Perhaps my Google-fu isn't strong enough yet, because even after reading a handful of articles on shipping, I'm still getting confused on the logistics of importing goods from China to the U.S.
Specifically, right now I've found a manufacturer whom we plan to initially order 800 units of a product from, which comes out to about 80kg. So I have some questions:
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1) The quantity we're ordering currently doesn't justify using sea freight yet right? (From my research, maybe in the future when we start ordering 200kg+ at a time, where volume might also come into play).
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2) In the case of sea freight shipping, if the manufacturer handles FOB on their end, I have to find a freight forwarder to handle the rest of the delivery (DDP to my destination address) right?
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3) In the case of not needing sea freight, that means the manufacturer send us our goods via either postal service (China Post) or air courier (Fedex, UPS, DHL, etc). If so, do we need to hire a freight forwarder on our end to handle these postal or courier deliveries?
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4) If the manufacturer sends us packages via postal service or air courier, do we need to worry about clearing customs or paying duties etc when the packages arrive in the U.S.? Or does the Chinese manufacturer already pre-clear customs / pre-pay duties at the time of shipment (at their local post office/courier depot), so that the packages can be delivered straight to our doorstep?
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5) If they are sending us packages via air courier (e.g. Fedex/DHL), do we need to create our own Fedex/DHL account to receive these packages? In other words, does it make anything easier? (e.g. paying courier fees, clearing customs, discounts etc)
Would greatly appreciate any answers!
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