Unexpected costs/charges when importing goods from China - Advice needed please.

[nzt48]

Hello

Tomorrow my first ever order of products sent by sea from China is due at Southampton port.

I was told by someone who has a bit of experience in this that i didnt really need to do anything - i would just get a call from someone when the order was due in to arrange delivery/vat/etc.

Ive had an email/quote from LV Shipping saying they will handle my goods with the following charges:

LCL Charge £69
Security fee £3.50
Importing documentation shipping £32
Handling £121.50
China import service factor £26
CAF £25
Haulage UK £65
Customs clearance £46
Use of deferment account £35

AND import duty & vat which hasnt been worked out yet. So potentially over £500!

Since its only 50 units of the same product, this is more or less the entire profit im due to make, gone!

I dont even know what half of these charges are. Can anyone tell me, are all of these charges just their quotes? or are they costs i will have to pay anyway whether i use this company for customs clearance or not?

Can anyone advise me what to do or perhaps you can suggest a better/cheaper company.

Thankyou.

 

[mrchips]

I'm guessing you've got a pallet arriving.

If you use another company they'll probably charge you about the same, you may save a couple of quid, but not a fortune. They're providing services that you need to pay for, you'll not get your goods otherwise. And if you don't pay within a few days they'll start charging you for storage too, which isn't cheap, so don't hang about.

That's why it seemed so cheap when you first ordered. You've not factored in all of your costs.

One of the import agents on here may chip in soon.

Mr Chips

 

[nzt48]

I'm guessing you've got a pallet arriving.

If you use another company they'll probably charge you about the same, you may save a couple of quid, but not a fortune. They're providing services that you need to pay for, you'll not get your goods otherwise. And if you don't pay within a few days they'll start charging you for storage too, which isn't cheap, so don't hang about.

That's why it seemed so cheap when you first ordered. You've not factored in all of your costs.

One of the import agents on here may chip in soon.

Mr Chips

Hey, thanks for the reply. I dont think its going to be on a pallet - i think its ~10 cartons/boxes with about 5 products in each, with a combined weight of 70kg. Yea i guess i didnt factor everything in. The learning curve continues.

 

[Duke Fame]

The answer is, you know for next time. We pay a little less than you but we have an account an bring in a large Lcl & container a month.

Treat this consignment as testing the Market, if you are confident you can sell it all and quickly, make sure you order in bulk. A chunk of those fees are fixed regardless of the how much you bring in so there are economies of scale. If it was cheaper to bring small amounts in from China, everyone would be doing it.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

'this is more or less the entire profit im due to make'.

Sadly, this is another example of not doing your home work.

You are also either buying at the wrong cost or selling at the wrong price!

 

[GraemeL]

I was told by someone who has a bit of experience in this that i didnt really need to do anything

Ive had an email/quote from LV Shipping saying they will handle my goods with the following charges:

LCL Charge £69
Security fee £3.50
Importing documentation shipping £32
Handling £121.50
China import service factor £26
CAF £25
Haulage UK £65
Customs clearance £46
Use of deferment account £35

AND import duty & vat are they costs i will have to pay anyway whether i use this company for customs clearance or not?

Hello Liam,

Hopefully the person who advised you in the first place said a bit more than 'you don't need to do anything'. If they did not, then that was terrible advice.

LCL means 'Less than container load' - which is essentially the freight cost. The rest of the charges are all genuine, but a bit on the high side. To be frank, I don't think you have any choice but to use LV (I don't know them) because somebody has already arranged the freight with them and I suspect the Chinese person you have ordered from has contacted LV to do this. It is possible that the Chinese will get a % from LV.

Next time you buy, ask your supplier to quote FOB prices. Then contact a UK based freight forwader to get quotes for freight and delivery to your premises. Of course you must pay 20% VAT and any duties applicable. Then you can work out your true cost.

G

 

[PowerForwarding]

Yes as this has been shipped under C&F / CIF terms you are pretty much stuck with most of these charges on this occasion, I could probably save you a small amount (depending on whether LV Shipping charge a handover fee) but really it would've saved you much more money if you'd organised to ship under FOB terms.

 

[Graconnor]

Hi,

I have sent you a private email regarding this matter.

My suggestion to you is to use the company that have already quoted you. You may find that if you ask someone else to complete the Customs Clearance that there will be an additional charges.

I would suggest that you look at all of your options for future shipments, it may be more cost effective if you buy your goods FOB and source your own freight solutions.

Regards, Graeme.

 

[nzt48]

Thanks for all the replies. You have all been very helpful - its so great to have a place like this and not have to pay for great advice.

So i guess the lessson learned here: Ask for FOB prices next time.

'this is more or less the entire profit im due to make'.

Sadly, this is another example of not doing your home work.

You are also either buying at the wrong cost or selling at the wrong price!

Well originally i was due to make £500 profit from a £540 investment without these unexpected costs.

LCL means 'Less than container load' - which is essentially the freight cost.

So does that mean the Chinese supplier should pay this? I paid a price for the goods i purchased which included shipping by sea to Southampton, surely i shouldnt have to paid more shipping costs.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[PowerForwarding]

Thanks for all the replies. You have all been very helpful - its so great to have a place like this and not have to pay for great advice.

So i guess the lessson learned here: Ask for FOB prices next time.



Well originally i was due to make £500 profit from a £540 investment without these unexpected costs.



So does that mean the Chinese supplier should pay this? I paid a price for the goods i purchased which included shipping by sea to Southampton, surely i shouldnt have to paid more shipping costs.

Thanks again everyone.

Unfortunately it's been shipped as C&F / CIF which means Cost & Freight or Cost, Insurance and Freight which is essentially what the supplier has paid but this means you've been left with inflated UK charges which doesn't come under the freight part. There really isn't much you can on this occasion but swallow it and learn that next time you are better off shipping as FOB

 

[nzt48]

Quick update for anyone that is wondering. I now have my goods, and i am still able to make a small amount of profit on them thanks to Robert at PowerForwarding providing me a cheaper quote than LV Shipping. Great guy, gave me lots of great advice which was very helpful to a newbie like me and i would have no hesistation in reccomending him to anyone who is in a similar situation.

Thanks again to everyone for all the advice.

 

[keytop]

Hello

Tomorrow my first ever order of products sent by sea from China is due at Southampton port.

I was told by someone who has a bit of experience in this that i didnt really need to do anything - i would just get a call from someone when the order was due in to arrange delivery/vat/etc.

Ive had an email/quote from LV Shipping saying they will handle my goods with the following charges:

LCL Charge £69
Security fee £3.50
Importing documentation shipping £32
Handling £121.50
China import service factor £26
CAF £25
Haulage UK £65
Customs clearance £46
Use of deferment account £35

AND import duty & vat which hasnt been worked out yet. So potentially over £500!

Since its only 50 units of the same product, this is more or less the entire profit im due to make, gone!

I dont even know what half of these charges are. Can anyone tell me, are all of these charges just their quotes? or are they costs i will have to pay anyway whether i use this company for customs clearance or not?

Can anyone advise me what to do or perhaps you can suggest a better/cheaper company.

Thankyou.

Next time you advise your Chinese to quote with CNF Price,Then use the same freight forwarder to handle the delivery and the costoms clearance at UK.

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

 

[GraemeL]

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

Well, to be frank, you have not created a good impression by posting on this thread which is very old.

 

[keytop]

Well, to be frank, you have not created a good impression by posting on this thread which is very old.

Anyway,Thanks for reminding