shipping from china to amazon fba uk

Posted by damin astin on March 12th, 2020

Shipping from China to Amazon fba USA

How to ship your goods from China to Amazon FBA in the USA

Amazon is one of the largest retailers in the world, and they have precise requirements for the items that are packaged, labeled, and stored. Because of that, many customers choose the Amazon’s Prep Service for their products because it includes inspection, labeling, and packaging (FNSKU labeling, poly bagging, bubble wrap, etc.). Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) also provides great storage services and shipping assistance. shipping from china to amazon fba uk

When shipping from China to Amazon fba USA your goods will be stored in a warehouses until they are sold. After an order is placed, Amazon employees physically prepare, package, and ship your products.

Shipping from China to Amazon FBA USA means that Amazon FBA allows sellers to ship the goods they received from China to an Amazon Center in the USA, through three common ways, such as:

  1. Directly from China to the Amazon Fulfillment Center in the USA.
  2. From China to a personal address, then ship it to the Amazon FBA warehouse.
  3. Ship via Prep Service Company, then to Amazon FBA warehouse:
  4. American Prep Service Company
  5. Chinese Prep Service Company
  1. American Prep Service Company

If the American Prep Service Company is close to the Amazon warehouse, the total shipping cost can be lower than if you ship directly from China to the Amazon warehouse.

Another advantage is represented by their ability to help you do the arrival inspection to check if your goods were damaged during sea transportation after a long time, and also help you reduce the bad reviews under your Amazon listing. freight forwarder from china to amazon fba

  1. Chinese Prep Service Company

Freight forwarding companies usually play the role of a prep service company, and have the advantage that you can return your goods to the factory if any quality problems are found.

If you are a new e-commerce seller, and especially a new Amazon seller, then you need to rely on the additional services of a freight forwarder because Amazon products always have their own rules. Cargo agents often have years of experience and will ensure that your product meets Amazon's requirements.

There are four main modes of transportation when you’re shipping from China to Amazon FBA USA:

  • Express transportation
  • Sea transportation
  • Air transportation
  • Multimodal transportation

The mode of transportation you will choose will depend on your goods’ weight, size, and delivery time.

When you go to Amazon, you should understand the advantages and disadvantages of each mode of transportation, whether it is air, sea or express, or let your freight forwarder recommend it to you, so you won’t lose money and valuable time.

  • Express Shipping from China to Amazon FBA USA

Express shipping means urgent and faster delivery, with higher prices and rates than other forms of transportation. FedEx and UPS have strong networks in the USA and have little to no delivery delays.

You can choose express shipping if your goods’ weight is up to 1000 lbs. (less than 500kg).

For this mode of transportation, the delivery time usually takes between 3 to 7 days for your goods to arrive from China to the Amazon warehouse.

Express companies have two methods of calculating the cost:

  • Actual weight (Actual weight of the package x cost per kilogram)
  • Dimensional weight, which mean that the volume of the goods is larger than the actual weight (Dimensional weight = Length (cm) * Width (cm) x Height (cm)/5000)

Freight carriers like USPS, FedEx, or UPS calculate shipping charges based on whichever number is greater (actual weight or dimensional weight).

For example:

If your product package size is 50*50*50 cm and the actual weight is 10 kg the Express Shipping Company will charge you 25 kg weight (50*50*50cm)/5000=25 kg) instead of the actual weight of 10 kg, if you want to ship this product from China to Amazon FBA.

or

Your product package size is 30*25*25 cm and the actual weight is 18 kg. If you want to ship this product from China to Amazon FBA, the express company will charge you 18 kilograms of actual weight instead of 3.75 Kilograms dimensional weight (20*25*15cm/5000=3.75kg).

  • Sea shipping from China to Amazon FBA USA

If your goods have 2-3 cubic meter or more or your load is over 1000 lbs. (>500kg), sea shipping is the best choice to make. The US requirement for sea shipping is that the load must have at least 100 kg.

Sea shipping is one of the most complicated modes of transportation. It involves large cargo ships moving vast amounts of resources between continents in standardized shipping containers (FCL and LCL).

FCL or Full Container Load is used when your cargo quantity is large enough, and you can fill one or more containers. When FCL goods arrive at an American port, it can only be delivered by truck due to its large size.

LCL or Less Than Container Load is used when the quantity of your goods is small and its volume is less than 15CBM, meaning your cargo will be combined with other shipping cargos for the same destination.

When LCL goods arrive at an American port, they can be delivered by truck or by express companies because of their small size and relative flexibility.

Time delivery for the Western United States is around 25 days, for Central United states is around 30 days, and for Eastern United States is around 35 days from China to the Amazon warehouse.

In general, the price for sea shipping is 0-300/CBM for all the included shipping cost from a China port to an Amazon warehouse in the USA.

 

  • Air transportation from China to Amazon FBA USA

If your order is too large to use land transportation, airfreight is a great way to receive your goods quickly. In general, the air transportation time usually takes 10-12 working days.

There are three ways of air transportation:

  • Economic air transportation
  • Standard air freight
  • Emergency shipping

The cost of air freight will be calculated based on dimensional weight of your goods.

  • Multimodal transportation

Multimodal transportation is a hybrid transportation solution, where you can combine at least two shipping methods (air freight, sea fright, land transportation), under a single contract.

This mode of transportation might induce certain costs for transshipments and handling, but it comes with a better use of the available infrastructure and more efficient means of transport, focused on cost reduction.

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damin astin

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damin astin
Joined: March 12th, 2020
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