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Any experience with sea Import?
 

I am going to manufacture some stuff from china, Not vero, not replica and nothing to be worried about. I have this would cost almost $700 to import via express service (DHL or EMS) or just $50 if I want to ship via sea and it will take 30 days unlike 4 to 5 days via express.

Right, I don't mind 30 days delivery but my concern is what it takes to ship via sea. How do I get my stock? Do I need to go to the port or custom to clear my stuff once it arrived. Even with the custom fees and all sort I don't think it will be near $700 I would have paid DHL.

Any experience to share?

Re: Any experience with sea Import?
 

There are a shed load of documents needed to bring in cargo by sea. Every piece of paper needs to be in order for you, as the importer to have success.

What sort of relationship have you got with your manufacturers? Any chance of assist from them.

I added this link to the Wholesale part of the forum there is shipping & sourcing goods.
Read through there as well.

Wholesale Discussions - eBay Suspension & Paypal Limited Forums

These are an example of some of the terms to know

Bill of lading

To help there, look over this site. I started with this one... then my partner went to China and did the first shipment personally.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/transpor...national-trade

Hope this helps.

:en:

Re: Any experience with sea Import?
 

If you haven't done it already its actually quite easy. You will need a forwarder in the UK and also perhaps one in China depending on how much the UK side will be charging for shipping.

Lets imagine your stuff is ready in China:

1. Contact UK forwarders and ask for a sea freight quote door to door. Provide them with the cargo details (number of boxes, dimensions, weight etc).
2. Provide your forwarder with the address and postcode in china where the goods are located.
3. Once you have agreed the price with the forwarder give them instructions to proceed with the shipment.
4. Your UK forwarder will be working with a shipping agent in china who will arrange everything for you from there onwards.
5. Once your stuff is on a boat and UK bound apply for an EORI number (you will need some details found on the shipping documents)
6. Give your forwarder this number and they will clear customs for you once your cargo arrives and let you know how much to pay in duties and vat.

The above is a simplified version of the process. A lot more detail could be given alongside different scenarios depending on whether you are sending a full container or less than a container.

Overall this should hopefully clarify things for you slightly.

Re: Any experience with sea Import?
 

beneysz

The OP stated his charges will be $50 for shipping.... bluidy small container, imo.

I suspect his figures may be inaccurate.

:pound:

Re: Any experience with sea Import?
 

I guess whats probably happened is OP might have, i'm guessing, about 1 cbm of goods if he has been quoted 700 dollars for DHL and subsequently $50 for sea freight. So this would go via LCL (less than container load)

The mistake in comparing these 2 prices is that once the LCL cargo arrives at the port OP will be hit with the following additional charges on top of the freight cost:

PSC fee (Port Service Charge), SCA fee (Service Charge due Agent), D/O fee (Deliver Order), THC fee (Terminal Handling Charge), TSF fee (Terminal Security Fee)
IPF fee (Import Processing Fee).

This is why OP needs to request a door to door quote from forwarder to make sure he can compare the air and sea freight costs accurately.

Re: Any experience with sea Import?
 

Based on my experience: Decided to have my shipment brought in via sea cargo. It was a lot cheaper BUT when it arrived it was a mess. It was my first time ever buying from a wholesaler in China and it was worth a "small" amount of money so the shipping was practically nothing. I was given an estimate on how much I would have to pay once it arrived and thought it would be easy peasy. I was soooo wrong. Didn't know I had to get a broker to clear customs and I ended up paying quite a bit. My suggestion is to do as much research as possible before you make a decision.