All you need to know about First Time Shipping to China

With the growing economy rate, e-commerce and trade businesses in China have been on a rise too. Over the past decade, sales in the Chinese e-commerce market have already reached 1.132 trillion US$, surpassing their trade rivals the USA.

While you wonder the reason of these unbelievable figures, it is important to know that China offers the largest consumer market for overseas brands, which they can easily ship within and out of the region. Because of the high local demands, Chinese consumers also happen to be a wide audience of many international retail stores. Their online purchasing power has increased to one-eighth of the world’s retail goods that ordered online.

If you’re a foreign company looking to cater to orders for the Chinese consumer market, there are few things to keep in mind regarding your first time shipping to China. Although shipping has become very easier now courtesy to many Chinese and foreign shipping companies, there still are a few challenges that you can go through.

How to choose a Chinese Shipping Company?

Since China is a huge country, you cannot hire an international shipping company to fulfil your door-to-door delivery orders. You will need to take services from a online b2b marketplace to help you track and deliver parcels in towns and remote places. Before deciding, keep the following in mind:

-          Shipping Costs

Don’t just send the parcel right away. Calculate an estimated cost of shipping. It shouldn’t cost more than the value of the order parcel. Also, make sure to send items in bulk so you can save extra shipping charges.

-        
  Tracking Orders

Go for companies that offer an online tracking system. Since you will be out of China, you will need to have regular updates and status of your shipment so you can coordinate with the customers and prevent any chances of losses.

Finding the Cheapest Way to Ship to China

If you’re looking to save extra shipping costs through cheap shipping, then the timeframe to deliver your parcels will increase. Just as airfreight takes the least of times for delivery, it is the most expensive ways of shipping. On the other hand, sea freight, which is economical, but takes a significant amount of time to deliver parcels. 

One more way you can save costs is through delivering parcels at the customs clearance. You can ask customers to collect it themselves. This way, you can save most of the door-to-door delivery charges and hassle. However, this method is only suitable for large cities as small towns, rural areas do not have these clearance centres, and it will be too much of travelling for the people living there to come and collect their orders.

What Items are prohibited to Ship to China?

• -          Animals
• -          Diary
• -          Fresh foods
• -          Seeds
• -          Tobacco
• -          Plants
• -          Any type of money or currency
• -          Perfumes
• -          Ivory
• -          Fur

Always remember to have a complete set of documents before shipping so you don’t get into any trouble.