International Shipping & Freight Forwarding Blog

Each year the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) process over $2 trillion worth of goods. Much of which are imported to be sold to the American consumer.

As online retailers such as Amazon and Ebay continue to grow so also does the import of counterfeit goods. These items are illegal, less expensive replicas of high-end or popular fashion items, tech, and even toys.

The growth of counterfeit imports to the US has significant impacts on the US economy as well as health and safety of the citizens who purchase these items and the CBP and Amazon are working to crack down on these illegal items entering the US.

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(photo credit: Baltimoresun.com)

Importing into an Amazon warehouse for your online store requires a certain bit of finesse:

When dealing with an outfit as large as Amazon, there are many rules that must be followed, so your shipments don't get delayed or even turned around. We have been fortunate to work with many Amazon businesses, and we've learned about working with the e-commerce giant.

Whether freighting your goods from China or South East Asia, by ocean or air, when the shipments dock here & are cleared through the US Customs, more & other conditions have to be met prior to delivering to any Amazon warehouses.

Here are some importing tips that will help selling on Amazon become a breeze!

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It's Spring, which means it's time for the fun to start!

Spring is tied to many things - such as warmth, new life, and something to look forward to (summer). We're in the second quarter, which means commerce is picking up just about everywhere, so this is also the time of year when shipments really start getting interesting.

I have a regular client who comes to me once a year - it's a trading company that's headquartered on the East coast. We deal with shipments from them where we export from the East, West, & Gulf Coasts to different Middle East & Mediterranean destinations for heavy construction equipment such as backhoes, excavators, and the like.

This year's adventure did not fail to provide an interesting narrative. He wanted to know how to import from China to the US to Turkey.

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Do you know whether you're importing from China the most cost-effective and risk-diverse way possible?

US importers have a very important choice to make when purchasing from their overseas supplier. The term of of an importer’s purchase (FOB China departure port or Ex-China Factory to China departure port versus C & F to destination port or airport) drives the freight responsibility onto the supplier or the importer. Knowing the difference when making your purchase matters.

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So, you're thinking about importing from China, are you? Or, perhaps you already are, and want some pointers?

There's a lot to think about when you're importing from China. Cost is always an issue, but it's much more complicated than that. There's logistics, customs, and dealing with folks who are going to help you move your cargo from one point to another.

Today, I'm going to talk about some of the more important pieces of the puzzle, so you can make the right choices for your international shipments.

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