Importing Services (Forwarding, Customs, etc)
I plan to import a 20ft freight container of product from my manufacturer in China and have it transported to my location in the U.S. Midwest. I plan to hire an agent/forwarder to handle all transportation, fees and paperwork. Does anyone have experience on whether its advisable to use a local forwarder/agent in China vs one in the U.S.
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Answers
One of my office-mates and I were just talking about this today. He's an overseas manufacturing consultant and has worked for 20 years in the industry, so I was picking his brain about Alibaba and some product I'm ordering. I passed your question on to him, and he said "It's all about who you have a relationship with. They're all pretty competitive across the board. Personally, Airwave has always done well by me... they're easy and price-competitive." I believe they have operations world-wide. Here's the link to our local Seattle branch: http://airwaveexpress.com/ Good luck!
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I totally agree with the answer above. I would just add that it's an advantage to have someone local to get on the phone or meet with in person should a serious problem arise.
I've been using OEC (www.oecgroup.com) for the last 10 years or so. Great company.
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If you buy FOB the goods will be delivered to the dock and there is very little the freight forwarder would do in China. While my experience is in Australia I can say being able to have a relationship with your local freight forwarder goes a long way. Personally I try my best to avoid any freight charges and other fees that your supplier and or freight forwarder can offer. To be safe decide who you will use in the US and have them nominate who they will use in China. However, there are exceptions. While I have an account with TNT the cost to ship via air is 30% cheaper out of China. and the service is absolutely identical, no difference what-so-ever. Usually Air Fright is much cheaper out of China.
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