As a purchasing agent to help wholesale yoga products from China, we usually ship large clients’ goods by full container. Many other yoga customers who are happy with our offer, they are always confused about the different shipping methods as they don’t have much experience importing from China.
Some of them are starting to think about delivery, but even with small quantities, the cost is much higher than they expected. Some people just want to ship two coalbed methane by sea, because it is the cheapest way, but eventually find the whole import and export process complicated and expensive.
If you are running a small business, usually importing less than 20GP at a time, or you are just starting to import yoga products from China, this article can give you some useful advice on shipping by analysing the different situations you may encounter.
International Express – fastest and most convenient way
For ordinary products under 200kg, there are few better options than international delivery. If you can’t afford delivery, maybe you can buy more and ship them together, or you’ll have to give up and buy from a local supplier.
International express (FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.) is suitable for high-value products or products that need to be delivered quickly to a specific place, such as jewelry, clothing, electronics and other fashion products.
One important thing to keep in mind when using international couriers: They calculate the dimensional weight (length * width * height /5000) of large shipments. If you ship 200 cups to Canada by DHL, the weight is 200g/cup, but the dimensional weight is 300g/cup, then DHL will charge 300g/cup. So this means that products with a lot of space will cost a lot of delivery fees.
However, large purchasers sometimes prefer international express than air freight because it usually has a cargo promotion price which is much cheaper if you have large cargo that is over 1,000 Kg. Which is much cheaper if you have large cargo that is over 1,000 kg.
However, big buyers sometimes prefer international express delivery over air freight, as it usually has a cargo promotional price, which is much cheaper if you have a large shipment of over 1000 kg. The price is not much different from air freight, but it is more convenient.
For example, Chinese Amazon suppliers often use FedEx when shipping to Amazon FBA, which costs only $2.80 / kg for a 1,000kg shipment to the US. It takes 5-6 days to get there. The price is not much different from air freight but is more convenient than the latter.
For instance, Chinese Amazon suppliers often use FedEx when they ship to Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), 1,000 Kg of goods only takes around $2.8/Kg to the US. And can arrive in 5-6 days.
China Post Parcels – the most economical way to send 20-200 kg goods
When your goods are 20-200Kg, China Post sea freight will be another option, the price is about 1/3 of international express, especially in remote areas such as Africa, other express companies charge high freight.
Another benefit is that it only counts the weight of all goods, not the dimensional weight, which is meant to favor lightweight products.
But the weight limit for each piece is 20kg, so you have to divide the goods into cartons. And it usually takes 2 months to ship, so you should only choose it if you really care about shipping costs.
For example, Australian customers buy children’s toys from us every two months. Each shipment is 5-6 cases, about 100 kg, 0.5 CBM. This volume is too small for sea shipping (LCL). If express is used, the freight is calculated by size and weight, which is 2-3 times that of China Post.
Air Cargo – Fast, suitable for cargo over 500kg
Air freight has its own advantages. It is cheaper and faster than express delivery. But your goods better be over 500Kg, or international express is better. Size weight according to the length * width * height /6000 calculation, less than international express.
There are a few things you need to be aware of, this mode of transport is airport to airport, which means the supplier has to deliver the goods to the airport and manage the customs export process. When the goods arrive at your local airport, you must go to the airport to receive the goods and go through customs entry formalities. Domestic transfers can also be expensive if the nearest international airport is quite far from your location.
Note: Transport of dangerous goods by air
All airlines have strict rules for transporting dangerous goods, including products that burn or explode easily, or chemicals that are toxic. The balance car is one of them because of the lithium battery. Therefore, it is impossible to ship the goods by international express, air freight or China Post air parcel. The only option is by sea.
Shipping below container (LCL)
When your cargo is more than 2-3 cubic centimeters, LCL shipping is the most economical mode of transportation of all. If it is less than that, we suggest you choose China Post or another company.
Because there is a fixed fee in the export process of China for each sea shipment, about $100-150, there is also a fixed import fee when the goods arrive at the port. So it’s going to cost a lot of money to transport only two.
Sea freight is port-to-port, so don’t forget to include the freight from the port to your warehouse. If your place is far from a port, or even if your country doesn’t have one, you’d better find a local shipping company and ask them how to ship from China. Because they know more about shipping in your place than Chinese suppliers or forwarders.
There is a special case: if your cargo is around 15-20cbm, it is cheaper and faster to use 20GP containers than LCL.
Tips: If you have room left in your container, you can buy low-value items or bulky items and ship them together. Because these products can be considered free shipping. Toy importers often buy pit balls to fill empty spaces in containers.
In some countries, there are currently very few freight forwarders who specialize in LCL and you can get very cheap prices from them. They’ll go through customs for you first, and then you go to their warehouse to pick it up. However, finding them is a little difficult.
One forwarder we worked with specializes in the African route. They can even accept goods under 0.1 CBM. For example, they charge Nairobi $280 /CBM, so 0.1 CBM is only $28. You just need to pick it up at their warehouse in Nairobi, so it’s very economical and convenient.
All container shipping
As we all know, FCL shipping is the cheapest mode of transportation, which is often adopted by our major customers. Here are the basic capacities of three common containers:
20GP 5 tons 26CBM
40GP 22 tons 54CBM
40HQ 22 tons 68CBM
This mode of transportation will be covered in more detail in a future article.
Railway full container liner – Yixin – Europe Railway liner
The Yi-Xinjiang-Europe Railway opened in November 2014, connecting China and many countries in Europe. The route starts in the Chinese city of Yiwu and goes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and finally to Madrid, Spain. But only FCL shipment is accepted at present.
Before the opening, it took at least a month to transport goods between China and Europe, but now it only takes 15-20 days by rail. However, its freight is about 3-4 times higher than sea freight, but still much cheaper than air freight (about 8-10 times higher than sea freight).
Yixin Europe Line is a better choice for European businessmen to export wine and olive oil to China. Because it is more stable during the journey, the product can be put on sale within a short time after arriving in China.
