Import from China - The official guide (Advice required)

[Loudness]

Hi, we are in the process of importing small plastic tags from china (Printed tags). Always small order for now (about 200$ at a time) We are not sure about how it should be done . Looked at different thread but they are often incomplete. Any of you already imported things from China ? What are the steps to avoid any surprise, especially with customs ? This could be the official guide to do it if somebody with real experience could collaborate.

1. We found our supplier
2. We got samples from them
3. Did some research on the company, they are real & do quality work
4. Now ready to place an order : They sent a Proforma Invoice
5. We pay in advance (small order, 100$ to start.. so not a problem even if we loose the money for any reasons)
6. As the weight is only 15lbs, they will ship AIR by DHL

Now this part bring a couple of question :

- As they ship air, are all the cost (custom, duty, broker, etc) included in the shipping price quoted by them ? (like if a supplier ship air from USA, custom clearance is included)
- Is there a special tax to import plastic items from China ? (I think there is one on clothes but on plastic ?)
- Do we need a canadian business number, or any other type of number to be able to import ? Do we have to register somewhere or get special permit ?
- Will DHL ask for anything or they will just deliver the package without any questions ?
- I guess we have to pay the 5% federal tax & 9% provincial tax (Quebec) ?

Thanks for your help !!

[obolon]

1.It depends how china invoices you but normally you would have to pay for product cost + DHL + insurance + misll charges if any
2.You should ask the supplier the HS code of the product which you are importing and check with CBSA what is the Import Duty/tax
3.Again it depends upon how you want to structure your business and how much turnover you will have.You can check with CRA & CBSA on this.
4.To be prepared you can speak with DHL beforehand and explain your situation and get answers.
5.Depends upon which province you are doing business.Again you can check with CBSA and they will give you the Import Duty and the Taxes breakdown depending upon your product.

Good Luck !

[matdwyer]

I got completely screwed over when I imported from China - I'll post shortly on how, but I got taken for about $1500

[mwcshin]

I have question, I am trying to open an apparel online business in Ontario and my supplier is located in China.. Do I need to have any import permit? I think I can receive the package via Canada Post. Each shipment the value will be approx. $5,000. Do i have report the total value to the custom before I receive the shipment? or do they just charge whatever on the declaration form? is my responsible for paying duties and custom fees? or is it their (custom/Canada post) responsible for charging the fees?

can anyone please help me on this issue?

[packardbell]

done it too many times, from china, from japan, ....
i have it shipped by ship cargo and then i do the brokerage myself at the customs office.
if you have a GST number you make a call and get your importers number which is your GST number with a few digits added at the end.
If you are unfamiliar and don't know much just hire a customs broker to do it for you.
all you guys posting are clueless just hire a broker

[1minutecloser]

How do you get taken for $1500? Are you kidding me I import over $500,000+ in product a year from China and have not had a problem once since I do Due Diligence myself. I have my factories inspected and then visit myself to ensure everything is loaded up properly and all the products are 100% and I only deal with factories that have long history to them as I don't mind spending $1-2 more for a product if I know I am going to get a less then 1% failure rate.

[protonova]

I have my factories inspected and then visit myself to ensure everything is loaded up properly and all the products are 100% and I only deal with factories that have long history

This is how you minimize changes of "getting taken for $1500". Granted you may be starting up lean and visiting in person may not be the right choice... But there are many ways to research out the company and reduce the chances of a bad supplier.

[packardbell]

if you are in it for the short run then it might not make sense to go to china to meet up with the factories if you are buying 1500 worth of items.
if you are in the long run and see yourself doing this for years and years to come then go to the factories.
either way there is no way around paying customs.

[DarkMasterMX]

I'm curious if anyone can provide me (PM?) some information on how to find these suppliers and where to start? I do manufacturing for gymnastics outfits and have always had concerns about buying a bad quality product as our claim to fame is a high quality piece that lasts a long time.

How customizable can things be?
Does it have to be focused on one item specifically or can you have several styles and concepts following a similar base?

etc... etc... any help there would be appreciated.

[matdwyer]

This is how you minimize changes of "getting taken for $1500". Granted you may be starting up lean and visiting in person may not be the right choice... But there are many ways to research out the company and reduce the chances of a bad supplier.

Order was roughly $7000, no room for me to go over there to check.

It actually wasn't the factory that screwed me, it was the shipping - I purchased freight paid to Toronto - but when the shipment got here it went to a warehouse where there was an "overseas hold" which no one could tell me what it was. They wouldn't let me pick everything up, and they wouldn't tell me why - but they told me that it was costing me hundreds of dollars a day to keep it there. That was frustrating. So I was trying to figure that out and apparently somewhere along the line someone didn't give it the "OK" to get released, when they did I had racked up like $1500 worth of "warehouse fees".

I'm pretty sure it was just a scam between the warehouse and the shipper, but they wouldn't budge. I couldn't leave it there or I'd be out the shipment, and more money each day.