Shipping & sourcing from China

Whether you're buying one carton or your first container, the mechanics are the same: choose the right freight channel for the weight, agree the right incoterm so you know what you're actually paying for, vet the supplier before money moves, and inspect before the balance payment. This guide covers each step in the order you'll meet it.

The one-minute version: under 2 kg go postal; under ~200 kg go air express via a forwarder; above ~2 m³ go sea. Get quotes as FOB and let your own forwarder compete for the freight. Verify the supplier's business license, sample first, pay through escrow, inspect before the balance. Nothing on this page is exotic — the horror stories all come from skipping a step.

1. Choosing a freight channel

• Postal / ePacket (<2 kg) — cheapest, 2–5 weeks, fine for samples and single retail items. Tracking covered in the tracking guide.
• Commercial courier (2–50 kg) — DHL/FedEx/UPS via a Chinese freight agent costs a fraction of retail courier rates ("discounted account" pricing is a real, legitimate market). 3–7 days, customs mostly handled.
• Air freight (50 kg+) — priced per kg airport-to-airport, 5–10 days. You or a broker clear customs at your end. The crossover point where air freight beats courier is around 45–100 kg depending on route.
• Sea LCL (2–15 m³) — your goods share a container. 30–45 days door to door. Watch destination charges: a cheap LCL rate is often subsidized by inflated fees at arrival — get the destination-charge schedule in writing before booking.
• Sea FCL (a 20ft container holds ~28 m³) — cheapest per unit; a full container also clears customs as one shipment, which simplifies everything.
• Rail (China–Europe) — the middle option westbound: roughly half sea's transit time at a fraction of air's cost.

2. Incoterms: what the quote actually includes

• EXW (ex-works) — the price at the factory door. Everything after — Chinese trucking, export clearance, freight, import, delivery — is yours. Cheapest number, most work; only sensible if you have a forwarder in China.
• FOB (free on board) — supplier delivers export-cleared goods to the port. The standard for sea shipments, and the term that lets your own forwarder compete for the freight leg. Default to asking for FOB quotes.
• CIF — supplier arranges freight and minimal insurance to your port. Convenient, but the freight is marked up and you still face import charges.
• DDP (delivered duty paid) — door-to-door with duties included. The right choice for a first-timer's small order; on bigger orders, know that "duties included" sometimes means the forwarder is gambling with mis-declaration, and the importer of record carries that risk. Get the HS code on the quote.

3. Finding and vetting a supplier

1. Manufacturer vs. trading company — B2B platforms label them, but verify: ask for the business license (营业执照) and check the registered scope and name. A factory sells fewer categories, deeper; a storefront selling drones, dresses and drill bits is a trader. Traders aren't bad — for small mixed orders they're efficient — but you should know which you're talking to, and technical products need the factory.
2. Match the payee — the bank account you pay must belong to the company on the license, not a sales rep's personal account or an unrelated "payment agent." This single check defeats most outright fraud.
3. Samples, always — one or two units by courier, paid at sample price. Test hard. "No samples" is an answer: the answer is no.
4. Escrow-style payment — trade assurance on-platform, or 30% deposit / 70% after inspection for direct deals. Never 100% upfront by wire on a first order — that's the setup line of nearly every sourcing horror story.
5. Video-call the factory floor — five minutes of walking the line on a video call costs nothing and filters out rented showrooms.

4. Before the goods ship: inspection

For any order whose loss would hurt, book a third-party pre-shipment inspection (US$100–300 from the established agencies — a rounding error against a container). The inspector samples to an agreed AQL standard, checks function, labeling, packing and quantities, and sends a photo report the same day. Release the balance payment only after the report. For product-specific checklists — like IV-curve testing solar panels — see the solar guide as a template for writing your own.

5. Customs at your end

• Know your HS code — duty rates hang off it. Your forwarder will suggest one; sanity-check it yourself in your country's tariff database, because "creative" codes save duty until the audit.
• Commercial invoice accuracy — undervalued invoices are the classic "favor" a supplier offers. Customs authorities have reference prices; a $2,000 invoice on a container of electronics triggers exactly the inspection you were hoping to avoid.
• Expect these charges — duty (by HS code), import VAT/GST (on goods + freight + duty in most countries), plus broker and terminal fees. Budget them before ordering; they're 15–35% on many categories once stacked.

6. The classic traps, in one list

• Quality drop between sample and bulk (the inspection exists for this).
• The "our bank account changed" email mid-deal — always verify by video call on the number you already had, not the one in the email; supplier email compromise is rampant.
• Cheap LCL rates with brutal destination charges.
• Mis-declared batteries or liquids voiding the whole shipment (see the solar guide on Class 9 goods).
• MOQ pressure — minimums are opening positions; mixed orders and repeat-business framing move them.

Sourcing solar gear specifically? The solar buying guide goes deep on specs, certifications and battery logistics.