So I just imported (and delivered) my first sea shipment from China to the US. Before the shipment got here, I was nervous. I didn't really know what to expect, and assumed that the process would be really hard. I assumed that there were a lot of things I hadn't thought of, and that something would "pop up".
Turns out I was wrong.
The process was really straightforward, and actually pretty easy.
Hence, hopefully this thread puts some of you guys at ease and allows you take the plunge yourselves.
To start off, here's a picture of my costs. You'll see later how much product I had and get a feel for whether or not sea shipping is worth it for you:
I had my supplier refer me to a freight forwarder in China, and then had her refer me to a partner company in Chicago. I'm not 100% sure if I'm getting the best prices, but do think that the prices are more than fair. The freight forwarder handled all the paperwork -- which I'm told is the hardest part for a newbie.
As you can see, the bulk of my cost was duties. Then $326.28 in "filing fees", and $471.18 in "shipping". I can't complain.
So let's move on to how the shipment got here.
It was loaded in Shenzhen. Then went to California.
Once it arrived in California, it was put on a train to Chicago. Via train, it was delivered to a warehouse in a Chicago suburb. I had to drive out to pick it up in the suburbs. Here's the drive I made:
So an hour there, and an hour back.
I could've paid a truck to do all of this, but thought it'd be fun and worth the experience.
However, once I got to the address my freight forwarder gave me, I was instantly nervous. I was the only one there driving a van, and surrounded by trucks pulling in:
Sidenote: Chicago weather was beautiful today. Even took a bike ride after this was all done.
But when I got in, things got easier. There were signs pointing to where drivers check-in, so I went ahead and checked in:
A nice guy behind the door scanned my ID, checked me in, and told me to pull over to the side of Gate 37 where my shipment would be available. It took about 7 minutes to check in:
Once at the gate, I waited for the guy ahead of me to finish his shipment. When he was done, an employee came out, took my paperwork, and then came back with my shipment:
That's 1.49cbm of product. To put that in relative terms, that's a van full of product:
The nice guy that brought the packages out also helped me load them up into the van. Took us about 6 minutes to load 53 boxes. Then he had me sign a release paper and I was set to go.
All-in-all, including my weight, there were about 2,000 pounds in that van. Turns out that cars have a maximum load weight. The van I used had a max load of 1,400 pounds, so the drive home was a little weird. The car drifted right by itself, so I drove slow, and made it back safe and sound.
In conclusion: Importing isn't as bad as you'd think it is. Freight forwarders are pretty inexpensive. Picking up shipments is pretty easy. Overall, the process is fairly painless. I'll be importing a lot more in the future, and am extremely excited for how simple it really is (once you have a supplier).
Turns out I was wrong.
The process was really straightforward, and actually pretty easy.
Hence, hopefully this thread puts some of you guys at ease and allows you take the plunge yourselves.
To start off, here's a picture of my costs. You'll see later how much product I had and get a feel for whether or not sea shipping is worth it for you:
I had my supplier refer me to a freight forwarder in China, and then had her refer me to a partner company in Chicago. I'm not 100% sure if I'm getting the best prices, but do think that the prices are more than fair. The freight forwarder handled all the paperwork -- which I'm told is the hardest part for a newbie.
As you can see, the bulk of my cost was duties. Then $326.28 in "filing fees", and $471.18 in "shipping". I can't complain.
So let's move on to how the shipment got here.
It was loaded in Shenzhen. Then went to California.
Once it arrived in California, it was put on a train to Chicago. Via train, it was delivered to a warehouse in a Chicago suburb. I had to drive out to pick it up in the suburbs. Here's the drive I made:
So an hour there, and an hour back.
I could've paid a truck to do all of this, but thought it'd be fun and worth the experience.
However, once I got to the address my freight forwarder gave me, I was instantly nervous. I was the only one there driving a van, and surrounded by trucks pulling in:
Sidenote: Chicago weather was beautiful today. Even took a bike ride after this was all done.
But when I got in, things got easier. There were signs pointing to where drivers check-in, so I went ahead and checked in:
A nice guy behind the door scanned my ID, checked me in, and told me to pull over to the side of Gate 37 where my shipment would be available. It took about 7 minutes to check in:
Once at the gate, I waited for the guy ahead of me to finish his shipment. When he was done, an employee came out, took my paperwork, and then came back with my shipment:
That's 1.49cbm of product. To put that in relative terms, that's a van full of product:
The nice guy that brought the packages out also helped me load them up into the van. Took us about 6 minutes to load 53 boxes. Then he had me sign a release paper and I was set to go.
All-in-all, including my weight, there were about 2,000 pounds in that van. Turns out that cars have a maximum load weight. The van I used had a max load of 1,400 pounds, so the drive home was a little weird. The car drifted right by itself, so I drove slow, and made it back safe and sound.
In conclusion: Importing isn't as bad as you'd think it is. Freight forwarders are pretty inexpensive. Picking up shipments is pretty easy. Overall, the process is fairly painless. I'll be importing a lot more in the future, and am extremely excited for how simple it really is (once you have a supplier).
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