How to sell on Amazon ? One crucial step of the sourcing process includes shipping.
As most finished products are manufactured in China, we are going to take a look at the shipping terms and 5 important tips for you to now as a Private Label seller.
1. International Courier Express – Fastest and Most Convenient Shipping Method (Recommended for under 200Kg)
International couriers (FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.) are used for high-value products or products which need to be delivered to certain locations quickly and reliably, ideal for fashion, jewelry, clothing, or expensive electronics.
The rates are calculated by dimension (CM) weight (length x width x height/5000). Total payment is calculated on actual weight or dimensional weight.(whichever one is higher) For example – actual weight of shipment is 200 KG , but dimensional weight (length x width x height/5000) is 250 KG. Your shipment will be charged at the 250 KG dimensional weight. In case you were wondering on why there is such a rule, here would be a scenario. This guy wants to send 1000 KG of cotton, the cottons take up the whole cargo bay on the plane. But yet, if the cotton was not there – the plane can carry up to 5000 KG of cargo. Therefore the dimensional weight (also know as volume weight) rules apply.
Small sellers usually use this method as the inventory risk is much lower, this is in exchange for a higher shipping cost.
2. China Post – Most Economical Way for 20-200Kg Cargo, especially for volumetric large dimensional products
When your cargo is 20-200Kg, but its huge and takes up a lot of room. China Post by sea is another ideal method, which is around 1/3 price of international express, especially for remote regions.
All goods are calculates by weight only, not by dimension weight, which means it’s best for light weight products under 20 Kg per parcel.
Shipping time is about 60 days
3. Air Freight – Fast and Suitable for More than 500Kg Cargo
Air freight is cheaper but slower than express air. Best used with cargo exceeding 500Kg. Dimensional weight is calculated as length*width*height/6000. Air Freight is usually airport to airport, you will have to arrange domestic shipping from airport to final destination, which can be very costly. However, Private Label Concentrated will clear the shipment from customs and has a large and reliable network of truck LTL providers that can deliver your products to any FBA warehouse with efficiency.
4. Less than Container Load Sea Shipping（LCL）
LCL sea shipping is the most economical way among all shipping methods, when your cargo is more than 2-3CBM. If even less than that, I recommend you use China Post or others methods. Because every export by sea fixed fees, in China, it’s around $100-$150, and also fixed import fees when cargo arrive port. So shipping only 2CBM or less will be expensive and the better way would be to send by AIR.
Sea freight is port to port, so please be sure to also quote any local loading cost in the USA.
There is one exception to the rule: if your cargo is around 15-20 CBM, it may be more cost effective and quicker to use a 20 GP container rather than LCL, as you will not be sharing the container with anyone other shipments.
5. Full Container Load Sea Shipping
Full container load sea shipping is the cheapest shipping one yet, it’s frequently used for large orders. The shipping cost per product is the lowest when using a full container load (FCL). This is the holy grail of any importer, all the top guns like Walmart, Costco will only use FCL to import their products. When volume increase, FCL is the only way to go when importing from china to sell on amazon.com
Volume of FCL containers:
20GP – 14 ton / 26CBM
40GP – 22 ton / 54CBM
40HQ – 22 ton / 68CBM
We hope these few tips can help you calculate your cost, communicate with your forwarder or make extensive planning to your product creation and importation. Please let us know in the comments beneath if you have any other shipping terms you would like to share.!