How do I import from China

[reynoldspaulcup]

I have set up a new company and I am about to have 10,000 tea tins produced in China. They are going to work on production quickly for me but I need to sort out importing to the UK. The goods are being provided FOB in China and I need them here by mid October for business launch and christmas sales. Anyone guide me in the right direction??

Paul

 

[trammelsteng]

If you want to export from China to London ,U may contract Chinese local forwarder ,they can supply the service of CY-CY or Door-Door.

We are one of the biggest forwarder in south China, and we have many branch offices in other ports in China, If you mant to know more about us you can contract me any time if you like.

Best regards.

 

[Floyd Wang]

I am Chinese manufacture, and I export our products to UK, should you need any informaiton about China market pls contact me.

 

[findnewland]

If you have supplier in North China ,About the logistics from China to UK pls contact us .
We specializing in groupage consolidation freight(LCL)

 

[Daniel Hoare]

Hi Paul

I am from London but now live in China dealing with exported goods of all nature, your bigest concern should not be the shipping but the Quality control.

where in China are they being made.

have they sent you a sample.

not that i am trying to sell you any services but my company specalises in making sure a good product gets to the UK from design, product development and QC , i would be happy to help and can offer free advice on any aspect of your project.

regarding shipping , i would get in touch with a good agent such as air sea worldwide and get them to come to your office and explain everything.

Dan

feel free to get in touch .

 

[ourmaninbeijing]

Daniel Hoare is quite correct.

It sounds like you have already agreed the price and terms of payment. So on the basis that these are sound, for an order of 10,000 of any product you're main concern should be quality control to safe guard your investment. Then once this is secured then you can look at shipping.

In truth the shipping section is relatively straightfoward. Your deal is FOB so the factory will pay for everything onto the ship. You will have to pay for the shipping to the UK (which is charged per CBM) and then UK port side fees which can be determined once you know the weight/size of your consignment. You will need to organise your own logistics within the UK.

If you haven't already planned some quality control, then I suggest you do ASAP. Whether it is with my company or one similar, QC will be the only way to sleep soundly at night once you've paid your deposit.

Please feel free to contact me directly at richard.collett'at'ourmaninbeijing.com for further assistance or advice

Warm Regards,

Richard

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Paul,

whilst it can be a realatively straightforward process, the work to get it right can be a pain.

Before you buy, do you know the costs? Not just the FOB, but shipping & transport, duty payable, is anti dumping duty applicable, are there any approvals/testing required (e.g. are the tins aimed at children?). Before you know it, your $1/£0.60 tin becomes well over £1 and your plans fall apart!

For the goods to arrive by mid august, they will need to be on the water by early/mid September.

What are you going to do for quality control? Will some one check them in the factory? What happens if artwork is wrong or half of them are dented?

How will you pay - TT, LC, Western Union?.

there is a lot to think of!

 

[PowerForwarding]

Depends on what port and how much space it takes up as to whether it is a full load or part load, we are a freight forwarder here in the UK, if you like you can pm me and I can assist with costings.

 

[maxh]

Paul,

whilst it can be a realatively straightforward process, the work to get it right can be a pain.

Before you buy, do you know the costs? Not just the FOB, but shipping & transport, duty payable, is anti dumping duty applicable, are there any approvals/testing required (e.g. are the tins aimed at children?). Before you know it, your $1/£0.60 tin becomes well over £1 and your plans fall apart!

For the goods to arrive by mid august, they will need to be on the water by early/mid September.

What are you going to do for quality control? Will some one check them in the factory? What happens if artwork is wrong or half of them are dented?

How will you pay - TT, LC, Western Union?.

there is a lot to think of!

Whatever you do don't use Western Union!

Their exchange rates are terrible, you'd be much better using an FX broker like Rational. Here's their page on sending money to china

 

[KWilding]

I have set up a new company and I am about to have 10,000 tea tins produced in China. They are going to work on production quickly for me but I need to sort out importing to the UK. The goods are being provided FOB in China and I need them here by mid October for business launch and christmas sales. Anyone guide me in the right direction??

Paul

Hi Paul,

If you can let me know following details, can provide you with the necessary help :

1) Total Weight of shipment
2) Total Volume of Shipment
3) Where in China are the goods to be shipped from under terms FOB

Other points you need to consider :

A) Are you a VAT registered business and have an active EORI Number
If not, you can apply for a EORI Number once you have the necessary
documents

B) All risks Marine Cargo Insurance - In case of damage

C) Where in the UK do you require delivery, as this could affect which port you ship them to as it will directly influence the UK delivery cost.

Transit times ex China to the UK are any where between 22-35 Days
depending on where and which port in China goods are being shipped from.

The goods will need to be loaded and on the quay in China 5-7 days prior to vessel sailing.

Clearance in the UK will may take a few days, especially if your first import as the goods / container will more than likely be xrayed by customs.

Need any help, let me know.

Kind Regards
Kevin

 

[Calibre Designs]

Paul,

You are looking to ship NOW by sea to get the best price otherwise you have to ship by air. Use a forwarding agent. FOB - freight on board so you have to cover the costs in getting it here and clearing customs.

Hope this helps.

 

[ekkopal]

If it's your first time to buy from China and your order quantity is sort of low, it's always better to go with a trading company or the company that provides professional but affordable business assistant/quality control services like us.

We're physically based in Dongguan where hundreds and thousands of factories, producing a huge range of products, are located. Please give us a call or send us an email if you have an immediate need on our services.

-------------------------------
Joe Zhang
Project Manager
Ekko-Pal Industries Limited
ekko-pal.com

 

[leon18688]

coming to learn

 

[emmawei01]

I suggest looking for a forwarder or import agent in your country.
They always have branch office or cooperated forwarder in China.
I have a client in USA. Usually I quote him FOB terms.
And he asked one agent in USA to arrange shipping and import clearence.

 

[GlobalSources]

Dear Paul,

You an refer to these articles about understanding custom duties and tariffs when importing in China, how to find competent freight forwarders, and other useful tips about shipping from China:

smartchinasourcing.com/shipping/

Hope this helps!

All the best,
Global Sources

 

[GraemeL]

Hello Paul,

I am not involved in freight or manufacture of tins in China!

I could easily be reading your post wrongly, but it infers that this is the first time you buy in China. Also that you are not at all familiar with importing? Sorry if I read this incorrectly.

First, though I really do like the Chinese people, their culture is so so different to western. I am not going to attempt to explain all of the differences I have come across, except to say that they will say 'yes' (If the word existed in Mandarin) very often and 'no' very little. Without any intention of deliberate deception, you can easily not get what you thought you had agreed. We have always used mandarin/english speakers to undertake negotiations with Chinese run factories.


How did you come across your factory? Have you or anyone you know and trust visited them? 10,000 tins doesn't sound a high value to a layman like me. Will they fill a container or are you LCL?

How will the tins be packed? You should agree this before production.

Use a UK based freight company to undertake the freight from the port in China, as you can agree exactly with them what you want and they will tell you the exact (almost) costs. They have the necessary knowledge and authorities, they will also deal with your VAT for a very small fee. You will need to pay VAT to be able to get your tins out of the UK port. UK businesses understand western requirements.


As a general rule, you will effectively pay for the goods as they leave the factory or as they load on ship, so you will pay before you get them. When the tins get to you, if you don't like them for any reason including faults, do not think you will get your money back from the factory, however worthy your case. QC at factory is essential, but by an independent, do not rely on factory.

You will be very fortunate indeed to get delivery by mid October unless you air freight. My own guideline is 6 weeks to ship - including UK clearance, but at this busiest time of year it could easily be longer.

Hope this note helps, sorry if it is negative!

G

 

[SyamKolli]

Hi Paul,

As above, I am sure you are approaching this with absolute caution.

Before you make payment, at a minimum you should do the following:
-Have samples sent
-Check Lead time
-Ask for references.
-Check relevant factory certification.

I am sure you are quite experienced in buying anyway. I assume you havent travelled to Asia to visit the factory. If you havent carried out as many checks as you can, once payment has been made, to be frank there is not much you can do to make sure of prompt delivery (FOB).

If I was you, I would probably ask one of the above in China to assist you. I normally phone my suppliers twice to three times a day to chase them and make sure everything is going according to plan.

Also, as abvoe, I very much doubt you will have your good shipped to you within 4 weeks, I concur, most probably 6 weeks min.

Good luck, please feel free to contact me any time.
Best
Syam

 

[Paulius]

Hello,

I am a new guy on the forum so sorry if I did not right where I need to right..

We are the pheromone sellers in Europe. We sell our products to European countries and here is no problem.

But the question is:

Several days ago I've got an email from China. They wrote that they get interested in some of our products and asked about wholesale prices.

They introduced as a small company, but wrote email from GMAIL. Everything looks strange for gmail, also I think it is much more cheaper to make everything in China, So why they want to import...

Please somebody answer me is it safe to work with China in this way or it is something hidden here. I have never worked with Asia..

I checked on analytics and really something from China was looking at our site at that days. So this is real Chinese.

They don't want offer by email and asks to send it by fax..

Sorry for English..

Paulius

 

[GraemeL]

Hello,

Please somebody answer me is it safe to work with China in this way or it is something hidden here. I have never worked with Asia..
s

Hello Paulius, you may get more feedback by starting a new thread rather than getting lost in someone elses?

I have no knowledge of export at all. But my common sense tells me that so long as the payment works and the goods remain yours until the payment has worked, why not?

There was a post on another thread of a training session on how to avoid fraud with import/export. by BL I think?

 

[Felicia]

Hello,

I am a new guy on the forum so sorry if I did not right where I need to right..

We are the pheromone sellers in Europe. We sell our products to European countries and here is no problem.

But the question is:

Several days ago I've got an email from China. They wrote that they get interested in some of our products and asked about wholesale prices.

They introduced as a small company, but wrote email from GMAIL. Everything looks strange for gmail, also I think it is much more cheaper to make everything in China, So why they want to import...

Please somebody answer me is it safe to work with China in this way or it is something hidden here. I have never worked with Asia..

I checked on analytics and really something from China was looking at our site at that days. So this is real Chinese.

They don't want offer by email and asks to send it by fax..

Sorry for English..

Paulius

No worry, Paulius, make more contact with them then you can know more about them. Also hold the good until receive payment.

 

[christinachen]

In my opinion,you should first familiar with the import and export rules and oprations then you do international trading.Or you will find there are lots of troubles you will come across during the long time from placing an order .
I am international sales manager from China.I have worked with costumers who made the same mistake as you. You know, if you do not know the process details in international trading , you will not only get troubles but also make troubles for your Chinese parterner.
People above are all right. Quality is improtant, delivery time is important......everything is very important.you should consult someone experienced to help you to deal with this time. And next time , you should get everything clearly before you place your order.

Hope everything goes well at last!