Importing from China

Chloe King4 said:So, I just picked up some machinery from China for 20 $0.00 through a company.

How much tax am I looking at here?

And do I actually get any sort of tax refund once I've paid my dues?

You'll receive a customs declaration,
which should list any duties and definitely the sales tax.
Customs goes toward the machine's cost basis, while the sales tax is handled in your monthly filing.

Hi everyone. I’m looking for some insight into customs procedures. Is it actually worth importing a specific batch of cosmetics—say, 50 different SKUs with 10–20 units each—given how the clearance process works? My main concern is whether I'll be stuck filing separate declarations and paperwork for every single item, along with individual fees per product, storage costs, duties, and various processing charges.

Basically, does ordering a wide variety of products in small quantities make sense once you factor in the logistics and customs overhead?

Thanks for the help!

Hey everyone!

Can someone please break down what an AT&T actually is? I have to get one over to my freight forwarder but I honestly have no clue what they're looking for.

Hey everyone!

Can someone break down what exactly

Customs duties per JCD
PDT per JCD

actually means?

Thanks!

Chloe King4 said:Hey everyone!

Can someone break down what exactly

Customs duties per JCD
PDT per JCD

actually means?

Thanks!

SAD—Single Administrative Document (it's just the old term for a customs declaration)

Customs duty via SAD refers to the duty calculated based on the Single Administrative Document or the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).
Basically, you pay a percentage depending on the item. Here's how it works:
The value of the goods plus all costs until they hit the US border (that’s your customs base), then you apply the duty percentage to that total.

Sales tax via SAD—same deal, except the tax base is calculated as:
Value of goods + all costs up to the US border + customs duty / 25%

I’m planning to launch an LLC this spring to import tech from China for both retail and wholesale. Right now, I’m looking at a 17% sales tax and 10% customs duty for Canada. My main question is: how do I source high-quality goods from China at a low cost? I want to import tablets, mice, keyboards, joysticks, speakers, drones, and more. Finding quality gear at a decent price point is vital so my margins actually work. Everyone tells me the cheapest way to move freight is by ship from China to Cleveland. Can I bypass freight forwarders entirely? For instance, once the shipment hits Cleveland, can I just send a truck to pick up the cargo and take it to the nearest customs office to clear everything? Also, what else should I be mindful of when importing electronics to avoid any legal headaches or fines? If anyone can help, feel free to shoot me a DM. Thanks. 👍

I'm trying to figure out if certain goods actually require a CE certificate—it's not as straightforward as it seems. I'm looking for guidance from both European Union authorities and US-based agencies, because I'm terrified of getting one answer from an EU body and a completely different one here at home.

My plan is to import a mix of products: some that definitely need certification and others that don't require a CE mark at all.
Could anyone shed some light on the actual, real-world procedure for Declarations of Conformity? I’ve spent hours reading about this and sending inquiries, but nothing is clicking. All I know for sure is that there is a massive mountain of regulations to climb.
I searched through this thread and saw some posts by "Taylor Campbell4"—if I recall correctly—that seemed either wrong or at least pretty incomplete (honestly, it's better to say nothing at all than to give bad advice unless you're 100% certain).

Even after spending countless hours researching, I feel like I'm stuck in a total labyrinth. What exactly does a Declaration of Conformity written by an importer need to include? Does anyone have an example?
And do they have to list specific European Union regulations? It feels absurd—why couldn't you just write "in compliance with all relevant EU regulations"? 🙂 Surely the inspector checking the paperwork would know which specific rules apply anyway.
Et cetera, et cetera.
Who is the best person to ask for official guidance? Is it the market inspectors? Customs? Or some other agency entirely?

Also, for items that don't even require a CE certificate, do they still need a Declaration of Conformity?

Hello everyone!

I have a quick question and would truly appreciate some selfless advice from this community.

I am currently importing goods from Guangzhou, China; the shipment is about 3 tons, totaling 20 cubic meters, valued at approximately $4,500.

My supplier has offered to handle the LCL shipping through his own contact for a mere $160.

However, local quotes for the exact same service here in the States are coming in closer to $1,100.

A couple of years ago, I imported a different type of product from Guangzhou, China, which was roughly 6 cubic meters weighing 800 kg and valued at $3,000.
I paid about $400 for that shipment, but for some reason, it was routed through the Port of Hamburg instead of arriving directly. Once it hit Hamburg, I was hit with unexpected port fees and handling charges totaling around $1,800, which was an absolute disaster for my profit margins.

Regarding this current 3-ton shipment, my contact insists nothing will go through Hamburg and that it will ship directly to Cleveland. Given how low that initial quote is,
will there be additional fees due upon arrival in Cleveland?

Thank you to anyone who can provide clarity.

🙏

Hey LP, if I were looking to order 100 back supports and 100 Wi-Fi receivers as an individual—say, keeping the belts under $150 and the receivers around $700 total—what would be the smartest way to pull this off?

Angaziras Grunfa should build the plane, while Bob Rock takes the controls as the pilot.🙂

I’m officially launching an import business out of China alongside my Chinese partner.🙂

Since he’s already a heavy hitter in the game—running his own e-commerce empire over there with a full-blown logistics and support network—we’ve decided to start bringing goods from China directly into the US and Austria.

We're strictly doing B2B sales.

Trust me, you'll see pretty quickly that no American can touch the deals or pricing we're getting. When you're a local Chinese person with direct lines and deep connections to the factories, the math just works differently. 🙂

Shoot me a DM if you want the details.

Hey, so I just ordered some stuff from China, total value is around $72... looking at the tracking number and it looks like it's sitting at customs right now. Does anyone know how much extra I'm gonna get hit with or if there will even be any additional fees on this? thanks...

25% sales tax plus $18 customs fees, if I’m remembering correctly

Daniel Carter96 said:Hey, so I just ordered some stuff from China, total value is around $72... looking at the tracking number and it looks like it's sitting at customs right now. Does anyone know how much extra I'm gonna get hit with or if there will even be any additional fees on this? thanks...

Yo, so according to the tracking number, my package is being held up at customs because they say there's no invoice included. I paid everything through PayPal, though... what happens now? I really hope I don't have to drive all the way into New York City just to deal with the customs office in person...😵😵😵

Nah, that’s not how it works. They'll just hunt you down with some tracking number from an email or an invoice to figure out the duties. Once they finish their side of things, the package is yours. You might have to cough up proof of payment first, but Customs doesn't care what the USPS says. To you, it'll feel like the shipment bypassed customs entirely—it's just a pit stop. It takes a bit longer here in the States, but that's the deal for now.

wearyotter36 said:Nah, that’s not how it works. They'll just hunt you down with some tracking number from an email or an invoice to figure out the duties. Once they finish their side of things, the package is yours. You might have to cough up proof of payment first, but Customs doesn't care what the USPS says. To you, it'll feel like the shipment bypassed customs entirely—it's just a pit stop. It takes a bit longer here in the States, but that's the deal for now.

All I really have is the confirmation from my Visa transaction, but hey, thanks for getting back to me anyway👍

Hey there!
I read online that shipments from China usually take about a month. In my case, that would be a dream, but clearly, luck isn't on my side.
On November 26, 2017, I ordered this tiny Bluetooth portable speaker—supposedly had great 😁 specs—for $35 plus $6 shipping. Total was $41 via Wish. Paid everything upfront with my Visa debit card, and it was all 👍 smooth.
Tracking looked perfect. Payment, processing, shipping... everything went fine. It traveled for a month before hitting New York City, sat there for two days, and finally arrived in my city on December 28, 2017.
Same day, I get this weird notice from USPS Customs saying they received an unidentified package with no price listed. They demand I send documentation or an online screenshot that clearly identifies the product and its cost.
That same day, I sent them an email—including the specific PCP number in the subject line and attachments—with PDFs of the product page showing the description, price, and transaction details, just like they asked. Plus, I threw in some extra screenshots for good measure.
Got the usual automated reply, then boom—the holidays hit. Christmas, New Year’s, all those days off. I figured, whatever, no news is probably good news, right?
Then, on January 4, 2018, I get a response saying they can't open or read my attachments and tells me to resend them.
Great, just my luck. More headaches. Maybe I messed up by attaching the files in some stupid way they couldn't handle. So, I quickly whipped up a new reply, made sure everything was perfect, and attached the files properly this time using the little paperclip icon. Sent it off that same day, Jan 4th.
Nothing since. It's been seven days. I guess they managed to open the files or whatever. But now I'm wondering why the tracking hasn't moved. It still says the package is held at customs because of the missing price—the exact same status it's had since it arrived on Dec 28th.
The worst part? For the last two days, I've been calling their info lines to see if everything is okay, but it's useless. All three lines are busy during business hours, and after 3 PM, it's just ringing endlessly—probably everyone's home frying eggs. I tried about ten different numbers hoping to get transferred or find out where the holdup is, but nothing.
I even sent an inquiry email, but total silence.
I get that they're holding it to verify the price for sales tax, but I don't get it. Am I really expected to drive 300 miles to the big city for a speaker when nothing is moving? Has anyone else dealt with this? We're talking about a 600-gram item worth $99. Am I supposed to drive to the city and spend $100 on tolls and $400 on gas just to check on it, only to end up paying $400 for the whole thing? What am I even supposed to do?
God, how they manage to overcomplicate things is unreal 🤦.
Any smart 🤔
advice?

Hey everyone! I could really use some advice here. My husband and I are thinking about ordering these armchairs from China. http://grshop.com/media/catalog/prod...on-chair-9.jpgWe found a seller on Alibaba, and they quoted us $919 total for all six chairs, including shipping to Cleveland—which seems like a pretty solid deal. But now I'm getting a bit nervous about customs and all those extra fees once the shipment actually hits the US... Has anyone dealt with something like this before? Would love to hear your experiences or any tips you might have...

Thomas Thompson12 said:Hey everyone! I could really use some advice here. My husband and I are thinking about ordering these armchairs from China. http://grshop.com/media/catalog/prod...on-chair-9.jpgWe found a seller on Alibaba, and they quoted us $919 total for all six chairs, including shipping to Cleveland—which seems like a pretty solid deal. But now I'm getting a bit nervous about customs and all those extra fees once the shipment actually hits the US... Has anyone dealt with something like this before? Would love to hear your experiences or any tips you might have...

There is plenty of explanation regarding this on the previous pages....👍

Greetings!
Does anyone know what the current tariff rates are on auto parts being imported from China?