Need forwarder for importing from china -> UK

godsakes

Hi guys

I'm looking to import some goods from China and it seems many suppliers expect you to have a forwarder to deal with the delivery... we're taking 1-2 boxes maybe 20kg each.

first of all is a forwarder just a middleman for say the likes of DHL/UPS? they just offer you a better rate because they get bulk trade discounts?

Can anyone advise me of any good forwarders based in the UK, who can get the best rates for china -> uk shipping/airmail (i've been told DHL are the cheapest but i've no idea if that's the case).

Any advice will be welcomed :-)

forgotmyname

Never heard that, But i have only bought small items, Mostly from Chinese ebay sellers/shops.

I cant see you getting postage cheaper than they do, I do wonder sometimes how they can sell and
ship items for £2 or £3 even if they cost 1p to make.

soolin

forgotmyname wrote: »

Never heard that, But i have only bought small items, Mostly from Chinese ebay sellers/shops.

I cant see you getting postage cheaper than they do, I do wonder sometimes how they can sell and
ship items for £2 or £3 even if they cost 1p to make.

I suspect this is not to do with the actual postage but more to do with the regulations concerning importing goods from a Non EU country. Buying stock or goods in requires sepcialist knowledge and handling to deal with HMRC and to ensure the paperwork is all in order and all appropriate fees paid.

OP you will almost certainly have to wait for one of the big sellers on here to answer that one for you as it is such a specialised area.

Pembroke

From what I've gathered looking at the subject I thought you only needed forwarders for large loads, when the 'boxes' were 40' shipping containers. For small boxes such as you describe then yes I would think DHL is probably your best bet. Also DHL or any of the other international courier companies, although costing a bit more will tend to use airfreight whereas most forwarders (in the way I understand the term) would be packing up your goods with other peoples stuff until they could fill a container and then put it on a boat.

You may find this page useful: http://www.wikihow.com/Import-from-China

lovinituk

If you are purchasing from a manufacturer many will usually only provide FOB (Free On Board or Freight On Board) which means they will ship it to a Chinese port and then you must instruct a forwarding company to get it from the port to you.

You could try www.imsfreight.com - I have not used them and have no experience of their services but did pick up their card recently as I may need the services of a forwarder myself soon.

mmilly1020

My understanding is that a forwarder is for Containers?

Why don't you ask your supplier to quote door to door shipping for you? They would probably use DHL or TNT and would get a better rate than you anyway as they would probably already have an account with them. I expect 2 x 20KG boxes would cost about $100 maybe a bit more as cost of fuel has gone up. You will also be charged VAT and import duty by the carrier, often they send you an invoice. If you have a VAT number make sure your supplier puts it on all the paperwork as it speeds things up.

lovinituk

mmilly1020 wrote: »

My understanding is that a forwarder is for Containers?

Not always - some forwarders will deal in sizes down to individual boxes and as said above, combine them with other orders on a container. But, yes as you say it is worth asking the seller if they can ship small orders direct to you. I've just asked a Chinese factory that exact thing and they haven't answered! Hence why I am starting to look into forwarders myself.

mmilly1020

lovinituk wrote: »

Not always - some forwarders will deal in sizes down to individual boxes and as said above, combine them with other orders on a container. But, yes as you say it is worth asking the seller if they can ship small orders direct to you. I've just asked a Chinese factory that exact thing and they haven't answered! Hence why I am starting to look into forwarders myself.

That's when you do a 'trans shippment' trouble is it can take up to 6 weeks for stuff to arrive. You need to get your forwarder from port (uk) to your business address. My hubby had one a couple of years ago and they charged £250 from Felixstow to MK and he only got 2 hours to unload the container! Bummer. If you are doing small boxes you need someone like DHL or TNT.

godsakes

thanks for the reply guys

I've contacted forwarder suggested in one of the posts and I'll see if i can work out the break point where the size/weight is such that it becomes cheaper to via a forwarder.

Some seem to suggest cubic 1m another says 60kg+

martindow

Have you asked your supplier to quote for delivery to the UK? When I get orders from suppliers in China and elsewhere in Asia they organise the shipment to the UK. I then get shipping agents to deal with customs clearance and delivery here. Another option for small shipments like yours (and most of mine) is to use a carrier like UPS or Fedex which will cost more but have only VAT, duty if applicable and customs clearance charges to pay on UK entry.

I hope you have factored in the costs of importing when deciding that importing is viable - VAT etc as these can add up.

Are you VAT registered? If not you need an EORI number (a kind of VAT number used for imports only).

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD1_028517&propertyType=document