china

[hedgerow pete]

has anyone dealt with or does importing from china to the uk.

i have just been given a quote that says

Price: FOB China US$ 0.54

what does fob mean and leave out the thunder bird jokes please. and the prices that you normaly deal with do they have any other extras added to them?

and whats normal with importing to the uk in a small personal usuer issues??

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

has anyone dealt with or does importing from china to the uk.

i have just been given a quote that says

Price: FOB China US$ 0.54

what does fob mean and leave out the thunder bird jokes please. and the prices that you normaly deal with do they have any other extras added to them?

and whats normal with importing to the uk in a small personal usuer issues??

HP - From wikipedia

FOB is an initialism which pertains to the shipping of goods. Depending on specific usage, it may stand forFreight On Board. FOB specifies which party (buyer or seller) pays for which shipment and loading costs, and/or where responsibility for the goods is transferred. The last distinction is important for determining liability for goods lost or damaged in transit from the seller to the buyer.
Precise meaning and usage of "FOB" can vary significantly. International shipments typically use "FOB" as defined by the Incoterm standards, where it always stands for "Free On Board". Domestic shipments within the US or Canada often use a different meaning, specific to North America, which is inconsistent with the Incoterm standards.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

and wasn't Thunderbirds FAB?

 

[madasafish]

do they have any other extras added to them

If there is any import duty, you will have to pay that...

 

[BKF Admin]

Give the guy at Vectis apiaries on the IOW a shout.
He imports from China and will be able to advise you as he took a bad hit last year..

 

[hedgerow pete]

yes thats also some thing i am very worried about, is that i am going to pay a school kid with a dodgy website, set up a lot of money later on in the year if i buy these items.

so no mad panic rush as it were , i just do not have a clue when it comes to dealing with china or india come to that, the prices are just so cheap you realy do have to consider them, even with transport and taxes i am still looking at a 60% saving on blighty prices and a 40% saving on polish prices


and heres another very stupid question as i have only ever dealt with importers from poland and the way it works with them, is that they buy a certain amount of space on the back of a lorry going to blighty and then forward me a collection point, normaly someones yard where they are dropping off or collecting from in the midlands and i just turn up to collect,

so how do i get my four boxes out of a shipping container in the middle of felixstow docks and home to brum. is it normal that i collect or do they unload it some where and i have to go to where that is???

 

[roche]

My general understaning is that FOB means free on board: free of local taxes or other liabilities at the point of origin. That mean that you will be liable for freight, import duty and VAT at time of arrival. Depending on how it is sent, it may arrive at your door, or you may need to arrange for it to be collected from the point where the container is broken down.

 

[hedgerow pete]

i have just been speaking to my old head security gaurd, he runs that company and another one shipping in stuff from china for quad bikes etc.

i have asked him to look into it for me, he has the contacts and the weblinks to deal with our little yellow friends ( still loving peter sellers)

but hopefully he should sort some thing out for me ready for the harvesting season

 

[crazy_bull]

Pete ask them for a CIF price (forget exactly what it stands for but basically means a delivered price)

Everything the others have said above is basically correct regarding FOB, we trade grain on similar terms.

Things to remember on FOB trading, they are basically leaving EVERYTHING to you to organise, including insurance so has bigger scope for going wrong.


C B

 

[hedgerow pete]

cheers for that i will send them an email later on tommorrow when i get back. job interview first thing, fingers and every thing else crossed

 

[cheshirehives]

Unfortunately you need to think on a larger scale here. To import 4 boxes is not economical or even close to it if you find a supplier that's willing to send you 4 cartons of anything send me their details. That aside, you are basically buying space within a container or numerous containers with FOB it's delivered to the port and loaded. The supplier will organise the carrier so you'll get stiffed by one of the import companies when it arrives. Typically you'll need to pay for unloading, storage until collection at £70 a day then VAT and some other bits and bobs to do with paperwork and port authority. 4 cartons may seem like a good deal on paper but it will likely cost a great deal more by time you actually get them (trust me I've been burnt). If your reference to extraction is relevant be sure to check the hardware is compatible with the UK setup with beekeeping practices.

I don't suppose this helps a great deal, just a note of caution that's all.

 

[Somerford]

Pete

FOB means Freight on board

I take it you're buying something trade from a manufacturer....take it from me as one who has experience in this form my last job...they usually arrange a container to the factory gate, fill it and deliver to the port, whereupon YOU as the purchaser will have to pay the port charges, local export taxes (backhanders to 'speed things up), the cost of shipping said container, and then all charges inc. delivery to you at the UK end.

A 40' container works out best.

You can arrange for a few boxes (usually a pallet's dimension) to be packed with another split load, but they are normally separated at a holding depot at the port then released and delivered via a dedicated pallet service. You might like to get a quote to Fed-Ex it, either overland (slower/by ship) or by air (surprisingly cheap for boxed quantities and very commonplace)

Best of luck

Somerford

 

[hedgerow pete]

ok so let me fill in some details so it might be easier to get a better picture.
I want to change my bottle design and shape. I have a supplier in the uk where i can buy at 44pence each unit per one hundred box , plus vat and delivery

a friend of mine i know, buys and sells alot from china and india. any thing and every thing he can buy abroad and double when selling in the uk.

He has found me a much much much better jar design that is top quality style so i can charge top quality prices. the quoted price is 35 cents US per jar FOB for a minium of 660 jars. i was looking at buying four boxes worth as the price drops down to 30 cents per jar.

and all i am now doing is a simple costing on were to buy the jars from and what is the savings?

i am also talking to four other glass suppliers one in coventry, two in france and one in poland. but they have not come back with firm prices yet.

now down to hard costs. and this ALL I AM INTRESTED IN, MONEY SAVED

a single penny per jar will comfirm the order its thats simple.

now i have never dealt with or had any thing to do with importing any thing, i have only ever dealt with sending out and only the logistic side only not the money side.

yes i know there are many down falls with dealing with anyone abroad but the savings are substanshal and there fore they do need to be looked into.

an order of a pallet load of 3,000 jars is worth hunting about for the best prices.

does that little lot help.

after the other posts tonight my pinkies are a little sore,lol

 

[Hombre]

My understading of FOB (Freight On Board) is that the company will deliver the packaged item to a nominated port (by them or by yourself if they are able to offer more than one).

At this point it is incumbent upon yourself to be able to advise the company the details of your shipping agent. DHL, FedEx etc. for them to deliver to the agent at he port on your behalf. The deal with DHL etc. needs to be as part of a freight aggregating service, so that you rent the required space in a general container made up from a number of small loads. The prices I don't know about, but for the category of goods that you are importing, you should be able to identify the class for duty purposes and can get an accurate appraisal of the duty due on import. The selected agent should be able to arrange most of the paperwork etc for you. As well as import duty, of course, there are such things as shipping charges and VAT, unless you are VATregistered.

Essentially if you can get the products into the UK at twice the purchase price, then you might have a chance of making a small profit. I was thinking of a single product weighing 25kg but have never taken it beyond the idle enquiry stage, but it should be possible to work out in advance what the cost of shipping might be, with a fair degree of accuracy.

Oh, and the item that I was thinking about wasn't partiularly frangible, so you will also need to think about insurance.

 

[hedgerow pete]

thanks everyone for these tips they are great. has anyone used off shore suppliers before and what are the pit falls with extra charges and money

 

[drstitson]

presumably the forum is going to have to extend it's "3B" branding campaign a little to include labels stating "Honey from British Bred Bees in British Jars".

I presume everyone here would support the need to promote BJs! (especially with 14th march rapidly approaching!)

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I've never presonally imported from China but my father (not a beekeeper I hasten to add) imports loads of stuff from China. He has found that the best course of action is to get on the phone to the supplier and get them to explain the whole process to you. They will generally speak better English than most people in this country and will be extremely helpful and courteous. They will understand the complexities of shipping from China to the UK better than anyone else.
Their customer service is generally excellent. It's no accident that they will soon be the world's largest economy.

 

[propolis]

thanks everyone for these tips they are great. has anyone used off shore suppliers before and what are the pit falls with extra charges and money

I recently brought in two pallets from the States so can give you an idea of the extra costs involved. I always ask for a quote from the company that includes the cost of delivery to the UK, of course they add that cost of shipping to the quote so you end up paying that in any case, but it does remove some of the hassle involved.

Costs involved when consignment reaches UK port.
Two pallets weight 1107 kg.
Customs clearance £25
Documentation charge £25
Terminal Handling charge £40
Use of Deferment £20
Inbound VAT £485.39
Delivery charge £190
(from UK port to your destination)

Also bank wire transfer fee £25 and the company that you are are purchasing from may insist that you pay their cost of receiving the wire transfer usually around £20. you may also get quite a shock when you receive the exchange rate calculations from your bank.

 

[hedgerow pete]

see this is what i am worried about whilst the cost of the 2,000 jars is fantastic the added costs might just kill it off any way. looks as if i had better send an email to china later

 

[propolis]

Oh and forgot to add, this particular import did not attract a tariff charge, but that can change with the country being imported from and the type of goods being imported