First time importing from China...

[Banjo123]

Hello All,

Looking for a bit of advice - I know this had maybe been covered before, but there are a few questions I can't find answers to!!

1. I have been communicating with a few companies from alibaba etc and have got together a few quotes - is it expected for the price to be haggled?? If so how much as a guide?? is there a way I can check the companys genuine, financial checks etc.

2. I have done as much reading up on shipping terms etc and all quotes I have asked for have been cif feixstowe,is this the best method??

3. When the container gets to felixstowe what happens then, how do I know its there and do I organise a haulier to uplift it.

4. As i understand, VAT is payable on the import, thats fine it can be claimed back but how do I calculate the rate of Import duty?? (its a 40ft container of garden bamboo products I'm planning on importing).

5.Payment - the quotes I see to have had suggest a 30% deposit and then the rest on bill of loading, is this the normal practice and how would the money be transferred safely?

6. What other costs are involved?, customs, is the container hired etc.

7. Final question (for now!!) As this is the first time I imported outside the EU do you reccomend getting an agent that can take care of the whole process and arrnage qc inspection before loading,etc. Any idea of cost of this or is it best just to learn as you go.

Any other pointers that anyone wishes to share from previous experiences?

Thanks for your time.

Jonathan

 

[Banjo123]

Can anybody help - pretty please!!

 

[Mister B]

As you ask so nicely

1. Never used Alibaba myself but FWIW, the general feeling is that it is fine if approached with caution. Negotiation is fine if you are prepared to go for volume. As for the financial stability/trustworthiness of the factory, all that you can go by is the information which Alibaba give you or arrange to have an independent assessment undertaken by a third party company. This can normally be done in conjunction with a QA company. Small word of warning though...with the current political and economic climate in China, lots of smaller operators are going bust so if I were you, I would do as much research as possible.

2. CIF Felixstowe? Well, that depends on where you live. Totall useless if you live in Bristol as you could get the goods shipped actually to Bristol. Best thing to do is to get them delivered to the port nearest to your home town which will save on UK freight charges. Some people like CIF, personally I prefer FOB as it allows me to control the a) Degree of insurance and b) the type of vessel which the goods come on. (i.e. Fast boat or slow boat.)

3. Get yourself a good freight forwarder. On the B/L they will be listed as a notify partner and arrange for all customs clearance to be done on your behalf. They can also arrange delivery to your warehouse. If you so choose.

4. Have a look here for rates of import duty. You will need the EU Commodity code.

5. 30% deposit with the balance upon shipping is quite common. Especially for smaller amounts. However, as your container is probably worth quite a bit, for the first couple of shipments, it may be prudent to pay by L/C. More expenseive and more hassle but it will offer you more security.

6. Freight charges, devanning charges, customs charges, document charges, bank charges, UK delivery charges are but to name a few. As a real, and I mean real, ball park figure, I tend to work on 5% of the invoice value and that should cover freight and import costs. (ex VAT & Duty.)

7. Totally up to you and how you feel with your supplier. First shipment? I would be inclined to use a QC house or go over and meet the factory owner myself. May sound like a lot of hassle but it will a) Improve your standing in their eyes and b) Give you a greater insight into their operation. Will also help you on point one.

Any other pointers? Proceed with caution. Lots of money to be made but lots to be lost as well I see lots of people coming onto these forums looking to make a fast buck and getting their fingers burnt. As long as you do your homework and proceed with a little caution, you should be fine.

Good luck with it.

Mister B

 

[teotrad]

Hmmm....alibaba...plenty of scammers.

First thing first, I think what you need to do is get yourself a good local forwarder (based in UK or bristol). He or she will do all the shopping and logistic for you.

As for QC, it is highly recommended. My advice is you personally visit the factory in china and do the first inspection yourself. For your subsequent orders (hope things going well in first.....finger cross), you then can employ a third party QC or inspection company based in HK or China. But my advice is be very caution with them as well. Do more research.

Good luck.

 

[mark^]

Hi,

We can help you to check the companys genuine, financial checks etc,since we have a branch in China, we can arrnage products' qc inspection in China as well, you need find a customs clearance agent to do logistics, or we can recommang someone to you. pls view our web for detail: cpcbusiness.co.uk.

 

[Banjo123]

Thanks everyone - some very useful tips there and has given me lots to think about on how to take this further.

Thanks Again

Jonathan

 

[qxteluk]

Hi Banjo,

It depends on how much you are importing really. We imported a small quantity of glow in the dark bracelet last year and that was OK (price taken into account).

Basically, we got few quotes from AliBaba. And then email them back to get further info/samples. I did not feel that they quote an artificial price to be bargained down (as they know that those out of the range quotes would go straight to the bin ).

They were reasonable responsive (and on MSN as well - perhaps you should check out on this one so you can communiate with them easily)

They asked for full payment and for the relatively small sum, we complied.

When the item was received (on the projected timescale), it did not quite glow and upon query, they told us they forgot to add in the flourecent material. I believe that was a genuine error, and for the price, it wasn't a bad deal.

For small trader, importing from China isn't exactly an easy thing to do. I knew of a friend here who do so successfuly (in the sense that consistent quality/supply were achieved), but that is because her parents own the production facilities in China !

 

[teotrad]

they told us they forgot to add in the flourecent material. I believe that was a genuine error, and for the price, it wasn't a bad deal.

Sometime it need to be careful, as it happen for me a lot of time with a few chinese firms previously. When the goods arrived, they always said something like we forget this and that, and we will added in in your next order or so.

My advice is keep every order small unless you flies over to china to check the quality and inspection.

 

[jthiggins2008]

I quite often have emails come through from a company claiming to be a chinese port or something like that asking to start up some relationship. Although I would be keen to create a contact in asia is there somewhere to check the validatity of chinese importers and exporters that side of the world. (cheaper rates than this side)?

 

[Ozzy]

The main problem is that as legislation is so much more "relaxed" in China, there are so many opportunities to be caught out with fraud by dealing in China. I once heard a rumour that as soon as a factory opens up making a product, a factory opens up next door making cheaper copies of the same product .

One of my firms deals very heavily in China, so we took the view of one of my colleagues flew out for a week last year, and I'm flying out in October to meet with our supplier/client contacts to deal face to face. Firstly, dealing face to face in China is extremely important to credible business people China (obviously the fraudsters would rather not meet face to face). It secures the relationship, trust and the good people in China are very honourable people to deal with on that basis.

As has been mentioned above, obviously depending on the importance of the products you are importing, but a trip to China to meet the supplier and view the operations could be very worthwhile. I also have some friends who "employ" representatives in China as mentioned by skyliner. Again this is something that can sometimes prove very worthwhile, and surprisingly "cost effective" too . Especially good if you are planning on trying to sell into China.

 

[barringtonfreight]

Hello All,

Looking for a bit of advice - I know this had maybe been covered before, but there are a few questions I can't find answers to!!

1. I have been communicating with a few companies from alibaba etc and have got together a few quotes - is it expected for the price to be haggled?? If so how much as a guide?? is there a way I can check the companys genuine, financial checks etc.

2. I have done as much reading up on shipping terms etc and all quotes I have asked for have been cif feixstowe,is this the best method??

Are you importing a full container or a few pallets ? my advice would be different depending on this.

3. When the container gets to felixstowe what happens then, how do I know its there and do I organise a haulier to uplift it.

Your freight forwarder in the UK would deal with that. Choose a freight forwarder here and send the copy bill of lading to your freight forwarder, he will do the rest.

4. As i understand, VAT is payable on the import, thats fine it can be claimed back but how do I calculate the rate of Import duty?? (its a 40ft container of garden bamboo products I'm planning on importing).

VAT is payable on the COST OF GOODS + FREIGHT COSTS. Your freight forrwarder should look in the customs tariff and advise you of the duty rate. DUTY is COST OF GOOD + FREIGHT + VAT x DUTY RATE.

5.Payment - the quotes I see to have had suggest a 30% deposit and then the rest on bill of loading, is this the normal practice and how would the money be transferred safely?

We work in conjunction with inttradefinsolns.co.uk, Ray can advise you on these issues.

6. What other costs are involved?, customs, is the container hired etc.

UK Terminal Handling, Documentation, Use of deferment Fee, delivery fee, delivery order fee. All these charges vary from forwarder to forwarder.

7. Final question (for now!!) As this is the first time I imported outside the EU do you reccomend getting an agent that can take care of the whole process and arrnage qc inspection before loading,etc. Any idea of cost of this or is it best just to learn as you go.



Any other pointers that anyone wishes to share from previous experiences?

Thanks for your time.