premio wrote:was in China CAN last week and found tiles,wooden doors, sinks and toilets cheap would want to ship them for a 3 bedroom house am doing anyone with info on duty payable if i ship by sea
I have been importing finishing materials on some of my projects from China for the past 5 years, and from experience I have found that you should multiply the Chinese price by a factor of 1.6. This factor will take into account, shipping, povc inspections, logistics of goods in china and your chinese agent's commission.
I usually import tiles, sanitary ware, plumbing fittings, electrical fittings, wardrobes, bathroom cabinets and other finishing accessories hence my calculations are based on that. If you have a 'good' clearing agent than he can bring the factor down to around 1.5.
One of the most important things you need to do is find a reliable agent in china who will ensure you get what you pay for, arrange for the container to be loaded, arrange for povc inspection and finally shipping. Commission for the agent is 5% on value of goods purchased.
Especially since you are buying ceramics you need to ensure they are packaged well, preferably using Woden pallets...it's slightly expensive but minimal breakages (my breakages are below 1%).
Let price not be the only factor you consider when making you purchasing decisions, look at the quality. A few RMB could mean a huge difference in quality.
Otherwise I wish you all the best!
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