Posts by Jesse Jones2

Mislav Cao,

How can I get ahold of your email or find out which firm you work for? Come on, don't be shy! :-)

I'm looking into importing some goods from India (Washington, D.C. to Miami)—about 100kg, 1cbm, with a value of roughly $500.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Susan Thompson2 said:Alright, look—I’m going to lay out a few pointers regarding maritime freight, commercial terms, payment methods, and the very real risk of whether you actually receive what you paid for. I've been working in freight forwarding for a long time now, so believe me when I say I'm speaking from direct experience:

Rule number one:
Book everything right here in the States, not through some contact in China. If you don't, you're almost guaranteed to get hit with extra fees later on, and you lose all control over the transport because you aren't the one issuing the mandate—the sender in China is. And let's be honest, China is a long way away...🙂 So, you want to book it at FOB parity from the port of loading all the way to Cleveland...
Rule number two:
If your budget allows, just buy a full container. It is by far the most cost-effective way to do this. Again, book it in the US on FOB parity; you negotiate this directly with the shipper. There are tons of freight forwarders and agents out there—just do a little Google searching🙂 and you'll usually find ocean freight inclusive of all surcharges, THC/handling at the discharge port around $150, Cleveland at a flat $60, plus local port forwarding at $40, and then you factor in the trucking to your location—which includes returning the empty container back to Cleveland. If you’re located in the Midwest or down in Florida, trucking becomes prohibitively expensive; you might look into Amtrak or just have Floridians drive it down to ST or Mobile.
Rule number three:
If you can't fill an entire container, then you import via LCL (Less than Container Load). You should still be working on FOB parity from the port of loading to the CFS (Container Freight Station) in your area. Whatever you do, do NOT book through the Chinese suppliers, because everything ends up costing four times as much due to the local fees here in America. You negotiate an "all-in" price per cubic meter plus the costs at the customs warehouse where the goods arrive—that averages somewhere between $4-$6 per 100kg, with a minimum charge of $15-$20.
I can be a bit bold and recommend the firm I work for—there are just three of us, we provide excellent service, our rates are competitive, and we've all been in this industry long enough to have seen every headache imaginable.🙂

Anyway, if you need any more info, just reach out.

Best,
Susan Thompson2