Your goods are finished, inspected and ready — now they have to cross the world. Shipping from China is not complicated once you understand four things: the transport options, the cost trade-offs, Incoterms, and the documents. This guide covers all four, plus the consolidation trick that saves small importers real money.
Your four transport options
- Express courier (DHL, UPS, FedEx, TNT): 3–7 days door-to-door. Best for samples, documents and parcels under ~100 kg. Most expensive per kilo, but includes pickup and often customs clearance at your end.
- Air freight: 5–10 days airport-to-airport. Good for cargo from ~100 kg to a few tonnes where speed matters more than the last dollar. Cheaper per kilo than courier for larger weights, but you arrange or pay for pickup and customs separately.
- Sea freight — LCL (less than container load): 25–40 days port-to-port. Your goods share a container with other shippers and you pay for the space you use. The sweet spot for first container orders and regular mid-size shipments.
- Sea freight — FCL (full container load): 25–40 days. You rent a whole container (20ft / 40ft). Cheapest per unit once your volume justifies it — roughly 20–30 cubic metres of cargo.
How to choose
As a rough rule: under 100 kg and urgent — courier. Under 2 tonnes and time-sensitive — air. Anything where cost per unit matters and you can wait 4–6 weeks — sea. Many importers run a mix: air for restocks of best-sellers, sea for the bulk.
Incoterms 2020: who pays for what
Incoterms define where responsibility transfers from seller to buyer. The four you will meet most often:
- EXW (Ex Works): you take over at the factory door — maximum work for you
- FOB (Free on Board): supplier delivers goods onto the ship; you handle ocean freight and everything after — the most common term for sea imports
- CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight): supplier pays freight and insurance to your destination port; risk still transfers at the loading port
- DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): supplier handles everything including duty to your door — easiest for you, but price it carefully because hidden costs get built in
The paperwork that moves goods
- Commercial invoice — what the goods are and what they cost (basis for customs duty)
- Packing list — carton contents, weights and dimensions
- Bill of lading (sea) / Air waybill (air) — the transport contract and your proof of shipment
- Certificate of origin — often needed for preferential tariffs
- Other certificates as your market requires (CE, FDA, MSDS for chemicals, etc.)
Get these right before shipment. Correcting documents after the goods are on the water costs time and money.
The consolidation trick for smaller orders
Buying from several suppliers is normal — shipping several small parcels is expensive. A sourcing agent or freight forwarder can consolidate: collect all your suppliers’ goods at one warehouse, combine them into one LCL shipment or one courier batch, and send a single delivery to your door. You pay one freight bill, one customs entry, and receive one clean delivery instead of a dozen packages arriving at different times. If you source frequently from China, consolidation alone can pay for an agent’s fee.
Customs duties: a note, not a wall
Import duties vary by product and country, but they are predictable — you can look up your tariff code (HS code) before ordering and know what to expect. A common beginner mistake is ignoring duties and then being surprised at the bill. Include estimated duty in your landed-cost calculation from day one.
We handle consolidation, export documentation, sea and air freight, and door-to-door delivery for our clients — often turning a dozen small parcels into one clean shipment. Tell us what you are shipping and we will quote the options. New to the whole process? Start with our step-by-step sourcing guide.