly disappointed. You could end up with goods whose color don’t match your specifications. Or shape/design that is entirely different from what you ordered.

Here is the thing;

Quality control as I’ve told you before is a significant step in the importation process.

You can also hire a third party inspector to do it.

Always give Clear Shipping Instructions to your Shipping Agent and Carrier

As I said, importing from China could lose you a fortune due to lost or damaged goods. Sea freight from China To avoid this, it is essential that you give exact shipping instructions from packaging, palletizing, loading, etc. If your instructions are not specific, you run the risk of receiving damaged goods or even goods getting lost during transit.

Use Less Risky Means to Pay for Goods and Services

You may not want to hear this, but I’ll tell you anyway.

The fact that there are so many payment options available when importing from China makes it the riskier. This is actually one way that fraudsters are using to scam unsuspecting importers. To avoid this, you may want to use safer means of payments, i.e., letter of credit. The problem with options like a letter of credit is that they are hard to get when you are just starting out. Besides, these options may only be available for larger payments which may not apply in your case. In this case, you are left with a wire transfer, PayPal, visa western union among other options that are not that safe.