Shipping cost

[Vvan]

I am a new business owner and been speaking to someone on Alibaba. Seems genuine but I’m really paranoid as I have seen online how people have been scammed via that platform. I want to buy goods worth 264kg and this person said shipping by sea would be $505. Is this price realistic? And what other signs should I look out for when trading on Alibaba?
Thanks

 

[fisicx]

Don’t trust anyone on Alibaba.

$505 might be reasonable, it all depends on what you get for your money. You could be stung for all sorts of costs one the shipment arrives in the Uk. If it ever arrives.

 

[MOIC]

I am a new business owner and been speaking to someone on Alibaba. Seems genuine but I’m really paranoid as I have seen online how people have been scammed via that platform. I want to buy goods worth 264kg and this person said shipping by sea would be $505. Is this price realistic? And what other signs should I look out for when trading on Alibaba?
Thanks

What’s the products being shipped and the total dimensions of the shipment?

What does the $505 quote include?

Understand how sea shipping works, costs involved and your responsibilities when the shipment arrives at your destination port (Felixstowe).

What other costs are you likely to incur to clear customs and have it delivered to your door?

What import duty and VAT will you need to pay?

Will your goods be insured?

Are you happy with the contract?

Have you received samples for confirmation?

Have you had the order checked, prior to paying any balance payments?

What happens in the event of returns?

Is the supplier a factory or trading company and are you bothered if they are not a factory?

You will learn as you go along, but carry out due diligence on every aspect of the order and shipping process to avoid any costly mistakes.

If you need assistance, feel free to ask.

 

[AmazonGeek]

Be very careful with Alibaba. Lots of things to watch out for...

1. Do they even exist? There are lots of scammers on there who make money by getting people to pay for samples and shipping and then nothing happens. If you have found one of these, they will be rubbing their hands together over a 264kg order! You can get an inspection with a company like Richforth - they will go in and check the factory over and make sure everything is ok. The last one I did cost under $100 and they were there all day. I got a massive report incuding photos, video, certificates, etc so well worth the money
   
   
2. If they do exist, are they a true factory or just an agent. A lot of listings on Alibaba look like factories but are actually just agents in an office who hold an export license. You think you are dealing with a factory but you are not. The danger is that your first order is great but the next one has been moved to a different factory for a better deal or 'de-specified' - cheaper materials to make a bit more money. So make sure you know who you are dealing with - another reason for a factory inspection!
   
   
3. If you have a true factory, do the make stuff for the Chinese market or the Western market. If the former then it will generally be poor quality and not fit for UK/EU/US markets. So make sure you have the right type of factory
   
   
4. Also, I highly recommend a pre-shipment inspection. You presumably have samples so you know what to expect when the shipment arrives. If you have a pre-shipment inspection, then that sample will be compared against what is about to ship. They will randomly test products to make sure they are up to spec and if the failure rate is below a certain threshold, the shipment will be rejected and the factory will have to redo it. Then another inspection until it passes.

Re the shipping cost, I've just checked one of our recent sea shipments and it cost 1252 Euros to ship 7440kg / 17CBM (800 small cartons) to Germany. This was with Amazon Global Logistics which is much cheaper than regular freight forwarders but $500 for 264kg still seems expensive to me.

 

[Vvan]

What’s the products being shipped and the total dimensions of the shipment?

What does the $505 quote include?

Understand how sea shipping works, costs involved and your responsibilities when the shipment arrives at your destination port (Felixstowe).

What other costs are you likely to incur to clear customs and have it delivered to your door?

What import duty and VAT will you need to pay?

Will your goods be insured?

Are you happy with the contract?

Have you received samples for confirmation?

Have you had the order checked, prior to paying any balance payments?

What happens in the event of returns?

Is the supplier a factory or trading company and are you bothered if they are not a factory?

You will learn as you go along, but carry out due diligence on every aspect of the order and shipping process to avoid any costly mistakes.

If you need assistance, feel free to ask.

Be very careful with Alibaba. Lots of things to watch out for...

1. Do they even exist? There are lots of scammers on there who make money by getting people to pay for samples and shipping and then nothing happens. If you have found one of these, they will be rubbing their hands together over a 264kg order! You can get an inspection with a company like Richforth - they will go in and check the factory over and make sure everything is ok. The last one I did cost under $100 and they were there all day. I got a massive report incuding photos, video, certificates, etc so well worth the money
   
   
2. If they do exist, are they a true factory or just an agent. A lot of listings on Alibaba look like factories but are actually just agents in an office who hold an export license. You think you are dealing with a factory but you are not. The danger is that your first order is great but the next one has been moved to a different factory for a better deal or 'de-specified' - cheaper materials to make a bit more money. So make sure you know who you are dealing with - another reason for a factory inspection!
   
   
3. If you have a true factory, do the make stuff for the Chinese market or the Western market. If the former then it will generally be poor quality and not fit for UK/EU/US markets. So make sure you have the right type of factory
   
   
4. Also, I highly recommend a pre-shipment inspection. You presumably have samples so you know what to expect when the shipment arrives. If you have a pre-shipment inspection, then that sample will be compared against what is about to ship. They will randomly test products to make sure they are up to spec and if the failure rate is below a certain threshold, the shipment will be rejected and the factory will have to redo it. Then another inspection until it passes.

Re the shipping cost, I've just checked one of our recent sea shipments and it cost 1252 Euros to ship 7440kg / 17CBM (800 small cartons) to Germany. This was with Amazon Global Logistics which is much cheaper than regular freight forwarders but $500 for 264kg still seems expensive to me.

Thank you so much and I am grateful for this forum. I just had a feeling everything was going to go wrong with the order. Are you able to share this Richforth contact with me or are they easy to find on Google?

 

[AmazonGeek]

Are you able to share this Richforth contact with me or are they easy to find on Google?

Here you go. I don't have a specific contact though

$118.00/man-day | Inspection Services In China

No.1 Inspection Services In China, USD118.00/man-day, Same-day Inspection Reports, Anywhere in China.

richforth.com