alibaba & EMS- hidden costs?

[hardwire]

Hi all, i'm importing a few electric toys (remote control planes) from China. Seller is on alibaba, uses EMS freight to post, and i'm ordering direct to my home address.

I know i'll be liable for import duty & VAT, but are there any other hidden costs such as mentioned on a previous thread:

UK Import Terminal Charge £65
Delivery Order £52.50
ERTS Presentation Fee £18.50
Import Service Charge £25
UK THC CAF £22.20
CISF £27.89
Customs Entry £45
DTI Computer Fee £10.75
HMC Examination Fee £7.75
Delivery £90
Duty/VAT Disbursement Fee £25
Port Security Fee £10.50
Infrastructure Fee £5.50

Eep!

Are these charges that I am likely to be liable for using EMS to import from china direct to my door?

 

[sla3]

There are more ficticious and duplicate charges listed there than on a Ryan Air invoice.

• UK Import Terminal Charge £65 - depends on weight volume - assume you've calc'd this for your order
• Delivery Order £52.50 - What? This is a "made up" charge most often seen in the third-world and has no place in any trade in the UK. It's a rip off.
• ERTS Presentation Fee £18.50 - Makes no sense to me if the goods are cleared on/before arrival (that's what the Customs Entry charge is for!)
• Import Service Charge £25 - Eh? What kind of service? This is a made-up revenue generating charge.
• UK THC CAF £22.20 - UK Terminal Handling Charges Currency Adjustment Fee? What currency are you paying in? You'll pay thc in £ to your import agent. No caf applicable.
• CISF £27.89 - almost certainly a rip-off. Google it.
• Customs Entry £45 - expensive, but should include ALL entry-related activity except presenation for physical examination by HMRC
• DTI Computer Fee £10.75 - should be included in Customs Entry fee. Your agent types some stuff into the computer to make the Customs Entry he's charging you £45 for
• HMC Examination Fee £7.75 - only if examined (if applies to goods, if applying to paperwork it's part of the customs entry fee.
• Delivery £90 - depends on weight/volume/distance - calculate it. Get a quote from your import agent
• Duty/VAT Disbursement Fee £25 - only if they disburse money on your behalf. Calculate it, overestimate it by 10% and pay it in advance to your import agent to avoid this charge.
• Port Security Fee £10.50 - probably valid
• Infrastructure Fee £5.50 - probably vaid

I assume you're paying these charges to someone (your seller?) in China rather than arranging the freight and inbound clearance yourself with your own agent?

 

[hardwire]

fortunately all those costs are from someone else's transaction on a previous thread

Basicaly the seller on alibaba has given me a price per unit including shipping to my home address

instead, should i get a price per unit without shipping, phone EMS and get them to pick it up from the factory in China and ship it over here to my door in conjunction with parcelforce?

 

[sla3]

Emmm .... I'm not sure why you referenced someone else's charges before getting a quote for your own consignment, so I can't really help any further. You can't always buy a pear for the price of an apple.

 

[PowerForwarding]

There are more ficticious and duplicate charges listed there than on a Ryan Air invoice.

• UK Import Terminal Charge £65 - depends on weight volume - assume you've calc'd this for your order
• Delivery Order £52.50 - What? This is a "made up" charge most often seen in the third-world and has no place in any trade in the UK. It's a rip off.
• ERTS Presentation Fee £18.50 - Makes no sense to me if the goods are cleared on/before arrival (that's what the Customs Entry charge is for!)
• Import Service Charge £25 - Eh? What kind of service? This is a made-up revenue generating charge.
• UK THC CAF £22.20 - UK Terminal Handling Charges Currency Adjustment Fee? What currency are you paying in? You'll pay thc in £ to your import agent. No caf applicable.
• CISF £27.89 - almost certainly a rip-off. Google it.
• Customs Entry £45 - expensive, but should include ALL entry-related activity except presenation for physical examination by HMRC
• DTI Computer Fee £10.75 - should be included in Customs Entry fee. Your agent types some stuff into the computer to make the Customs Entry he's charging you £45 for
• HMC Examination Fee £7.75 - only if examined (if applies to goods, if applying to paperwork it's part of the customs entry fee.
• Delivery £90 - depends on weight/volume/distance - calculate it. Get a quote from your import agent
• Duty/VAT Disbursement Fee £25 - only if they disburse money on your behalf. Calculate it, overestimate it by 10% and pay it in advance to your import agent to avoid this charge.
• Port Security Fee £10.50 - probably valid
• Infrastructure Fee £5.50 - probably vaid

I assume you're paying these charges to someone (your seller?) in China rather than arranging the freight and inbound clearance yourself with your own agent?

Those fees are applicable usually under C&F/CIF terms when the supplier arranges the freight. Basically the supplier will pay stupidly low freight rates to the Chinese shipping agent and then in turn they'll get the UK agent to collect inflated fees to make up for the shortfall and pass a rebate back to the Chinese agent. Arrange the shipment under FOB terms and you won't have even half of those charges. They are all valid charges though under C&F but completely unnecessary if you just ship it FOB instead.

How large is the shipment, if you send me over details i'll get you a price through to door without any hidden costs - [email protected]

Sounds like it's a small shipment though and if sent via a courier you won't have the above fees.

 

[GraemeL]

Well said Robert

G

 

[YoungMoneyChina]

I assume ths is a smallish sample type order you wish to send by air?

If I was you I'd get a price per unit and then ask for the dimensions and weight of each carton. Then get dhl to give you a price for the total consignment and ship with them. Don't use dhl directly though go through an agent here in china as you will get it a lot cheaper and the will include any charges other than the duty and vat within the quoted price.

It's cheaper if you ship without batteries so consider this.

What area in china is the factory? I may know an agent close by who can help you out on the shipping.

 

[larry king]

we are exportor in China.
normally we will choose EMS,because EMS is not so fast and little difficult to trace them.

maybe DHL should be better,and i believe DHL save some importing cost for you.

about EMS,maybe the freight is cheaper than DHL,but for service and product security,i suggest DHL or UPS.

Hi all, i'm importing a few electric toys (remote control planes) from China. Seller is on alibaba, uses EMS freight to post, and i'm ordering direct to my home address.

I know i'll be liable for import duty & VAT, but are there any other hidden costs such as mentioned on a previous thread:

UK Import Terminal Charge £65
Delivery Order £52.50
ERTS Presentation Fee £18.50
Import Service Charge £25
UK THC CAF £22.20
CISF £27.89
Customs Entry £45
DTI Computer Fee £10.75
HMC Examination Fee £7.75
Delivery £90
Duty/VAT Disbursement Fee £25
Port Security Fee £10.50
Infrastructure Fee £5.50

Eep!

Are these charges that I am likely to be liable for using EMS to import from china direct to my door?

 

[AlibabaTalk]

Hi there,

For more information on international transportation and customs duties, please see our website here:

http://uk.alibaba.com/knowledge-centre/international-trade-guide-international-transportation.html

Thanks and happy trading!

The UK Alibaba team

 

[Season2]

From my experience , i feel if you want to buy some products from other country, you can let the seller write the gift on your package , that you will not to pay the custom fee. This idea is very adapt us.