Your first impression when you view our shipping costs through our shipping calculator for the first time, you'd probably want to throw your hands up in the air and give up. How can shipping charges cost more, sometimes much more than the actual cost of the product? It just doesn't make sense. There is no denying, shipping small orders from China can be tricky, but it doensn't have to be expensive if you know how to order correctly. If you haven't already, please view our info page on "Harsh realities of buying small quantities from China" -> Click here

The real problem lies with shipping heavy items by air. We know, everyone wants their products fast and want to select the quickest delivery method. From what you've learned from the above article info page, shipping lightweight high-value items like electronics, is indeed feasible. But for heavier items, shipping by UPS, DHL, EMS is not really an option, although the cost of 2-4 weeks POSTAL AIR SAL method might still be bearable for some. So what to do? The answer would be to select ocean freight for heavier or bulkier items. However, you can see that the minimum rates imposed for the first metre cube is already $120, but considerably less i.e. $40 per metre cube for the 2nd metre cube onwards. But would it make sense to ship one or two small but heavy cartons using ocean freight and pay the minimum charge of $120? No, would also be the answer. We would really recommend you order maximise your ocean freight delivery and perhaps order a pallet worth. That's when you really get to save huge and your shipping cost would only amount to 10-20% of your purchase order amount.

To illustrate such a concept, take a look at how a savvy customer makes use of economical ocean freight rates below. This customer ordered 11 cartons worth of bulky toys taking up 2.15 metre cube of space. (remember weight rates don't apply for ocean freight). Based on per cubic metre charge, it amounts to $120 + $40 + $40 = $200. The total purchase value of the products is $1231.21. Therefore, shipping charges here amount to only about 16% of cost of goods. But if he originally wanted to ship only 2 cartons of toys less than 1 metre cube, he would be paying $120 shipping fee for goods worth only $108.32. You can see the big difference here!

In essence, this customer could have furthur maximised his available freight space. For example, if he ordered a few more carton of toys to bring the total usage space to 2.95 metre cube, he would still be paying $200 for the entire shipment. We hope this lengthy but useful illustration has helped you gain furthur insight as to how to order effectively from China. Remember, every penny saved from shipping adds a penny to your profits!