I need help with importing handcrafted wooden models.

[Flatspin]

I have a mate in South Africa that makes handcrafted wooden car models, and some other interesting odds and ends.

To give you an idea what we are talking about have a look here.

He has mainly restricted his sales to South Africa because of prohibitive transports costs to ship these models internationally.

I've look on the government website, and see all sorts of restrictions on types of wood, etc, and nothing really specific about handcrafted wooden models.

We were thinking of bringing small shipments here to cut down on the shipping costs & then storing them at my place until sold, which obviously brings in some customs duties, etc.

Can someone please advise me with regards to this, especially someone who could help facilitate the smooth shipping of said goods?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Mr D]

Customs duties, shipping, VAT etc.

Small shipments to cut down on shipping costs? Small shipments can end up being more expensive per unit in shipping.

They'd have appropriate labelling?

 

[Flatspin]

Mr D, I meant small shipments by way of not shipping one item to wherever they get ordered & instead shipping at least 10 models at a time since they are handmade & producing by the thousand is not a viable option [then keeping them here until they get sold].

I was look at restrictions on types of wood due to disease, etc - do you know offhand if this would apply to wooden models?

 

[Scalloway]

Are the toys bare wood or have they been painted or varnished?

 

[Mr D]

Hand crafted wooden items get imported in their thousands already. One plus one plus one etc being made eventually reaches thousands.
The bigger handcrafted item importers usually import in quantity.

May want to investigate how much should be sent at any one time, figure out a decent per item cost.

As I recall some stuff gets fumigated - worth checking with trade department regarding that.
I looked at importing a particular wooden box a while ago and there was not a problem with the wood type. However that was prepared a particular way.

 

[Flatspin]

@Scalloway It depends. Some people want them raw so their partners/kids can paint them & others want them treated.

@Mr D He's not going to be mass producing these items and eventually wants to get to the point where people will pay more money for a quality handcrafted model.

It does seem that there is a demand for these types of models, but there has to be trade-off between what he can charge and how much time he can spend on each model.

My main concern has been the restrictions on types of wood for disease, and not so much any of the other issues regarding import.

 

[Mr D]

@Scalloway It depends. Some people want them raw so their partners/kids can paint them & others want them treated.

@Mr D He's not going to be mass producing these items and eventually wants to get to the point where people will pay more money for a quality handcrafted model.

It does seem that there is a demand for these types of models, but there has to be trade-off between what he can charge and how much time he can spend on each model.

My main concern has been the restrictions on types of wood for disease, and not so much any of the other issues regarding import.

Yes there are a number of suppliers importing hand produced products made of natural materials. Can produce volume without mass production.
The point where people pay more for a quality hand crafted model was reached some time ago.
Look around on the internet at prices for handcrafted stuff, tends to be higher price.
By quite a bit.

Have sold tons (literally) of hand crafted stuff over the years. It's a niche market - some farmer in Bali hand crafting a particular item of an evening one plus one plus one etc - then someone shipping a few hundred in a container to UK then they get sold in a month across the country by dozens of retailers.

More importantly perhaps - there has to be a higher price you can charge people bearing in mind your costs.
Marketing may be your biggest cost. Higher than the cost of buying in goods and shipping them in. You can set up a website but it's one of billions and no one knows you exist.
So you tell people about your products. And slowly some start to buy.

To give an example of pricing I sold some hand crafted lanterns a couple of years back. Cost to buy after import costs etc was 8 pounds. Sold for 38 quid each including free shipping. Only purchased a pallet of them so ran out of stock that year - by which time the maker had moved on to stuff we do not stock.

Trade department will be able to tell you what import restrictions are current.

 

[Scalloway]

From here

https://www.ukimports.org/services/...n/importing-wood-timber-articles-products.php

"
Certain Wooden items are restricted, depending upon the type of wood, where it originated, and how it has been treated. As these are judged on an individual basis, you will have to ask UK Customs directly, and possibly, the UK Forestry Commission too.

HM Revenue and Customs
National Advice Line
(T) 0300 200 3700
For for International callers, please call: (T) 0044 208 929 0152

Forestry Commission – Plant Health
(T) +44 (0) 300 067 5155
[email protected]

Please remember:
If your goods are delayed when clearing Customs, there could be storage charges to pay so it is definitely better to find out this information BEFORE your goods arrive."

I would suggest getting in touch with the Forestry Commission first.

 

[Mike Foulds]

For the above, as has been said, you definitely need to be 100% sure of the type of wood and any treatments, otherwise you can get into real bother! Even if models/manufactured items, you'll need to know the TYPE of wood they are made from, as it may be a protected species, and he shouldn't be cutting it down. Worst case, if you ship items which are protected, would be the shipment confiscated and destroyed by HMRC, so best to be sure before pushing the button.

For the shipping, I would recommend you looking to purchase on an FOB (Freight on Board), basis, which would mean you control the freight, and your shipper would pay all costs up to the cargo being loaded onto the vessel, and would arrange the export customs formalities.

I would recommend asking for rates from 2 or 3 freight forwarders, and then going with the one who seem the most knowledgable and whom you can work with easily (Not necessarily the cheapest!).

I would also comment that at present, all freight rates worldwide are skyrocketing, so you may be better off waiting a month or 2, as rates are likely to drop early in 2021, possibly after Chinese New Year in February.