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craigrobbo
29-05-2012, 10:25 AM
Hi guys.

I am importing my router from China, Now the factory asked me if we can do customs ourself for sea.

I am not entirely sure what they mean however is there any stipulations omporting via sea rather than air that i must be aware of?

THanks

Craig

HankMcSpank
29-05-2012, 12:10 PM
Hi guys.

I am importing my router from China, Now the factory asked me if we can do customs ourself for sea.

I am not entirely sure what they mean however is there any stipulations omporting via sea rather than air that i must be aware of?

THanks

Craig

With air...it comes to your door....you pretty much know what the price is from the outset

With sea, you're faced with going to retrieve it from the sea port it arrives at....also there may be some local handling charges that you might not know about at the outset (also sea is a bit riskier...eg Somalian pirates....probably a greater risk of damage, therefore insurance likely needed etc)

I have a 200kg shipment arriving from Japan in 10 days time....I'm faced with driving down to Southampton to collect - not ideal, but 200kg by air is crazy expensive.

craigrobbo
29-05-2012, 12:34 PM
With air...it comes to your door....you pretty much know what the price is from the outset

With sea, you're faced with going to retrieve it from the sea port it arrives at....also there may be some local handling charges that you might not know about at the outset (also sea is a bit riskier...eg Somalian pirates....probably a greater risk of damage, therefore insurance likely needed etc)

I have a 200kg shipment arriving from Japan in 10 days time....I'm faced with driving down to Southampton to collect - not ideal, but 200kg by air is crazy expensive.

Thanks for that.

I live in manchester, can my shipment come via manchester ship cannal, i'm unsure if there is a shipment sea port here?

HankMcSpank
29-05-2012, 02:11 PM
I live in manchester, can my shipment come via manchester ship cannal, i'm unsure if there is a shipment sea port here?

I don't know but I seriously doubt it .....the main point about sea shipment is it comes on a huge ship (this is the ship that is carrying my latest shipment .....http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=352822000 - that won't fit up a canal! BTW, sea shipment is pretty slick...I can see where the ship is at any given time en-route .... http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?oldmmsi=352822000&zoom=10&olddate=lastknown!

So the cargo has to be unloaded when it arries in port ...once it's unloaded, then it would be expensive to put it on a narrowboat!. So you're faced with travelling to the port where it arrives at (probably Southamptom or Felixestowe etc...you might be able to have it sea shipped to Liverpool?) or having a courier deliver it to your door from the UK sea port ...but if it's heavy then that's gonna cost.

craigrobbo
29-05-2012, 06:23 PM
I don't know but I seriously doubt it .....the main point about sea shipment is it comes on a huge ship (this is the ship that is carrying my latest shipment .....http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=352822000 - that won't fit up a canal! BTW, sea shipment is pretty slick...I can see where the ship is at any given time en-route .... http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?oldmmsi=352822000&zoom=10&olddate=lastknown!

So the cargo has to be unloaded when it arries in port ...once it's unloaded, then it would be expensive to put it on a narrowboat!. So you're faced with travelling to the port where it arrives at (probably Southamptom or Felixestowe etc...you might be able to have it sea shipped to Liverpool?) or having a courier deliver it to your door from the UK sea port ...but if it's heavy then that's gonna cost.

Thanks for that, makes a little more sence now.

I will ask if it can come to the liverpool port, i belive that comes direct from Sea

John S
29-05-2012, 06:47 PM
No don't do that, as soon as it gets unloaded in Liverpool the Scousers will either nick it of have the wheels off it.

craigrobbo
29-05-2012, 07:03 PM
No don't do that, as soon as it gets unloaded in Liverpool the Scousers will either nick it of have the wheels off it.

HAHA!

But in all seriousness ithink its proberbly the best bet.
?
Do i have to deal anything with customs or fee's or anything like that, ie how do i prove the item is mine when i pick it up etc

motoxy
29-05-2012, 07:19 PM
[QUOTE=HankMcSpank;31264]

So the cargo has to be unloaded when it arries in port ...once it's unloaded, then it would be expensive to put it on a narrowboat!.

I dont think they allow narrow boats on the shipping canal....its for ships????

HankMcSpank
29-05-2012, 07:48 PM
HAHA!

But in all seriousness ithink its proberbly the best bet.
?
Do i have to deal anything with customs or fee's or anything like that, ie how do i prove the item is mine when i pick it up etc

The shipping agent should have your contact details & when the ship arrives they'll be in touch. Additionally, you'll likely have the' bill of lading' from the sender in email. You don't just turn up & say...."Mate, if there's a CNC machine on that boat it's probably mine ...gizzit".

You'll have VAT *and* import duty (about 10%) to pay when it arrives (it's unavoidable...but you might want to get creative with the guy sending to see what fiction he can dream up for the accompanying docs!)



I dont think they allow narrow boats on the shipping canal....its for ships????

Indeed, now that I've looked at it...it is (I'm a bloke that brings in a bit of stuff from abroad, that doesn't make me a 'shipping lanes of the UK' expert!) , still it appears to cater for small ships...not trans-ocean liners!

motoxy
29-05-2012, 08:49 PM
But if your buying on a budget then it can cope with sampans and junks:friendly_wink:

JAZZCNC
29-05-2012, 09:04 PM
Have it come to Goole which his the most inland sea port. I have a warehouse there so I'll pop down to docks and pick it up but you'll never see it again. .:mask:

John S
29-05-2012, 09:21 PM
Indeed, now that I've looked at it...it is (I'm a bloke that brings in a bit of stuff from abroad, that doesn't make me a 'shipping lanes of the UK' expert!) , still it appears to cater for small ships...not trans-ocean liners!

Not just small ships, in the 80's for some celebration they had a US nuclear sub sail up it right to Manchester.
IIRC the average depth is 90 foot.

craigrobbo
29-05-2012, 10:09 PM
But if your buying on a budget then it can cope with sampans and junks:friendly_wink:


huh?..........

Musht
29-05-2012, 11:04 PM
Importing via sea can be a whole different ballgame to air.

What your probably looking for is Less than Container Load, LCL, your in a shared container so there is unloading and clearance charges this end, UK, in addition to VAT, duty and the actual shipping charge.

Have a google and a read of some of the business forums and talk to a couple of UK shipping/logistics agents, cost varies wildy, couple of calls is always worthwhile.

Cheers
Adam

craigrobbo
30-05-2012, 11:38 AM
Thanks for the info.

One other thing, the company emailed this morning asking if my country requires me to be a business to import by sea.

Is this true or false, in the UK do i have to be a registered business to have things imported by sea or can i be just anyone?

Thanks

Craig

Musht
30-05-2012, 12:49 PM
You dont need to be a registered business ,freight forwarders and HMRC are happy to take anyones money, but do talk to some freight forwarding/ logistics outfits, there is a lot of shipping coming in from the Far East and it is possible to get costs down a lot.

You don`t want to be in this position:

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=155805

Cheers
Adam

craigrobbo
30-05-2012, 05:31 PM
But if your buying on a budget then it can cope with sampans and junks:friendly_wink:

Thanks for that,

I'll give the seaport a call in the morning, its looking like maybe getting it shipped by air maybe a cheaper option?

They want around £250 for air shipping + vat

John S
30-05-2012, 09:41 PM
They want around £250 for air shipping + vat

No contest compared to the sea option.

Jon S
31-05-2012, 07:43 AM
Not just small ships, in the 80's for some celebration they had a US nuclear sub sail up it right to Manchester.
IIRC the average depth is 90 foot.

MSC is quoted as having a depth of 8.78 = 28.8feet, of course the average may be more ;-)

Jon S
31-05-2012, 08:18 AM
Using a UK shipping agent is the easy answer, they are employed by you and report to you and can tack on delivery options as required within the UK. Easy.

russell
01-06-2012, 04:45 PM
I've only imported complete container loads but you might want to look at someone like this (http://www.parcel2go.com/content/seafreight.aspx)for smaller volumes.

Russell.

HankMcSpank
02-06-2012, 12:34 AM
Here are the charges I've just beemn stiffed with....

ADVANCEMENT FEE Z 15.00
CUSTOMS PRESENTATION 20.00
IMPORT CUSTOMS CLEARANCE 45.00
PORT SECURITY FEE 3.00
TERMINAL HANDLING 53.00
DELIVERY 60.00
DOCUMENTATION 30.00

(total of £226)...then there VAT & Import duty... of about £1100

from memory, I also paid £200 to the sender for fees their end about 2 months ago.

This was for 7 boxes totalling about 200kg....basically, try bringing anything into the country that can't be hidden up your dung funnel & you're gonna get stiffed.

I'm gonna change tack & start bringing in diamonds :smile:

russell
02-06-2012, 03:08 PM
There's usually a minimum charge for all those services. You've probably been hit by that. Can't avoid VAT you will (should) pay it wherever you buy from.
We used to bring in complete 40 ft container loads from the Far East about ten years ago and it cost about £2000 all in (plus VAT which we got back as we were registered) so there is a definite advantage if you can fill at least a 20 ft container or share it with others.

Russell.