How to ship goods from China to UK Home

bigupajc

Hello All,
I need some assistance and hope that you may be able to help me. I am planning on setting up a small online business but can not find any basic information on the following:
1. The manufacturer has provided costs FOB so they will deliver to the port and then require the shipping company to transport these to the uk - Which companies deal with small packages (up to 20kg)?
2. How do i deal with Import duty / VAT ... or will the freight forwarder handle / calculate these and pass on the costs to me before releasing the items?
3. i want the goods delivered to my home - will the shipping company deal with this?
Any information on the above is much appreciated. Many thanks

bradders1983

You just need to contact a freight forwarder who will deal with all of this for you. 

I have used these in the past and no issues with the service received, although this was for containers rather than packages.

https://fwd-freight.co.uk

sliphi

bigupajc said:

Hello All,
I need some assistance and hope that you may be able to help me. I am planning on setting up a small online business but can not find any basic information on the following:
1. The manufacturer has provided costs FOB so they will deliver to the port and then require the shipping company to transport these to the uk - Which companies deal with small packages (up to 20kg)?
2. How do i deal with Import duty / VAT ... or will the freight forwarder handle / calculate these and pass on the costs to me before releasing the items?
3. i want the goods delivered to my home - will the shipping company deal with this?
Any information on the above is much appreciated. Many thanks

China post will gladly handle packages up to 20kg.
When it lands in the UK, Royal Mail will effectively take over from them, sort out customs clearances for you, and deliver to your home. (once you have paid the customs fees due and their small admin fee)

martindow

You would be better off getting it sent with a door to door service for a small shipment such as this.  Anything that needs to be picked up from a port will have a host of extra charges.  A carrier deals with all of the customs clearance, but you will of course have to pay VAT, possibly duties depending on the value and the item and a clearance fee.

bigupajc

Thank you all.
I didnt realise China post was an option. Hopefully the supplier will agree to this as they didnt mention that option and were giving shipping ports etc. Thanks