Your supplier in Shenzhen quotes $4.20 per unit, FOB Yantian. That number tells you nothing about what the goods will cost by the time they sit in your warehouse. Before they get there, they pass through export clearance, a sea crossing, destination port charges, import clearance, duties, and final delivery. Each stage has its own bill and its own way of going wrong.
Here is the whole sequence in the order it happens, so you can see which decisions belong to you, which belong to your supplier, and where shipments usually stall.
Export and import are two separate jobs
The part buyers underestimate most: China export clearance and your country's import clearance are handled by different authorities, in different countries, under different rules. Which side you own depends entirely on the Incoterm you agree to.
Your supplier only needs to get goods legally out of China. What determines your cost, your timeline, and whether your container sits at port for a week is the import side — and that side is yours.
Incoterms: the decision that shapes everything else
Incoterms define who books freight, who insures, who clears customs, and where risk passes to you.
| Term | Supplier handles | You handle |
|---|---|---|
| EXW | Making goods available at their factory | Everything from pickup onward |
| FOB | Getting goods to the Chinese port and loaded on board | Ocean freight, insurance, import clearance, delivery |
| CIF | Ocean freight and insurance to your port | Destination port charges, import clearance, delivery |
| DAP | Delivery to your named address, duties unpaid | Import duties and taxes, customs clearance |
| DDP | Delivery to your door, duties and taxes paid | Nothing — you just receive the goods |
For most small and mid-sized buyers, FOB is the right place to land. You control the freight forwarder, you can see the real ocean cost, and you are not exposed to phantom destination charges added by a supplier's chosen agent.
CIF looks convenient, but if your supplier's forwarder charges inflated destination fees, you pay them anyway. Ask for a full landed-cost breakdown before agreeing.
DDP is tempting and often a trap. If the supplier under-declares value to keep the duty low, the customs problem lands on you, not them. You also get no official import entry, which means no VAT recovery and a mess to untangle later.
Choosing how the goods move
| Method | Best for | Typical transit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCL (full container) | 15+ CBM | 25–40 days to US West Coast | Lowest cost per unit |
| LCL (shared container) | 2–15 CBM | 30–50 days | Cheaper to book, expensive at destination |
| Air freight | Urgent or high-value goods | 5–10 days | Charged on actual or volumetric weight |
| Express courier | Samples, under 100 kg | 3–7 days | Duties billed to recipient after delivery |
| Rail (China–Europe) | European buyers | 18–25 days | Limited routes and capacity |
Watch LCL carefully. It is quoted per cubic meter at origin and then hit with destination fees that can add hundreds of dollars. If a freight quote looks unusually cheap, ask what happens after the vessel arrives.
The documents you will actually need
- Commercial invoice — description, quantity, unit price, total, Incoterm
- Packing list — cartons, weights, dimensions per carton
- Bill of Lading (sea) or Air Waybill (air)
- Certificate of Origin, if a trade agreement applies
- Product certifications — FCC or CE for electronics, CPC for toys, FDA registration for food contact items
- Export declaration from China, when required
- ISPM 15 fumigation certificate for wood packaging
Make sure the product description on the commercial invoice matches what is actually in the box. Customs uses those two documents for inspection targeting, and vague descriptions like "gift items" or "hardware parts" invite a hold.
The China export side
Your supplier, or an export agent you appoint, books the container, arranges trucking, moves cargo to the port, and files the Chinese export declaration. If the factory has no export license, a trading company or agent ships on their behalf. It is common and workable, though it adds a layer around who owns the goods and who receives the tax rebate.
Problems at this stage are usually small: trucking tightness during peak season, a factory running a day late, or a customs question about the HS code. All manageable if someone is watching.
Your country's import side
As the vessel approaches, you need a customs broker. The broker files your entry using the HS code, calculates duty and import VAT, and arranges release.
Duty depends on three things: the HS code, the country of origin, and whether your country has a trade agreement with China. Rates vary widely by product and destination, and a few digits in the wrong place can move you from 0% to 12%.
VAT or GST is usually recoverable if you resell the goods, but only with a proper import entry in your name. This is the hidden cost of under-declared DDP shipments.
Some products need extra steps before release: FCC declarations for electronics, FDA registration for food and cosmetics, CPC certificates for children's products, MSDS for chemicals. Get these handled before the container sails, not while it sits in a bonded warehouse accruing storage fees.
Where shipments go wrong
In rough order of how often they happen:
- Wrong HS code. Wrong code means wrong duty. Customs either demands the difference plus a penalty, or holds the shipment.
- Under-declared value. The supplier suggests writing 30% of the real price. If customs catches it, the penalty, the back duty, and the audit risk are all yours.
- Forgotten destination charges. A CIF or cheap ocean quote that turns into several hundred dollars of port fees on arrival.
- Missing certification. Regulated goods without paperwork get stuck, and storage adds up daily.
- Carton contents that don't match the documents. Extra units, short shipments, or mixed SKUs trigger a physical inspection.
- No Certificate of Origin. You pay duty you did not have to pay because the paperwork was never issued.
- Consignee details wrong. One letter off in your company name or tax ID can add days.
Freight forwarder vs customs broker
Sometimes they are the same company. When you are choosing, ask:
- Do they book directly with the carrier, or pass it to another forwarder?
- What are the origin charges, and what are the destination charges?
- Who is responsible if something goes wrong — the forwarder, the broker, or you?
- How many shipments of your product type do they handle monthly?
- What is excluded from the quote — per-shipment fees, per-CBM fees, per-weight fees?
If a forwarder will not break the quote into line items, that tells you something.
A rough timeline and budget
Allow this much time from ex-factory to your warehouse:
- Export clearance in China: 1–3 days
- Ocean transit: 25–45 days depending on route
- Import clearance on arrival: 1–5 business days, longer if inspected
- Final delivery: 1–5 days
On cost, your landed total is roughly: product cost + China inland and export fees + freight + insurance + destination charges + duty + import VAT + delivery. Most buyers budget only the first two lines. Build the full list before you commit to a selling price.
A short checklist
- Agree the Incoterm and write it into the contract
- Get the HS code and check duty rates in your country before ordering
- Confirm which certifications your product needs and who will supply them
- Ask forwarders for an all-in quote, not a headline rate
- Send the commercial invoice and packing list to your broker before the vessel arrives
- Buy cargo insurance — it is cheap relative to the loss it covers
- Inspect goods before they leave China, not after they arrive
- Keep 10–15% of your budget aside for destination charges and inspections
If managing factories, inspections, freight, and clearance across two countries is more than you want to take on, Globesino handles the whole chain from supplier sourcing through final delivery, so you deal with one team instead of five.