How to ship products to Amazon FBA from China?
For new sellers, there are many questions about shipping after purchase for FBA from China, such as how to ship from China to Amazon warehouse? What are the shipping methods to AmazonFBA from China? The cheapest way to mail? How do clear customs after the goods arrive?
As a new Amazon seller, you are not a qualified Amazon seller if you don’t know about shipping, customs clearance, and duties. If we need to prepare in advance, then we can have a selling price advantage to make more profit.
This article mainly explains how to ship products to Amazon FBA from China. To solve the delivery problem of Amazon sellers, I will share with you the problem of Amazon delivery. I mainly share the following 4 main questions. I hope this article is what you are looking for.
Shipping Methods to Amazon FBA from China
There are four main ways to ship goods to Amazon FBA from China. these are:
- Express transportation
- Sea transportation
- Air transportation
- Train transportation
The time of each way of transport and the cost of transportation are different. You can choose the method of transportation based on the weight of your product. If your time is urgent, you can choose international Express, such as DHL, UPS, or FedEx, but the cost of transportation is very high.
My suggestion is that if the weight of the goods is less than 21kg, you can choose international Express.
If the weight of the goods is between 21kg and 100kg, choose to air transportation. If your products have 100kg + choosing sea or train transportation will save a lot of shipping costs.
We describe each way of transportation in detail below so that you can make the right decision.
Express shipping
Pros and Cons of Express
- Advantage: Usually only 2-4 business days. The speed is fast, especially in the US and European countries. And can check the status of the goods.
- Disadvantages: Expensive, increase the cost of sales. The volume weight is calculated at 5000 (the volume weight is larger by the volume weight). There are also many restrictions on goods such as liquids, batteries and powder products…etc
If your shipment weighs less than 21kg, you can only choose to express to shipping from China to amazon FBA. A minimum weight of 21kg or more is required for air, sea, and train shipments.
Sea freight
Shipping is the main mode of international trade transportation. Due to the unique geographical conditions of the world and the rise of containers, shipping has become the focus of international trade.
Advantage:
- Strong carrying capacity, the carrying capacity of sea transportation can reach hundreds of thousands of tons, its loading capacity far exceeds that of road and air transportation, and it is the transportation mode with the strongest transportation capacity.
- The freight is cheap. Since the port equipment is generally built by the government, the ships can be durable, so the transportation cost of the goods is relatively affordable, especially for large-scale goods.
- Strong adaptability. The adaptability here refers to the adaptation to the goods. Sea freight can be adapted to the transportation of various goods, and some other modes of transportation are inconvenient, and sea freight can basically meet the requirements.
Shortcoming:
1.The transportation speed is slow. Due to the huge area of the hull and the long time spent on loading and unloading, and the strong resistance of the water, the transportation by sea is much slower than other transportation methods.
2.The risk is high. Due to the influence of the natural environment and monsoon winds, there may be many unexpected situations during transportation, and the possibility of distress is also great.
Air freight
If your product weight is more than 21 kilograms, you can choose to ship by air. Air transport is not as convenient as express delivery, because the goods must pass Customs.
The basics of air transportation from China to Amazon FBA now include customs clearance and customs duties. I suggest that you find a Chinese FBA freight forwarder to handle your products, and the shipping cost includes customs clearance and customs duties. So we can save a lot of trouble.
Let’s talk about the cost of shipping to FBA from China
Shipping to FBA from China by sea
There are two methods for calculating the weight. One is calculated on a cubic basis, and the other is on kilogram.
Volum: Sea Shipping to Amazon FBA requires a minimum of 2 cubic meters, but the point is that it does not include customs clearance and customs duties, and can only be transported to the destination port. I don’t recommend this method because many sellers are not able to clear customs, and many sellers are not living in the US or Europe.
Weight: The US requirements for sea shipping are at least 100kg+. Canada’s sea shipping requirements are 21kg+. Europe’s sea shipping requirements are 100kg+. If the dimensional weight is bigger than the actual weight, it is charged by the dimensional weight.
The formula for calculating the dimensional weight is as follows:
Dimensional weight = Length (cm) * Width (cm) * Height (cm) / 6000;
For example: If you have 10 master boxes, the size of each box is 50*60*50cm and the actual weight per box is only 10kg. you will be charged at 25kg per carton and A total of 250kg is charged instead of 100kg.
Shipping time to FBA from China
Shipping time to Amazon FBA from China is about 25-35 days or longer. The most important shipping factor has many factors that affect transportation time, such as weather, customs inspection, and force majeure.
United States: It takes about 25 days from China to the Amazon warehouse in the western United States. It takes about 30 days to reach Amazon warehouse in the central United States. It takes about 35 days to reach Amazon warehouse in the eastern United States.
Canada: It takes about 25 days from China to Amazon warehouse in Canada.
Shipping to FBA from China by air
Air transport dimensional weight calculation method:
Dimensional weight = length (cm) * width (cm) * height (cm) / 6000.
The price of air transportation will be much cheaper compared with Express. Also, the calculation of the size and weight is better than the express. For example, the same size: 50x50x60cm, Express is charged at 30kg, and air transportation is only charged at 25kg. Air transport is a good choice.
Transportation time to FBA from China by Air
Air transport time will be about 10 days slower than Express, but it all depends on the flight chosen by your freight forwarder.
To FBA from China in the US: Usually takes 10-12 working days (including customs clearance)
To FBA from China in Canada: Usually takes 12 working days (including customs clearance)
THE tips to save money COMING!:
Tip 1: The shipping cost is much cheaper than your express account if you are using a China shipping agent or your supplier in China.
The best way is to let your Chinese supplier help you ship the goods to Amazon warehouse, or find a shipping agent to help you with your transportation.
Tip 2: If your product is shipped to the United States, there are no customs duty and customs clearance fees for any goods below $800.
We recommend that you communicate with your supplier in advance and declare your value below $800 before shipping if you buy a large number of goods ($1,500 or more).
First, you can ask your supplier to divide the goods into two shipments and then declare the value of each shipment to be less than $800. Take this way we can save on customs duties and customs clearance fees.
