ot: shipping computer parts from HK to USA?

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yeha

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Jan 9, 2005
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i have no idea which section this should go in, sorry guys. i just thought this one would have the most people who have shipped goods around.

i'm looking to import 5,000 case fans into the usa from hong kong. they'll be 100-per-box, of sizes 1 cubic foot (16 pounds - 80mm fans) to 2 cubic feet (36 pounds - 120mm fans), and from what i was told ("FOB HK by sea") i guess i'm responsible for getting them from a factory floor or dock in hong kong, to my doorstep in the usa. that includes customs, shipping, insurance, etc.

i don't even know where to start. googling for 'hong kong shipping usa' and such proved worthless, and the manufacturer doesn't want to take my money to get the fans all the way to me. has anyone been in this situation before?

thanks for any ideas.
 
Look at UPS or FedEx international Air. Hopefully that supplier can drop the boxes off, or arrange for pickup. Not sure if tahts an option. I remember UPS ground took like 2 weeks though.
A 16pound box shouldnt be too bad, but the 36pound ones would start to hurt. And that's like, what? 50 boxes? that might require freight shipping on a pallet. And that costs more money. I'd imagine some big businesses would have more information...
 
i definitely don't want to do air - i don't care how long they take to get here, as ups/fedex wanted $4000 or so for air freight, and they didn't have a ground option. the 5,000 fans themselves cost $6,000, and that would add 66%! i would have thought a pallet would be cheaper for shipping such a big load, but i can't find any information about it that makes sense to a first-timer.

perhaps i'm not destined to sell fans after all.
 
could i check in 1060 lbs of luggage?

they're a bunch of low-speed low-noise fans popular in japan, unsold as yet in the usa. i'm fairly sure i could move all 5000 pretty quick, which would let me get enough follow-up inventory for a decent webshop.

shipping may be my downfall though. for one thing, it looks like it'll cost an extra 30% just to get the things to my door, which really changes the pricing i'd have to go with. plus getting finance for that larger figure will be a problem. argh.
 
yeha said:
could i check in 1060 lbs of luggage?

they're a bunch of low-speed low-noise fans popular in japan, unsold as yet in the usa. i'm fairly sure i could move all 5000 pretty quick, which would let me get enough follow-up inventory for a decent webshop.

shipping may be my downfall though. for one thing, it looks like it'll cost an extra 30% just to get the things to my door, which really changes the pricing i'd have to go with. plus getting finance for that larger figure will be a problem. argh.
Click to expand...
That's why importing/exporting ain't the easiest business to be in. ;)
 
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