Are you a small business owner and planning to use Alibaba for shipping your products from China? If so, you should have a better understanding of the underlying concepts. Read this article to get every relevant information regarding this topic.
Alibaba has emerged as a highly successful ecommerce platform for shipping goods from China to the United States and Europe and has supported several small and medium sized businesses for quite some time now. To acquire the best shipping rates, you should first understand the aspects that influence the shipment procedure as well as the calculating processes.
Summary
The cost of shipping a 1KG parcel from China to US will cost around $2.5 to $5. The cost of shipping a 1KG parcel from China to Europe will cost around $5 to $7 depending on the location in Europe.
Why is Alibaba Shipping so Expensive?
Alibaba shipping can be attributed to VAT, Customs duty charged in multiple countries. For example, the VAT in Europe is charged for anything over 25 Euros and it's similar in Canada as well. Apart from that there's cost in Customs Handling and the cost of Freight has gone up after Covid-19.
Does Alibaba Ship to Europe?
Alibaba does ship to Europe and in fact if you check out the target demographic of these sellers, Europe is a MAJOR market after North America. Now there are VAT rules in consideration when it comes to Europe, the other costs are Customs Handling, Taxes, Insurance and cost of the Freight.
Alibaba sellers use a combination of Air Freight & Sea Freight. I've used sea freight before and you need a lot of volume to bring the cost down. But it's by far the cheapest. If you want a few items, check out sea freight and some of the service providers are DHL, FedEx and TNT.
Alibaba shipping costs from China to the US
When products are shipped from China to the United States, the Pacific Ocean is the most regularly utilized route. The ships go via the South China Sea, then the Sea of Japan through the Okhotsk, and finally the Pacific Ocean.
As a result, the ships can easily reach the western United States and Latin America. Houston, New York, Savannah, and Miami are some of the busiest ports that handle merchandise in eastern America. In Western America, the busiest locations are Los Angeles, Seattle, Long Beach, and Oakland.
- Dimensions of containers for product shipments:
There are various sizes of containers available for the shipment of products from China to the United States. The ISO container's standard dimensions are 8.5 feet in height and 8 feet in width. They come in 20 or 40-foot lengths. Special HQ containers are 9.5 feet tall.
- Air freight cost and sea freight cost:
You can choose between air freight and sea freight. The cost of air freight is higher than the cost of sea freight. Normally, the cost of air freight is between $2.50 and $5.00 per kilo.
Typically, sea freight from China to the United States costs between $1500 and $3900 per container. The charges may vary based on the product. So, make a rational decision.
- Express Air shipping particulars:
Express Air shipping is another method of shipping available in Alibaba. It is very expensive. When you ship a product, the price is computed based on the product's weight. In Express Air shipping, there are two things to consider: actual weight and dimensional weight.
Let's look at an example: if you're delivering lighter things but in great amounts, the shipping cost will be estimated based on dimensional weight. Dimensional weight is calculated as Length (cm) x Width (cm) x Height (cm)/5000.
The pricing is calculated using real weight for products that are heavier and take up less room. To give you an idea, a product weighing between 0.5kg and 5kg may be shipped for $20-$85 via Express Air shipping.
Alibaba shipping costs from China to Europe
There are two primary shipping routes from China to Europe: the Atlantic route and the Indian Ocean route. Some of the popular ports that handle product transportation in Europe include Lisbon, Stockholm, Hamburg, Rotterdam, and so on.
- Container dimension specifics:
For transportation, 20-foot, 40-foot, and 40-foot HQ containers are commonly used. Their costs differ based on where they are delivered within Europe.
- Air Freight rates:
Air freight from China to Europe is expensive as compared to alternative options. However, the product delivery rate is quite quick. Air freight rates from China to Germany are $5.2-$5.5 per kilogram, $5.8-$5.9 per kg to Italy, and $4.9-$5.1 per kg to France.
- Express Air providers and costs:
DHL, UPS, and FedEx are the companies in charge of Express Air shipment. To give you an idea, express shipment from China to European nations costs between $25 and $90 for 0.5-5.5 kg.
When seeking providers of private brand commodities in China, Alibaba is the destination to go for most business owners. On the surface, using Alibaba and accessing its vast resources appears to be a simple process. However, identifying trustworthy vendors, negotiating with them, and having the goods transported can be difficult at times.
It's acceptable if you're having trouble calculating the shipping expenses you'll have to pay. If you don't understand how the calculations work, you'll end up churning out more money from your accounts than you need all the time and won't be able to make the profit you want from your business.
In this article, we'll assemble the definitive guide on shipping costs from Alibaba for transporting goods from China to the United States and Europe. The US and Europe are the most popular locations that import various goods from China by accessing the resources of Alibaba.
What is the importance of shipping products from Alibaba?
If you are considering entering the ecommerce industry, you could be wondering why the majority of businessmen use Alibaba.com to ship their products rather than any other ecommerce platform. This is due to the appealing benefits that Alibaba provides to its users.
- Large number of vendors serving the platform:
First and foremost, you can find a greater number of vendors to pick from on this website. All of these suppliers have been verified and approved, so there is a minimal risk of fraud happening to you. You will also get the opportunity to examine the trade assurance.
- Ease of shipping goods
Aside from this fact, there are other advantages in the sector of product shipping. Suppliers can ship the things you purchase from here. All you have to do is order the merchandise, and the rest will be taken care of by the supplier, provided that you don’t choose to ship the products by yourself.
- Credible shipping services and policies
Their shipping services are reliable and secure. The company has been in operation for over 20 years and has improved its shipping and packaging capabilities throughout the years, gaining extensive industry knowledge. You may also be able to track the progress of your shipment in real-time on the company website.
- Convenience in calculating shipping charges and implementing them
When you negotiate the shipping charges with the respective supplier, all of the factors will be considered, and the exact price per unit will be calculated by the supplier. The entire amount payable by you as shipping charges will be computed in this method.
Shipping terms such as FOB or EXW are used in the shipment negotiation process to determine the shipping cost. Alibaba shipping procedure is unquestionably significant and detail-oriented and adds to massive profit advantages on the latter end.
However, you should be aware that shipping costs also vary depending on the type of delivery method used. Air shipping and sea shipping, for example, have different costs. You should select the optimal shipping method for your company, taking into account your product type and the revenue you want to generate.
What are the factors that affect the Alibaba shipping costs?
Some business owners might complain that shipping charges in Alibaba are exceptionally high. However, this is just a widespread misconception. This misconception has generated because people fail to successfully identify a variety of reasons that could be affecting the shipping costs. Let's have a look at what they are.
- Weight of the product
This is the first factor that contributes to a rise in shipping costs. The greater the weight of the product, the more the delivery expenses.
For example, the delivery cost for a product weighing between 0.5 and 10 kgs is between $20 and $100. Shipping costs between $100 and $200 for 10kg to 20kg. As a result, you can see that the weight of the goods is directly related to the delivery cost.
- Distance for shipping
The second factor is the distance between the supplier's production plant and your warehouse. The greater the distance, the higher the charge.
- Size of the shipment
Another important factor that affects the shipping charges is the size of your cargo. Since container shipping costs are set, transporting full containers is typically less expensive.
This is referred to as FCL (Full Container Load) shipping. However, if you have less than a container load - LCL shipping, it might be costly because you are now paying per cubic meter that your items will take up in the container area.
As a result, you should be aware that shipping expenses are not very costly. They simply depend on several aspects, which you should keep in mind while placing your order.
How to reduce the shipping charges?
- When shipping your items, try to optimize the packing because the shipping rates are dependent on the volume and weight of the goods.
- Another strategy to cut the shipping expenses from Alibaba is to combine lesser amounts of items to make a larger quantity by consolidating shipment, which results in reduced rates.
- At the same time, determine the most cost-effective method of transportation.
- Use several online tools to calculate and compare freight prices for various freight forwarders.
You may easily minimize your shipping charges by implementing all of these methods.
Alibaba is one of the most prominent platforms utilized by importers in the United States and Europe. If you want to use this platform for your retail, dropshipping or wholesale business, take every decision with caution. Keep in mind all of the points discussed in the article.
- What documents do you need for shipping from Alibaba?
You should be ready with the following documents:
- Commercial Invoice
- Bill Of Lading for the carrier or airway bills
- Documents on customs
- Packing List
- Certification
- What tools can you use to calculate Alibaba Shipping costs?
You can use Alibaba Shipping Quote, Dutycalculator, Parcelment, or Easyship.com for the calculation of the shipment charges.
- What is the average time of expected delivery in Alibaba?
If you have your product shipped via air express, it should reach between 3-10 working days. Alibaba delivery dates range from 20 to 45 days if shipped via air freight. If shipped by water, the time frame will be closer to 30 to 60 days.
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