I. Door-to-Door Courier Service e.g. Fedex, UPS

II. Door-to-Airport Cargo e.g. China Airlines, freight forwarders

III. Ocean Cargo e.g. many international freight forwarders

Before we go through each of the shipping modes in detail, let’s agree on the terminology:

• Supplier - The product source, usually the manufacturer of the product.

• Freight Forwarder - The agent that gets the products from the Supplier to the vessel and prepares the necessary paperwork.

• Vessel - The ship or airline that transports your product to the U.S..

• Import/Customs broker - The agent responsible for obtaining U.S. Customs clearance when the vessel arrives in the U.S. The agent works on behalf of the Importer
• Importer - This is you, the receiving end of this shipping process.

I. Door-to-door Courier Service Ideal for: <100 lb shipments that you need in a hurry (within a week). Also ideal for perishable shipments that need utmost speed and care.

Cost per pound: $4 - $8 depending on shipping distances

Advantages:

• Fast. Shipment will arrive within 7 days of leaving country of origin.
• Simple and convenient. When you use door-to-door courier service, the service acts as the Freight Forwarder and the Customs Broker (see process flow above). This simplifies the process for you as you don’t have to hire or deal with separate freight forwarder or customs broker.
• No need to clear customs yourself because the courier service has an in-house customs broker that will clear the shipment on your behalf (you will still be billed the import customs duty).
• No minimum shipment amount. Can ship 3 pieces of jewelry or 100 pairs of sandals.
• Courier hand-holds you on the process and paperwork they need from you (you still need to do some minimal paperwork; they can’t do EVERYTHING because they don’t have the data).

• Highest cost per pound. (You can easily get cost and time estimate at the courier web site, e.g. http://www.fedex.com or http://www.ups.com.) This method is about $4 - $8 per pound depending on the country of origin.

II. Door-to-Airport Cargo

Ideal for: 100 lb to 250 lb of merchandise that you need in a hurry (within a week).

Cost per pound: $2 to $4 a pound.

Advantages:

• Fast. Shipment will arrive within 7 days of leaving country of origin.
• Paperwork for Air shipments is simpler than Ocean shipments.
• Cost is much cheaper than door-to-door courier: $2 - $4 a pound, about half the per pound cost of door-to-door courier.

• May need to clear customs yourself or hire an Import broker to clear customs for you
• If you end up using a Customs Broker, either because you are too scared to clear customs yourself or because it is a formal entry, the customs broker may eat up your savings. Example, I shipped 7 boxes of womens apparel this way. The invoice was $263. I had planned to clear customs myself, usually anything under $2,000 is considered informal entry and you can clea
  Wholesale Dropship Baby Clothes
  Baby clothes are such goods that people would always buy no matter what the price is or what so ever. If you have a baby, or you are expecting one or may be several! than you definitely have already thought about buying clothes for your new member of the family.Baby clothes should be of high quality, because you cannot afford your sweet child spend his or her first days and years of life in discomfort. Besides you surely want your baby to look cute, well, we know that your baby is cute, but every child should be nicely dressed. Unlike it is with adults, we buy nice clothes because it is our wish, babies do not choose clothes to wear, unless they are 2 or so years of
  /strong> - The agent responsible for obtaining U.S. Customs clearance when the vessel arrives in the U.S. The agent works on behalf of the Importer
• Importer - This is you, the receiving end of this shipping process.

I. Door-to-door Courier Service Ideal for: <100 lb shipments that you need in a hurry (within a week). Also ideal for perishable shipments that need utmost speed and care.

Cost per pound: $4 - $8 depending on shipping distances

Advantages:

• Fast. Shipment will arrive within 7 days of leaving country of origin.
• Simple and convenient. When you use door-to-door courier service, the service acts as the Freight Forwarder and the Customs Broker (see process flow above). This simplifies the process for you as you don’t have to hire or deal with separate freight forwarder or customs broker.
• No need to clear customs yourself because the courier service has an in-house customs broker that will clear the shipment on your behalf (you will still be billed the import customs duty).
• No minimum shipment amount. Can ship 3 pieces of jewelry or 100 pairs of sandals.
• Courier hand-holds you on the process and paperwork they need from you (you still need to do some minimal paperwork; they can’t do EVERYTHING because they don’t have the data).

• Highest cost per pound. (You can easily get cost and time estimate at the courier web site, e.g. http://www.fedex.com or http://www.ups.com.) This method is about $4 - $8 per pound depending on the country of origin.

II. Door-to-Airport Cargo

Ideal for: 100 lb to 250 lb of merchandise that you need in a hurry (within a week).

Cost per pound: $2 to $4 a pound.

Advantages:

• Fast. Shipment will arrive within 7 days of leaving country of origin.
• Paperwork for Air shipments is simpler than Ocean shipments.
• Cost is much cheaper than door-to-door courier: $2 - $4 a pound, about half the per pound cost of door-to-door courier.

• May need to clear customs yourself or hire an Import broker to clear customs for you
• If you end up using a Customs Broker, either because you are too scared to clear customs yourself or because it is a formal entry, the customs broker may eat up your savings. Example, I shipped 7 boxes of womens apparel this way. The invoice was $263. I had planned to clear customs myself, usually anything under $2,000 is considered informal entry and you can cle
  US Trade Shows ARE Different - Notes for Foreign Firms
  According to Julia O’Connor, president of Trade Show Training, inc. (TSTi) there are three universal components to any trade show, anywhere in the world – promotion, presentation and logistics. "While it seems simple", she said, "there are both subtle and major differences in shows in the US and other countries."Promotion - marketing - is probably more universal, especially now with the Internet, said O’Connor, but presentation – the sales component – is more affected by culture and business expectations."Americans are viewed as loud and aggressive. Even as we expand globally, we understand we must be more relationship-oriented. We find it
  er service, the service acts as the Freight Forwarder and the Customs Broker (see process flow above). This simplifies the process for you as you don’t have to hire or deal with separate freight forwarder or customs broker.
• No need to clear customs yourself because the courier service has an in-house customs broker that will clear the shipment on your behalf (you will still be billed the import customs duty).
• No minimum shipment amount. Can ship 3 pieces of jewelry or 100 pairs of sandals.
• Courier hand-holds you on the process and paperwork they need from you (you still need to do some minimal paperwork; they can’t do EVERYTHING because they don’t have the data).

• Highest cost per pound. (You can easily get cost and time estimate at the courier web site, e.g. http://www.fedex.com or http://www.ups.com.) This method is about $4 - $8 per pound depending on the country of origin.

II. Door-to-Airport Cargo

Ideal for: 100 lb to 250 lb of merchandise that you need in a hurry (within a week).

Cost per pound: $2 to $4 a pound.

Advantages:

• Fast. Shipment will arrive within 7 days of leaving country of origin.
• Paperwork for Air shipments is simpler than Ocean shipments.
• Cost is much cheaper than door-to-door courier: $2 - $4 a pound, about half the per pound cost of door-to-door courier.

• May need to clear customs yourself or hire an Import broker to clear customs for you
• If you end up using a Customs Broker, either because you are too scared to clear customs yourself or because it is a formal entry, the customs broker may eat up your savings. Example, I shipped 7 boxes of womens apparel this way. The invoice was $263. I had planned to clear customs myself, usually anything under $2,000 is considered informal entry and you can cle
  School Is Never Out For The Pro
  Over forty years ago, I made what I feel is one of the significant decisions of my life. I decided that for the rest of my life I would invest 10% of my time and income in my personal growth.During the past thirty years, I have known hundreds of people and spoken to thousands who have said they want a better lifestyle, increased income and greater satisfaction from their career and life. Many of these same people have turned over the responsibility of their personal development to their employers, let it be dictated by their available discretionary income, or just waited to win the lottery. Unfortunately, none of these is a very reliable method to ensure that you re
  i>Highest cost per pound. (You can easily get cost and time estimate at the courier web site, e.g. http://www.fedex.com or http://www.ups.com.) This method is about $4 - $8 per pound depending on the country of origin.

II. Door-to-Airport Cargo

Ideal for: 100 lb to 250 lb of merchandise that you need in a hurry (within a week).

Cost per pound: $2 to $4 a pound.

Advantages:

• Fast. Shipment will arrive within 7 days of leaving country of origin.
• Paperwork for Air shipments is simpler than Ocean shipments.
• Cost is much cheaper than door-to-door courier: $2 - $4 a pound, about half the per pound cost of door-to-door courier.

• May need to clear customs yourself or hire an Import broker to clear customs for you
• If you end up using a Customs Broker, either because you are too scared to clear customs yourself or because it is a formal entry, the customs broker may eat up your savings. Example, I shipped 7 boxes of womens apparel this way. The invoice was $263. I had planned to clear customs myself, usually anything under $2,000 is considered informal entry and you can cle
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  Sometimes portrayed as an easy and unappealing profession fit for simpletons, being a truck driver is quite the contrary. The truck driving industry has experienced a steady increase in job growth and career opportunities in the past few years, quickly making the profession one of the nation's top jobs in terms of career growth. Truck driving provides flexibility, allowing drivers to make their own schedule, travel around the country, and bring home a substantial paycheck. The following tips are offered for individuals looking into truck driving jobs.Talk with Seasoned Drivers The best way to get reliable and accurate information is to speak
  gin.
• Paperwork for Air shipments is simpler than Ocean shipments.
• Cost is much cheaper than door-to-door courier: $2 - $4 a pound, about half the per pound cost of door-to-door courier.

• May need to clear customs yourself or hire an Import broker to clear customs for you
• If you end up using a Customs Broker, either because you are too scared to clear customs yourself or because it is a formal entry, the customs broker may eat up your savings. Example, I shipped 7 boxes of womens apparel this way. The invoice was $263. I had planned to clear customs myself, usually anything under $2,000 is considered informal entry and you can clear customs yourself. I was shocked to find out that women’s apparel has a lower cutoff of $250. Any women’s apparel above $250 MUST be entered under formal entry, therefore can only be cleared by an import broker. Had I only shipped $249 worth of women’s apparel, I could have saved myself $450 of import broker’s fees.
• You have to drive to the warehouse to pick your shipment up. Get box/cargo dimensions so you can make sure they fit in your car.

III. Ocean Cargo

Ideal for: Very large shipments that is not urgent.

Cost per Pound: $1 - $2 a pound

Advantages:

• The biggest advantage is cost. You can pack some New York apartments in a Full Container Load.

• Ocean shipment takes the longest to ship: 4 to 8 weeks.
• The paperwork is more complex. Your supplier’s Freight Forwarder will take care of them but you should still stay on top of it.
• If you use wooden crates/packaging/frame as outer packaging, you will need to get them fumigated to make sure they don’t harbor living organisms. This certification document required to prove that the wooden crates have been fumigates is called: ISPM#15. Make sure your shipper knows about it.

Conclusion: every importer looks for the lowest shipping cost. Make sure you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each shipping method so you know what you are giving up for cost savings.