Most first-time importers do this in two separate steps, with two separate companies. They find a supplier, negotiate a price, place the order — and only then start looking for someone to ship it. The true cost of the goods does not become clear until the container is already on the water.

There is a simpler way, and it comes down to one idea: the product and the freight should be quoted together, by the same people.

Why buying and shipping separately costs you money

A sourcing agent optimises one number: the product price. A freight forwarder optimises another: the freight rate. Neither one sees the total, so neither one can optimise it. That gap shows up in ways that are easy to miss.

• Cheaper product, more expensive freight. A supplier whose unit price is 8% lower but whose cartons are 20% bulkier can cost you more by air than you saved on the goods.
• Lower price, longer lead time. A cheaper factory that needs 45 days instead of 20 can make you miss the selling season you were buying for. The discount does not compensate.
• Saving on packaging, paying on volume. Air freight charges on the space cargo occupies. A decision made at the factory directly changes your freight bill, and nobody in the chain is connecting the two.
• Two parties, no owner. When something goes wrong — a short shipment, a customs hold, a delayed sailing — it becomes a conversation between your supplier, your agent and your forwarder, with you in the middle.

The number that actually matters is your landed cost: what one unit costs you, delivered to your door, cleared and ready to sell. Every other number is a partial view.

How our process works

Here is the sequence, from the first message to the goods arriving.

Step 1 — You tell us what you want to buy

A product link, a photo, or simply a description is enough to start. Tell us roughly what it is, what quantity you are thinking about, and when you need it. If you already have a target price or a supplier you have been talking to, send that too — it helps us calibrate. You do not need to know the technical specification, the material, or the correct Chinese term for it. That is our job.

Step 2 — We confirm the brief with you

Before we source anything, we go back through the details that actually determine cost: material and grade, packaging, certifications required at your end, order quantity, and deadline. This step exists because most sourcing goes wrong here, not later. A product quoted without agreeing on packaging thickness, or a quantity that sits below the factory’s real minimum, produces a price that cannot be delivered.

Step 3 — We come back with several options

This is where our approach differs from a typical agent. We do not send you one recommendation and a price. We send you several options across different quality tiers and price points — usually three or four — each with photos, specifications, minimum order quantity, lead time and unit price. That matters because “the best product” is not a fixed thing. A retailer selling at a premium needs a different build quality from a market trader competing on price. You are the only one who knows which end of that range you are selling into, and you cannot make that judgement from a single quote.

Step 4 — You choose

You pick the option, or ask for adjustments — a different material, a colour change, a custom logo, a smaller first order to test the market.

Step 5 — You receive a quote that includes the shipping

This is the part that saves the most time and the most money. Your quote is the landed cost, not a product price. It covers the goods, the domestic freight to our warehouse in China, export clearance, the international freight, customs clearance at destination, and delivery to your address. One number, covering everything, in your currency. That means you can price your product and decide whether the deal works before you commit — instead of finding out three weeks later that port charges and clearance fees added another third to the cost.

Step 6 — Factory vetting and negotiation

Before an order is placed, we vet the factory: who they actually are, whether they manufacture or simply resell, what their production capacity looks like, and how they handle quality control. We then negotiate on your behalf — on unit price, on minimum order quantity, on payment terms, on packaging, and on lead time. This is a conversation that has to happen in Chinese, with someone who knows what is normal in the industry and what is a red flag.

Step 7 — We buy, receive, inspect and consolidate

We place the order and the goods are delivered to our warehouse in China. Before anything is exported, we receive and check them: quantities, cartons, visible condition, and that what arrived matches what was agreed. Problems caught here — a short count, the wrong colour, damaged packaging — are still the supplier’s responsibility. Once cargo has left China, they are not. If you are buying from several suppliers, all of it is consolidated into one shipment.

Step 8 — We ship, clear and deliver

We handle the export declaration, book the freight, arrange customs clearance at destination, and deliver the goods to you. You get updates along the way and the tracking number as soon as the shipment is moving.

Small orders are welcome — and they get treated like they matter

Almost every importer starts small. A first order of fifty units. Two cartons. Twenty kilograms. You are testing a product, testing a market, or testing whether this whole importing idea works for you at all.

That is exactly the point at which much of this industry loses interest.

Freight is a business built around volume. Minimum order quantities, minimum charges, minimum shipment sizes — and behind them, a general sense that a small customer takes as much admin as a large one and pays a fraction as much. Buyers feel it in concrete ways: messages that go unanswered, quotes that never arrive, being told to come back when you have a container.

We take the opposite position. We will quote a small order, and we will answer you as quickly as we answer a customer booking a full container. If you are bringing your first shipment in, you are the reason we do this work.

The honest part about small shipments

Small orders cost more per kilogram. That is arithmetic, not attitude: a 20 kg shipment carries the same fixed costs — handling, documentation, clearance, delivery — as a two-tonne one, spread across far less weight. We would rather show you that number than refuse to give you one. You will know what your small order costs, why it costs that, and at what volume it starts to get cheaper.

The same applies to factory minimums. Some products have a genuine production minimum that we can negotiate down but not remove — printed packaging, custom colours, electronics with tooling involved. We will tell you what it is before you get attached to a product, and often suggest a stock version that gets you close without the minimum.

Why we work this way

Today’s test order is next year’s container. Every business we work with started with someone deciding to try. Treating a small first order as an inconvenience is a good way to make sure it is the last one.

If you are a market trader buying a few hundred dollars of stock, an online seller testing a new line, or someone who has never imported anything before — you are not too small for us, and you will not be made to feel that you are.

What makes this different

There are two kinds of companies in this business. Sourcing agents find products. Freight forwarders move them. We do both, and that changes what you can see before you commit.

One quote, one number. You are not adding up a supplier invoice, a domestic freight charge, a forwarder’s bill and a customs agent’s fee. You get the total before you commit.

Cost control across the whole chain. Because we see both the product price and the freight, we can trade one against the other. Sometimes the right answer is a slightly more expensive product that packs smaller. Sometimes it is a slower route. A sourcing agent alone cannot make that call, and a freight forwarder alone cannot either.

We negotiate both sides. We negotiate with the factory on price and terms, and with the carrier on freight. Both conversations affect your final number.

Factory vetting before you commit. You find out what the factory is really like before your money is committed, not after.

Small orders get the same attention as large ones. No minimum shipment size, and no slow replies while we prioritise bigger accounts.

One point of responsibility. If goods are short, if clearance is held, if a sailing is delayed — you message one team. We do not hand you off.

What to send us for a useful quote

The more of this you can give us, the more precise the answer. None of it is mandatory to start.

• A photo, link or description of the product
• The quantity you are considering, and whether this is a first order or a repeat
• The quality level you are targeting — budget, mid-range or premium
• Any specification that matters: material, size, packaging, branding, certifications
• Your target landed cost per unit, if you have one
• When you need the goods in hand

If you only have a photo and an idea, that is enough for us to begin.

Frequently asked questions

Can you source from a photo or a description, without a supplier link?

Yes. Photos and descriptions are a normal starting point. We identify the product, work out which factories make it, and come back with options.

Do you only work with large orders?

No — and this is deliberate. A first order of a few cartons is how most of our customers started. Tell us the quantity you have in mind and we will quote it properly, including the honest per-kilogram cost of shipping a small volume, so you can see exactly where you stand. Factory minimums do exist for some products, and we will tell you when they apply and what can be negotiated.

What if I already have a supplier in China?

We can still help. If you have already agreed a price with a factory, we can handle the receiving, checking, consolidation, export and delivery — and often find you a better freight rate than the factory quoted.

Which countries do you ship to?

We ship worldwide, with the most regular volume into Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas. If your destination is somewhere we do not already run, tell us — we work through partner agents in most markets and will source a rate for you.

Do you handle customs clearance and duties?

We handle the customs clearance process and coordinate it end to end. Import duty and VAT are set by your country’s customs authority and depend on how your goods are classified, so they are quoted and settled as a separate line rather than buried in the freight.

Tell us what you are trying to buy

Send us the product, the quantity and your destination country. We will come back with options at different quality and price levels, and a landed cost for each one — so you can compare properly and decide with real numbers.

There is no charge for the quote, and no obligation to proceed.

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