Frequent questions about supplies from China

Yes. The minimum shipment through DPC is 50 kg. Shipments of 150 kg or more are generally more economical: at the minimum, fixed costs for goods receipt, documentation and last-mile delivery are spread across less cargo, so the per-kilogram cost is noticeably higher. If your shipment is lighter, you can build up the weight by consolidating orders from several suppliers or holding goods at our Guangzhou warehouse; use the shipping calculator to see the cost for your cargo.

Yes. Working with your own supplier is the most common setup. You give them the address of our Guangzhou warehouse; we then receive the goods, count the packages, check the SKUs and provide a photo report. Supplier sourcing is a separate, optional service. The prices and terms you have agreed remain yours, and we do not get involved in your purchasing or correspondence with the factory unless you ask us to. See our warehouse in China for the process.

Yes, the services are taken individually: supplier payment, goods receipt and storage at the warehouse in Guangzhou, inspection of the goods before dispatch, consolidation, delivery by cargo or official import. Payment is taken on its own when the logistics are already set up but the transfers will not go through. Inspection is taken when control is needed before dispatch rather than after unloading at your own warehouse. The 50 kg minimum applies to a dispatch, not to each individual service.

The first step is a quote for a specific shipment, based on the goods, weight, volume, supplier's city and destination city. A messenger message, the website form or email all work. During working hours – weekdays 8:00–20:00 and Saturday until 14:00 Kyiv time – the first reply comes within 15 minutes; a full quote for a non-standard route can take up to two hours. We agree the service scope and method, give the supplier our Guangzhou warehouse address and your personal marking, receive and measure the goods, and send a report with photos. The invoice is based on actual weight and volume, and dispatch follows payment and your confirmation. The freight forwarding agreement is signed before the first shipment.

Seven parameters: what the goods are, the weight, the dimensions or volume of the places, the number of places, the value of the shipment on the invoice, the supplier's city in China and the delivery city. Give length, width, height at the outermost points and gross weight for each package, not only the shipment total. Describe the product in plain language, with unit count, material, purpose and whether a second tier can be stacked on the packages; these facts affect restrictions, permits and loading. Tell us how often you order and whether you need official-import documents. A photo or product link is enough for a preliminary calculation, but an exact quote needs actual weight and dimensions. During working hours – weekdays 8:00–20:00 and Saturday until 14:00 Kyiv time – the first reply comes within 15 minutes; a non-standard route can take up to two hours to quote.

We will, provided the shipment is from 50 kg and the purchase is commercial rather than for personal use. The model is designed for active importers with repeat purchasing: marketplace sellers, retail, manufacturing, HoReCa, construction, car parts. With infrequent supplies the gain usually comes not from the rate but from the fact that defects and shortages are found at the warehouse in Guangzhou, before dispatch. For a one-off parcel of a couple of kilograms an ordinary courier service is simpler.

Yes. We do not take on goods subject to import or export restrictions, excisable and licensed categories, perishable food, live plants and animals, weapons and their parts, or counterfeit goods and goods bearing third-party trade marks without permission. The published route limits are more specific: dual-use goods are not carried anywhere except Ukraine; liquids and chemicals are accepted only from 500 kg because 50–100 kg is uneconomic. Restrictions depend on country and scheme and are checked before quoting.

Not necessarily. We check the supplier's company against its business license and the open registers before the first payment, and the goods at our own warehouse in Guangzhou before dispatch: piece count, SKU verification, measurements, photo report. You take the decision on discrepancies remotely and the cargo waits in Guangzhou. A trip makes sense for complex equipment, trade fairs and personal contact with the production site, but it is not required for regular purchasing.

The manager gives you the Guangzhou warehouse address with confirmation of the request, together with your personal marking. We deliberately do not publish one general address: an unmarked box cannot be tied to your shipment. The supplier usually delivers to the warehouse itself, often free or at very low cost. If it cannot, we arrange collection as incurred or with a $20–50 surcharge depending on the city and volume.

Yes. The freight forwarding agreement is signed before the first shipment and sets out the work, payment, timing, liability and its limits. You remain the importer of record under the default official-import model, so the goods and input VAT stay yours, and your broker normally files the declaration. Clearance through a partner is a separate service and a separate responsibility in the agreement.

Delivery Pro China has operated since 2023 and was founded by Yuriy and Evgeniy. We run regular supply chains for businesses: supplier coordination, payment, our warehouse in Guangzhou, goods checks and delivery. Cargo is received, counted and photographed by our own staff member in Guangzhou. One assigned manager stays with the shipment from quote through receipt and any problem; their name comes in the first reply. We do not publish client names or invent public reviews and case figures, while the dated 2026 route volumes on the About page remain operating measurements rather than a claim about capacity.

Four checks cost nothing. Ask for a live video call from the China warehouse, not a stock photo. Ask for a written line-by-line quote covering rate, calculation basis, packing, pickup and insurance. Ask who is importer of record and who files the declaration. Ask for the contract before payment and read the liability and claims clauses. Reviews come last because they are easiest to fake.

The total is made up of collection from the supplier, goods receipt and warehouse work, inspection, packing, international transport, documents, last mile and, where applicable, supplier payment. Collection within China is charged at actual carrier cost or with a $20–50 surcharge. Weight and dimensions are recorded at goods receipt. On road routes the rate card uses measured-density rows down to 100 kg/m³ and then cubic-metre pricing; this is not volumetric weight. On air, chargeable weight uses 167 kg/m³, the 1:6 conversion. A calculation volume can include the 1.1 stacking coefficient, while density itself is actual weight divided by measured volume. The quote states the basis line by line.

Because a per-kilogram figure neither shows the total cost of the shipment nor stays current for long. The same rate produces a different cost per unit depending on cargo density, the number of packages and the services required. For each shipment, we therefore calculate the landed cost per unit at your warehouse.

Most likely the shipment became bulkier, so the charge for occupied space changed. On road routes the rate card uses measured-density rows down to 100 kg/m³ and below that prices by cubic metres; volumetric weight is not added on top. On air express there is no density threshold and chargeable weight is calculated at 167 kg/m³, the 1:6 conversion. Repacking can reduce measured volume. We recalculate from the warehouse measurements and agree the difference before issuing the invoice.

The payment can be made through us: you pass us the invoice, we check the beneficiary's name, account number and bank against the invoice and contract, transfer yuan or dollars to the Chinese company's account and issue confirmation quoting the invoice. Payments do not go to personal accounts or unrelated entities. A regular payment has no separate fee: we quote the exchange rate. For an official contract through our Hong Kong company the published fee is 1.5–2.2% by monthly volume; market intermediaries charge 3–20%. The module also works separately from logistics.

First you need the reason for the return from the beneficiary's bank: without it a repeat transfer will produce the same result. Most often it is the data – the beneficiary's name on the payment order does not match the company's name at the bank in China, the payment reference contradicts the invoice, the account is closed, or a private individual is named as beneficiary. We check the details before the payment, so returns of this kind are cut off in advance. While the money is on its way back, the supplier does not start production and the dispatch date slips.

Prepayment is normal on production orders, but paying a new supplier in full before any check is the main risk in purchasing. The working order is: check the company against its business license and the register before the first payment, then a partial prepayment, with the balance after goods receipt at the warehouse in Guangzhou and the photo report. If the supplier refuses any form of control and asks for a transfer to a personal account, the payment stops pending clarification. The terms depend on the category and the amount.

Because freight rates change faster than that: over 2026 they changed more than 10 times. The quote fixes the cost for 7 days from the date of issue, after which the figures are recalculated against the current market. It is not only rates that change but also the actual cargo parameters: if the weight or volume at goods receipt in Guangzhou differs from the supplier's figures, the requote follows our own measurements. That is why a quote always carries a date and the scope of services.

Yes. The carrier provides basic cover for loss, theft and non-delivery; cargo damage is not covered and liability for it is determined by the contract of carriage and the applicable convention. The published voluntary tiers are 1.5% of value at a valuation up to $30 per kilogram, 2.5% from $30 to $50 and 3.5% over $50. Manufacturing defects, product mix-ups and incorrect contents are excluded and should be caught in Guangzhou. The quote confirms whether those tiers apply to the current carrier and route.

Loss, theft and non-delivery are covered. The published basic limits were $10 per kilogram by air express and $5 by truck to Kazakhstan. Carriers do not insure cargo valued above $80–100 per kilogram under that basic weight limit. Because applicability changes by carrier and route, the quote confirms the current mandatory limit and voluntary rate before dispatch. Damage to cargo is not covered.

Record the damage on the carrier's delivery report and take photos when the shipment is handed over. Damage is not covered by insurance: liability is determined by the contract of carriage and the applicable convention, not by the policy. Insurance covers loss, theft and non-delivery. The claim is then pursued under the contract of carriage, and we provide the goods receipt records from Guangzhou showing the packaging and condition of the packages before dispatch.

We quote the shipment rather than publish one rate: it depends on category, density and departure point and changed more than ten times during 2026. Components and mid-range categories are cheaper, hard-to-export goods dearer, and Hong Kong is cheaper than mainland China. The quote is valid for 7 days. T1 is separate and calculated from invoice value. Air takes 4–7 days plus 3–4 days for Poland and customs; sea takes from three months.

The published structure is ¥350 per kilogram for the first weight and ¥120 for each additional kilogram; for ordinary goods it can fall to ¥90. Delivery goes by air express to the recipient's address in 12–20 days. The current product and destination rate is confirmed in the dated quote, which is valid for 7 days.

Volumetric weight converts the space occupied into chargeable kilograms. DPC does not apply it on top of road density rows: road routes price by the measured-density row down to 100 kg/m³ and then by cubic metres. On air express the conversion is 167 kg/m³, or 1:6, and the greater of actual and volumetric weight is charged. Pillows and packaging are usually affected more than hardware and spare parts.

It is a stacking allowance used in calculation volume where the route quote calls for it: packages leave gaps and cannot always be stacked to the full vehicle or aircraft height. It is not the divisor for density. Density is actual weight divided by measured volume; air volumetric weight uses the applicable calculation volume at 167 kg/m³, the 1:6 conversion.

The operational rate updates daily. A preliminary calculation uses the current rate; the payable conversion rate is fixed and stated in the invoice, normally on the invoice date. If the payment instruction is issued on another day, the dated quote or invoice states which rate controls rather than relying on a verbal figure.

Yes. Purchasing from a table with many items and small amounts is a separate format. The published fee is 0.5–2%, covering the work of processing dozens of individual payments.

None. Duty and VAT do not appear in the DPC logistics invoice: the importer pays them during clearance through the customs broker. The published country rates are Ukraine 20%, Kazakhstan 16% and Uzbekistan 12%; the exact current rate and product treatment are confirmed for the shipment.

The settlement currency is US dollars. Another currency is converted at the rate stated in the invoice; a verbal rate does not apply. Payment is due before the shipment is handed over. Terms for regular clients are discussed separately, and customs payments are paid to the broker rather than included in this amount.

The logistics invoice is issued after warehouse receipt from the actual weight and volume and is paid before handover. Settlement is in US dollars, with any conversion rate written in the invoice. Supplier payment is a separate service and separate money in yuan; customs payments are also separate and go to the broker. Deferred terms for regular clients are discussed after several shipments.

Divide the shipment cost by the number of units. In the published example, a mid-category 300 kg air shipment to Ukraine containing 2,000 units came to about $2 logistics per unit. At a retail price of $15, that is 13% of retail price. Density changes the share more than a headline rate, so use current quoted inputs before applying the example to a live shipment.

The lead time is counted from the date of dispatch from the warehouse in Guangzhou: by road on the China – Kazakhstan route it is 10–15 days. Cargo is usually faster, official import longer because of the clearance. Carriage is performed by partner carriers, so we give a range rather than a date: the schedule is affected by the season, how loaded the border crossings are, and inspections. Lead times for all routes are collected on the page delivery lead times, and the route itself is set out in the section supplies to Kazakhstan.

Delivery from China to Ukraine takes 7–11 days from dispatch at our Guangzhou warehouse: the flight takes 4–7 days, followed by another 3–4 days for collection from Poland and customs clearance. We do not promise an exact arrival date because partner carriers handle the transport, and flight consolidation, queues and customs procedures can affect the schedule. Lead times become more consistent with regular shipments because the cargo is assembled in advance. See shipping to Ukraine for details.

Uzbekistan goes by road: 15–20 days on the accelerated route and 20–35 days on the economy route, from dispatch at the warehouse in Guangzhou. The difference between them is price and speed, and you make the choice at the quoting stage. The exact lead time depends on the scheme, the product category and the leg inside the country: transit transhipment and delivery to the consignee's city are also part of the range. The route is described on the page supplies to Uzbekistan.

Because the schedule is affected by legs we do not control: supplier readiness, carrier load, the season before Chinese New Year, border queues, inspections and customs. Within our leg the timing is predictable: goods receipt, measurements, photo report and dispatch after your confirmation. In 2026 customs remains unpredictable across routes. We do not promise an arrival date; the assigned manager reports a shift when it appears and always reports a delay longer than one day, rather than claiming automatic tracking the route does not provide.

Yes. Building up a shipment is a standard arrangement: goods from different suppliers remain at our Guangzhou warehouse until the shipment is complete. We do not charge for storage, and the warehouse is free for regular clients, so there is no day limit or overstay fee. Longer-term storage for a specific project is agreed case by case. Every consignment is recorded in a goods receipt report with photos; see our warehouse in China for details.

Yes, the goods accumulated can be split into several dispatches: to Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The split is done at the warehouse in Guangzhou before dispatch, and each dispatch gets its own marking of places, its own packing list and its own quote, because the scheme and the documents differ by country. One country can go by cargo and another by official import. The 50 kg minimum is counted for each dispatch separately, not for the whole order.

On the carriage leg the carrier is liable under its own transport documents, while we run the supply as the operator: we keep in touch with the carrier, track the status and pass on information about any shifts. Goods receipt, measurements, storage and inspection in Guangzhou are our responsibility, and that is evidenced by a report with photos. We do not claim to be responsible for every leg at once: each has its own performer, and that is visible in the documents.

Yes, Europe is an open route, and dispatches go by air: 12–20 days to the consignee's address from the date of dispatch at the warehouse in Guangzhou. That period covers the flight, handling at the arrival airport, customs procedures and the last mile to the door. Carriage is performed by partner carriers, so we give a range rather than a date. The terms for the route are on the page supplies to Europe, and lead times for the other routes are in the section delivery lead times.

The published route list names four destinations: Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Europe. Each of them has a current standard route page. We collect anywhere in China and consolidate at our Guangzhou warehouse. The US and other countries are quoted on request rather than operated as regular lines.

Around Chinese New Year, factories and logistics close for about two weeks. Before the shutdown and after reopening, shipment volume peaks, rates rise and route space is booked out. Seasonal cargo should leave before the holiday rather than be planned for dispatch just after it.

Consolidated cargo has no one postal-style tracking number with a continuous map: it travels with other cargo, is reloaded and can change transport. The assigned manager reports five control statuses – warehouse receipt with photos, departure, crossing the China border, arrival at customs and readiness for handover – and answers between them. A digital account is planned, but there is no promised launch date and no claim of automatic tracking today.

For official import to Ukraine, a truck delivers to the recipient: Kyiv was published at $2,900, with other regions quoted separately. Europe goes by air express to the recipient's address. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can be handed over at the recipient's warehouse or delivered to an address, quoted for the route. There is no one per-city door-to-door price list; the current amount is confirmed for the exact address.

It is carriage by different modes under one contract – for example, sea to a port and then road to the recipient. For the client it remains one route, one responsible party and one document flow. We combine modes when the comparison is better on time or money, but a direct single-mode route is often cheaper, so both are calculated before dispatch.

The discrepancy is recorded at goods receipt in Guangzhou, before the international dispatch: you receive photos, the number of defective units and a description of the problem. You then take the decision – replacement by the supplier, a top-up delivery, a discount, a return or dispatch as is. The cargo waits at the warehouse until the decision is confirmed. Sorting it out in China is cheaper than sorting it out at your end: returning goods to a seller inside the country is easier than carrying them back across the border.

Basic goods receipt is the piece count, verification of SKUs against the packing list, weighing, measuring of dimensions, a visual check of the packaging for damage, and a photo report. An extended inspection is agreed in advance for the specific goods: sampling by quantity, completeness, functioning on simple indicators, verification of colour and sizes. We do not carry out laboratory testing – material composition and electrical safety are confirmed by a laboratory following a defined method. The scope of work is described on the page inspection of goods.

Yes. For each package the goods receipt report includes an overall shot, a close-up of the marking, a tape measure against the dimensions and scales showing the reading. Opened boxes under agreed sampling and every discrepancy or damaged area are photographed separately. The report arrives before dispatch while the cargo is still in China. Video and opening every box are separate warehouse time agreed in advance; the procedure is the same for cargo and official import.

First, the business license: the company name on the license must match the name on the invoice and in the payment details. Next, we check registration in the open register, the right to conduct export settlements, how long the company has been operating, and the address of the production site. We run this check before the first payment. Warning signs to stop at: a private individual's payment details, a change of account at the last moment, and a request to split the amount into several small transfers.

Yes, that is the main scenario for regular purchasing: suppliers deliver the cargo to the warehouse in Guangzhou, we receive each consignment separately and dispatch them as one – with a common packing list and a single marking of places. Instead of three or five dispatches you pay for one and receive one set of documents. The limit is on the weight and volume of the dispatch, not on the number of suppliers. More detail: cargo consolidation.

We reinforce packaging at our Guangzhou warehouse before dispatch at the listed prices: a crated pallet costs $30 per cubic metre, bag and tape cost $5 per package, a cardboard corner with a bag costs $6 per package, and a wooden crate for small boxes costs $15–25. Inadequate packaging is documented at goods receipt. Repacking changes measured volume and can change the road density row or cubic-metre amount; on air it can change volumetric weight at 167 kg/m³. We recalculate from measurements after the work.

Yes. Send us links to the product listings and we will check the sellers, pay for the orders in China, receive the parcels at our Guangzhou warehouse and consolidate them into one shipment. The listed product price excludes domestic delivery, packaging and consolidation, so the full shipment cost must be calculated separately. Orders from different sellers can be combined into a single shipment. See purchasing from 1688 for details.

Yes, the preparation is done at the warehouse in Guangzhou: applying barcodes and labels to your template, assembling sets, inserting leaflets, packing into individual bags, repacking to the requirements of the marketplace warehouse. Marking codes and certificates are a separate matter: they are needed before dispatch and belong to the scheme with documents rather than to warehouse work. Documents are usually needed for selling through a marketplace, which is why official import is more often the choice.

Most often, we ship clothing and textiles, footwear, furniture and fittings, tableware, tools, car parts, lighting, packaging, industrial components, equipment, raw materials and supplies, including goods for marketplaces, retail, manufacturing, HoReCa and construction. Equipment and electronics, batteries, liquids and chemicals, medicines and supplements, and glass depend on the destination and scheme. We confirm the requirements for the exact product before quoting.

Because cargo does not produce a customs declaration, and goods that need permits, a certificate of conformity or marking codes will not go through under that scheme. Likewise, we do not take excisable and licensed categories, weapons and their parts, perishable food, live plants and animals, counterfeit goods, or goods bearing third-party trade marks without the rights holder's permission. We check the category before quoting, and the list of requirements by group is on the page goods and categories.

It is groupage in which shipments from several clients travel in one dispatch and each client pays only for their own space. It is cheaper than a dedicated truck and does not require one client to fill a vehicle alone. We assemble such shipments at our Guangzhou warehouse; the minimum acceptance is 50 kg. This is different from consolidating several suppliers for one client, which the warehouse also does.

On the day of receipt the assigned manager sends the goods receipt report with photos of every package and the actual weight and dimensions, before the cargo is dispatched. The manager then communicates route milestones and any changed estimate; we do not promise an automatic status system that is not yet in operation.

There is no hard limit, but a single package over one and a half cubic metres carries a surcharge, and a pallet over two cubic metres is priced individually. For quoting, give each package's outermost dimensions, weight and whether another tier can be stacked on it. The shipment minimum remains 50 kg; we do not carry consumer parcels of a few kilograms.

Yes. Send the link and seller contact; we contact the seller, confirm availability and arrange collection to Guangzhou. Collection is charged as incurred or with a $20–50 surcharge. Supplier product quality remains the supplier's responsibility; our responsibility starts at warehouse receipt, and a product check before dispatch is a separately agreed service.

The difference is in the documents and in how the goods get onto the books. Cargo is delivery without a full document set for the goods: the costs are usually lower and the lead time shorter, but there is no customs declaration and no input VAT. Official import runs on a contract with the supplier, with an invoice, a packing list, transport documents and a customs declaration: more expensive and slower, but the goods sit on the books legally. A comparison of the schemes is in the section official import.

Under cargo you receive documents for the service and for the goods within the process: the supplier's invoice, the packing list, the goods receipt report from the warehouse in Guangzhou with photos, the marking of places, and confirmation of the supplier payment if it went through us. There is no customs declaration in this scheme, so input VAT cannot be recovered and the origin of the goods is not documented. For selling to companies and retail chains that set is usually not enough.

The set is built on the contract with the supplier and includes the invoice, the packing list, transport documents, the export declaration from China and the customs declaration in the country of import. For certain categories, certificates of conformity, permits and marking codes are added. With this set the goods go onto the books, input VAT is evidenced, and the origin of the shipment can be shown to a marketplace, a bank or a corporate customer. The clearance is carried out by a customs broker in the country of import.

Yes, but only under the official scheme: the right to recover it comes from the customs declaration in the country of import and the full document set for the goods. Under cargo there is no declaration, so there is no input VAT either – the costs are lower, but the goods do not go onto the books with evidenced origin. The choice is a matter of money: the saving from cargo against the amount of recoverable VAT and the ability to sell to companies and through a marketplace. The rate and the recovery procedure depend on the country of import.

It depends on the product and the country of import, and that is determined by the product's HS code before ordering. Permits are most often needed for equipment and electronics, children's goods, cosmetics and household chemicals, food, protective equipment, and anything that comes into contact with food or skin. We request the manufacturer's technical description, test reports and, where available, international certificates from the supplier. A national certificate or declaration of conformity is issued in the country of import by an accredited body, either through a broker or directly; we do not issue it. The sequence that prevents avoidable cost is: determine the HS code → establish whether a permit is needed → request the factory's reports before paying for the shipment. If certification is left until after arrival, the cargo can sit at a temporary storage warehouse or fail to be released at all.

No, we are not a customs broker. The declaration in the country of import is filed by a specialist participant entitled to do so, and we organise the supply together with them: we collect the documents, agree the description of the goods and the codes, prepare the cargo at the warehouse in Guangzhou and keep in touch about the timing. The division is worth understanding in advance: the broker is responsible for the clearance, we are responsible for preparing the shipment and for the cargo data.

Arrange to work through an export agent that can issue the documents, or replace the supplier with a factory that already exports. Official import cannot be arranged with that supplier without a contract, invoice and export declaration because the customs declaration cannot then be filed in the country of import. Check this before making any prepayment: the company's business licence and registry record show whether it is authorised to conduct export transactions.

You remain the importer of record. The contract with the Chinese supplier, the customs declaration in the country of import and the entry of the goods onto the books are all in your legal entity's name, so input VAT and the origin of the shipment are evidenced by your documents. Our role is that of supply operator: goods receipt and inspection at the warehouse in Guangzhou, consolidation, preparation of the cargo data and coordination of the carriage. The document set is set out in the section supply documents.

No, customs clearance is an additional service on request, shown as a separate line in the quote. We are not a customs broker: the declaration in the country of import is filed by a specialist participant entitled to do so, while we collect the documents, agree the description of the goods and the codes, and prepare the cargo at the warehouse in Guangzhou. If you do not need the clearance, that line does not appear in the quote. The document set is described in the section supply documents.

Before dispatch, the contract with the supplier, invoice, packing list and the Chinese side's export declaration are put together. On arrival, the broker files the declaration; customs checks the HS code and customs value; you pay the duty and VAT; and the shipment is released. Two points most often cause problems. The first is the HS code, which sets both the duty rate and whether permits are needed, so it should be determined before ordering. The second is customs value: it is based on the contract price plus shipping to the border, and if the invoice appears understated, customs can apply its own reference prices. The payments can therefore be calculated in advance, before the cargo reaches the border.

Under a contractor's model, the contractor imports through its own legal entity and the client simply receives the boxes. Under our model, you are the importer and the contract and customs declaration are in your company's name. In the first model the goods are not legally yours, the input VAT stays with the contractor, there is no document proving origin for retail chains and tenders, and a problem at the contractor can leave your shipment inside someone else's arrangement. Under our model, the goods are declared by your own broker or by one we bring in as a separate service.

Yes, and it is the most common scenario in 2026. We first calculate your current shipment as white import, including duty, VAT and clearance, and compare that with what you pay now so the difference is visible before anything changes. You then need a foreign trade contract with the supplier, a customs broker and the product's HS code. We handle the contract, and can advise on the broker or arrange clearance as a separate service; the broker determines the code. It makes sense to make the first official shipment a small one.

Yes, if the goods are for commercial use. The legal form does not exempt the shipment from clearance: a declaration is filed, and duty and VAT are paid according to the product code. Duty-free import thresholds for parcels sent by individuals do not apply to commercial shipments. We work with shipments from 50 kilograms, which is already a commercial import.

It is not one figure but three components: duty based on the HS code, VAT and the broker's fee. For most consumer categories, duty falls in a range from zero to ten percent of the customs value. VAT is calculated on the sum of goods value + shipping + duty. The broker names the exact rates for the product after determining its code; that classification is the broker's job and responsibility.

T1 is a transit procedure under which a shipment moves through the territory of the European Union to its place of clearance. On the air route to Ukraine, the shipment lands in Poland and then moves under T1. T1 is paid separately from the per-kilogram rate and is calculated from the invoice value.

The switch runs in parallel: your current supplies continue while one shipment is placed with us. The order is this – a quote for that same shipment of yours, agreement on the scope of services, a new warehouse address in Guangzhou for one supplier, goods receipt with a photo report, dispatch, and reconciliation of the actual figures against the quote. The rest of the volume is moved only after that, and nothing needs to be terminated in advance. How to break down your current provider's invoice is described in the section switching operator.

Yes, a test shipment in parallel with your current provider is the recommended way to start, and the minimum is the same: 50 kg. Four things are worth comparing: the actual cost per unit of goods delivered to your warehouse, the time from dispatch to collection, the quality of goods receipt and the photo report, and the speed and clarity of the response when there is a problem. One shipment gives measurable figures instead of promises, and it shows what happens when something does not go to plan.

A comparison only makes sense when the inputs match: the same cargo, the same services, the same currency and the same quote date. Convert both quotes to a cost per unit delivered to your warehouse and note what each rate includes: delivery within China, goods receipt, storage, inspection, packaging, documentation and last-mile delivery. Differences usually come from the scope of service rather than the freight rate itself.

A lower rate does not mean the supply is cheaper: what has to be counted is the total for the shipment, including delivery within China, goods receipt, storage, packing, top-up deliveries, idle time and losses from defects found at your own warehouse. We do not promise to be cheaper than the market: on dense cargo the rate decides a lot, on bulky cargo it decides little. This is tested on one shipment, where both figures are put together from the same list of operations and on the same date.

Yes, that is a separate scenario: suppliers deliver the cargo to our warehouse in Guangzhou, we receive it, do the piece count, verify SKUs, take a photo report, build up the shipment and hand the cargo over to the same carrier you work with today. The only thing that changes is the address you give your suppliers. That is how the control leg in China is tested without rebuilding the logistics, and for an active importer it is the calmest first step.

Then you stay: we have no volume commitments and no minimum number of dispatches per month. The test shipment is closed out with its own set of papers – the goods receipt report with photos, the packing list, and the quote with actual weight and volume – and at that point the work stops. The data on the shipment stays with you and is useful in a conversation with your current provider about price. You can come back later: the warehouse address in Guangzhou and the way we work will be the same.