Importing. Process ??

[Future]

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Hello forum members,

I need some advice.
I am thinking of starting a small home-based business. I would like to import some products from China. It’s ‘FOB at the at Nigbo Port’. What is the best way to get it delivered to my doorstep in Australia? What does the whole process involve after I pay a deposit to the manufacturer?

Thank you very much in advance.

[Future]

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Ok maybe the question seems a little vague

What about transportation in general?
Can anybody advice me in terms or transporting/shipping goods?

[Anonymous]

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Hi Future,

Apologies, but your question is still not very clear. The more detail you can give us, the more likely it will be that someone can help you out.

All the best,
Jayne

[abacus]

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Future,
You need to find yourself a customs agent.

Then the process is as follows:
1: You order
2: Supplier sends you a Proforma Invoice
3: You pay the invoice
4: The supplier then sends you shipping documents
5: You send copies of those documents to your customs agent.
The goods arrive in Aus, and your agent looks after everything at the port
and arranges transport to your doorstep.
6: You pay the customs agent for services rendered.

Then you sell, sell sell !!!

[Future]

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Thanks guys (Jayne and Abacus).

Abacus,
I have made enquiries and received a quote, with the terms ‘FOB at Port’.
Is the process still the same?

[abacus]

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Hi Future..
Yes the process is as I described.
“FOB” means FREE ON BOARD.
This means that the supplier pays for any transport costs from their factory to the port. Once it is on the boat is is YOUR responsibility.

Keep in mind when you get bigger is the option of insurance.
THAT is a whole new issue

Good Luck

[marketingweb]

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Best of luck with your new venture.

Importing from China does sound easy, but it’s definitely not for the faint hearted!

Firstly you are talking about sea freight here I presume – it sounds like it but need to make sure you are aware of this. Air freight is another game again, although a little easier.

Basically FOB as previously stated means they pay for it to get on the ship. Which actual ship this is that it “gets on” and the whole process including the freight itself is up to YOU to organise from here.

The alternative method is called CIF which is “cost including freight”. This means that the factory includes the cost of the freight to Australia in the cost. This sounds good on the surface but is best avoided as it WILL end up costing you more. The reason for this is that in Australia your port charges for unloading, customs clearance, AQIS inspection, document fees etc etc will end up costing you WAY more than the freight itself. On smaller shipments the freight cost is small. For example to get one cubic metre of freight from Ningbo I would expect to pay around $500 in round figures. Of this, probably $50 is the actual freight, and the other $450 is local charges! If you pick CIF you will also likely then get contacted by whoever the Australian agent is of the freight company your factory picks. They are pretty much guaranteed to charge more than one you pick yourself.

The person someone else mentioned called a “customs agent” is only part of the puzzle – they simply clear the goods through customs. What you more likely need is a “freight forwarder” who organises the actual shipment, and is usually also a customs agent, or will subcontract out to one. The company I would recommend to you is called Express Logistics (They may have a new name – recently bought out by the Toll Group). Their website is at http://www.xprs.com.au

Please also note that you also need to factor in freight from the port to wherever you are – usually NOT included in the standard price. And don’t be too excited when you see a $US figure – while the exchange rates are good at the moment, on smaller quantities of some products, the freight can end up costing as much as the product itself in some cases.

The final thing I will say is that if you go without a pre-shipment quality inspection of the product at the factory prior to dispatch you can get burned badly. Given you will have to pay a deposit before they start production and the balance before shipping, you are putting a lot of trust in the factory. This is fine once you have a strong relationship with them, but for a first order it’s a big risk – if you aren’t happy or things turn up wrong, in my experience more than 50% of factories just won’t care and you will be stuck. At the very least, insist on a pre-production sample and factor this into your costs, and preferably the inspection. Bear in mind a pre-shipment inspection will generally cost around $300 so it’s not cheap so on some orders you will have to just risk it and rely on pre production samples and photos from the factory.

If you would like any more specific advice or help with this please feel free to contact me.

Best of luck
Matt
Marketing Web

[Redcat]

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Hi, Future,

I noticed you mentioned “starting a small home-based business”. That means you just import a small quantity of products, is it right? If so, and your goods are lightweight, compact and high-valued, I think you can transport them via International Express, such as UPS, TNT or FedEX etc.

Compared with General Importing Process, this method is fast and convenient without so many processes mentioned. The Express Company will clear everything for you and you just need to pay money and receive your goods. The cost is, you have to pay a bit more money for express service (But it is not so expensive especially from China to anywhere else, you can get quotation from your suppliers)

In Ocean Freight, you really have many matters need to deal with.

[martin.moyano]

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Future, post: 36749 wrote:

Hello forum members,

I need some advice.
I am thinking of starting a small home-based business. I would like to import some products from China. It’s ‘FOB at the at Nigbo Port’. What is the best way to get it delivered to my doorstep in Australia? What does the whole process involve after I pay a deposit to the manufacturer?

Thank you very much in advance.

Hello there, my name is Martin what you’ve got is a supplier willing to sell you the goods FOB Ningbo in China. There are two options you could get them to ship it by sea/air for you (this will depend on the volume/weight) and you will get someone to clear for you here otherwise you could also organize it from here through a customs agent/freight forwarder (these days the same thing), big companies will offer you to do everything for you BUT they will charges you accordingly plus you will be dealing with several people.
I’m myself a customs broker so if you need assistance happy to help, you can also call me on 04 0547 5533 good luck Martin

[Nostradamus]

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marketingweb, post: 37410 wrote:

Best of luck with your new venture.

Importing from China does sound easy, but it’s definitely not for the faint hearted!

Firstly you are talking about sea freight here I presume – it sounds like it but need to make sure you are aware of this. Air freight is another game again, although a little easier.

Basically FOB as previously stated means they pay for it to get on the ship. Which actual ship this is that it “gets on” and the whole process including the freight itself is up to YOU to organise from here.

The alternative method is called CIF which is “cost including freight”. This means that the factory includes the cost of the freight to Australia in the cost. This sounds good on the surface but is best avoided as it WILL end up costing you more. The reason for this is that in Australia your port charges for unloading, customs clearance, AQIS inspection, document fees etc etc will end up costing you WAY more than the freight itself. On smaller shipments the freight cost is small. For example to get one cubic metre of freight from Ningbo I would expect to pay around $500 in round figures. Of this, probably $50 is the actual freight, and the other $450 is local charges! If you pick CIF you will also likely then get contacted by whoever the Australian agent is of the freight company your factory picks. They are pretty much guaranteed to charge more than one you pick yourself.

The person someone else mentioned called a “customs agent” is only part of the puzzle – they simply clear the goods through customs. What you more likely need is a “freight forwarder” who organises the actual shipment, and is usually also a customs agent, or will subcontract out to one. The company I would recommend to you is called Express Logistics (They may have a new name – recently bought out by the Toll Group). Their website is at http://www.xprs.com.au

Please also note that you also need to factor in freight from the port to wherever you are – usually NOT included in the standard price. And don’t be too excited when you see a $US figure – while the exchange rates are good at the moment, on smaller quantities of some products, the freight can end up costing as much as the product itself in some cases.

The final thing I will say is that if you go without a pre-shipment quality inspection of the product at the factory prior to dispatch you can get burned badly. Given you will have to pay a deposit before they start production and the balance before shipping, you are putting a lot of trust in the factory. This is fine once you have a strong relationship with them, but for a first order it’s a big risk – if you aren’t happy or things turn up wrong, in my experience more than 50% of factories just won’t care and you will be stuck. At the very least, insist on a pre-production sample and factor this into your costs, and preferably the inspection. Bear in mind a pre-shipment inspection will generally cost around $300 so it’s not cheap so on some orders you will have to just risk it and rely on pre production samples and photos from the factory.

If you would like any more specific advice or help with this please feel free to contact me.

Best of luck
Matt
Marketing Web

Hi Matt,

I have been importing goods from China through EMS for my online business, as my business grew I plan to try sea freight cos I believe its much cheaper than air freight. The problem is I get a few products from a few suppliers, what type of arrangement I should do to have all the goods place in one container and ship it all at once. I am afraid I will need to pay extra freight forwarder, custom clearance fees etc if the goods did not arrive in once container. What should I do? Many Thanks

Cheerz,
Ralph

[marketingweb]

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Nostradamus, post: 49756 wrote:

Hi Matt,

I have been importing goods from China through EMS for my online business, as my business grew I plan to try sea freight cos I believe its much cheaper than air freight. The problem is I get a few products from a few suppliers, what type of arrangement I should do to have all the goods place in one container and ship it all at once. I am afraid I will need to pay extra freight forwarder, custom clearance fees etc if the goods did not arrive in once container. What should I do? Many Thanks

Cheerz,
Ralph

Hi Ralph,
Please don’t take this as gospel as there is way more to this than can be explained in one forum post, PLUS every factory & industry is different and I don’t have all the answers!

Generally though, you don’t have to bring in a full container yourself, but there are advantages.
If you bring it in by the container this is known as FCL or full container load, and you get get 20 foot or 40 foot containers, as well as what are called “high cubes” which are slightly taller than normal containers (at extra cost). If you are getting all the freight from one supplier – easy. If you are packing it from different suppliers you will need someone to consolidate the freight for you which is actually really difficult, as different factories have licenses to export different products, and they aren’t all allowed to export other products. So you need a logistics specialist to consolidate your freight together, but need to make sure they have a comprehensive export license.

But you don’t have to do it this way, and provided each shipment is of a good enough size you can just do each as separate shipments. This is called LCL, or “less than container load”. The minimum you have to pay for is one cubic meter of freight, which costs fully landed around $500-$600. However if you go 2 cubic meters it might be $700 or so, basically it scales down a LOT and is most economical the more you do. Generally though once you get over about 1/2 a container load it’s better to pay for FCL even if the container is half full, that way your stuff isn’t mixed in with other people’s and it will clear quicker.

OVERALL though, there is still advantage in using a specialist importer even if you have your own factories – someone who can help through the process of organizing everything, particularly if you are looking to consolidate multiple orders. There is a member on here called “silk road” who for example specialises in this.

Hope this helps.
Matt

[Author]

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