Can you trust Chinese Freight Forwarders? 18 years old - need help!

[Farley93]

I am looking to start getting my goods delivered by sea rather than air and have been told on another forum that I should go with a Chinese freight forwarder because they are cheaper and offer practically the same service. Is this true? Are they as reliable as UK forwarders? Is there any confirmation or something I should ask the Chinese freight forwarder for before proceeding? They have also quoted me the price of $182 to have 30 boxes 44x34x23cm 2.3kg each delivered from a port in China to a port in the UK. This, at first, seemed a really low price. Is this about right or is it too good to be true?

All answers are much appreciated and will help me so much as can't get these questions from anywhere else on the Internet. By the way, I'm 18 just out of college and looking to start my own business rather than paying ridiculous amounts on university fees!

Thanks!

 

[AshCasey]

Hi Farley,
We import allot for the far East and it can be hit and miss with the Chinese Forwarders. They all claim they can do everything to get the sale. I'd def do research on the Forwarder you want to use, ask them for recommendations from other clients and see if they are registered with any Official Chinese Shipping Authority also double check your prices with them and ensure they understand the departure and delivery port. Dont give 100% payment, pay a deposit and balance on receiving the Tracking / Shipping Documents.

 

[Jet Virtual]

Trust nobody and be very cautious. especially when dealing with people you can't meet in person. You are young and you will learn how not to get burnt. But you will get burnt once or twice. it's part of the learning curve in business.

Best of luck!

Daniel

 

[Mister B]

Avoid like the plague.

Find yourself a good UK based forwarder, of which there are plenty, a few of whom reside on this fair forum

Your Uk forwarder will work with their Chinese agent and secure the freight at a comparable price. They will also handle all of the UK importation paperwork and fee calculation.

I presume that as you've been flying the goods in you're au fait with VAT, duty and general import costs? Forgive me for asking but a fair few fail to factor these into their landed cost which almost always ends in tears.

Mister B

 

[Farley93]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. Is there a way of roughly estimating the VAT and duty etc before hand? I know it won't be 100% accurate but knowing what you're getting yourself in for is much less stressful. I have dealt with these fees before but my margins were much larger back then so it wasn't so much of a surprise but no my competition keeps cutting their prices margins are small. Also could you tell me is it around 10% of the vale of the goods which they charge for a certain fee amongst others? The goods I'm importing are electrical

Thanks for your help!

 

[Mister B]

You can access a crude calculator here. This will let you work out the approximate duty and VAT.

Buy on FOB terms from the factory and let your forwarder do the rest. You will need to factor in the other following costs:

1. Marine Insurance. (We use an annual policy but your forwarder can help you here.)
2. Ocean freight.
3. Port charges.
4. Document & import admin charges.
5. Delivery to your warehouse.

I'm not an expert so you need to contact a forwarder for a more precise quote.


HTH.


Mister B

 

[keytop]

I am looking to start getting my goods delivered by sea rather than air and have been told on another forum that I should go with a Chinese freight forwarder because they are cheaper and offer practically the same service. Is this true? Are they as reliable as UK forwarders? Is there any confirmation or something I should ask the Chinese freight forwarder for before proceeding? They have also quoted me the price of $182 to have 30 boxes 44x34x23cm 2.3kg each delivered from a port in China to a port in the UK. This, at first, seemed a really low price. Is this about right or is it too good to be true?

All answers are much appreciated and will help me so much as can't get these questions from anywhere else on the Internet. By the way, I'm 18 just out of college and looking to start my own business rather than paying ridiculous amounts on university fees!

Thanks!

Call your partner or agent to check the quality of the freight forwarder in China before proceeding.
Then contact the some experence agent in UK to clear the goods at your side.

Here is Soros Chen from guangzhou,China. Who work for several importers from Euro as their buying agent, Just like their “eyes” and “ears” in China.
Any related business problem, Will try to give you some advice.