The Wholesale Forums

[jonouk]

Hi there all, another lamb to the slaughter? No, well I hope not anyway LOL OK so here I am a bright new budding importer! I have read a lot of the threads with interest, and of course learning all the time, probably like most of us. I have recently been sourcing some products of interest from China to import into the UK. I have carried out the stringent checks and followed the rule of avoiding problems, and I am quite content with the legitimacy of the company I aim to deal with in the first instance. Part of the Tain Yuangdong Group in China and in fact other countries. I am talking to a particular branch called Asiawing, a large manufacturing facility of the group. The accounts all tally, and the bank account is in the trading company name international trading company Ltd. It is a T/T payment for samples and at 100% which although may have some folks running for cover, is the normal method of payment for this type of transaction, and as many have said, just because it is T/T it isn't necessarily suspicious, most Chinese companies operate in this way, it is up to the buyer to check the credibility of the company in the first place.

OK so, my question to you all is, now I have the pro forma invoice and my fistfull of dollars, what is the most preferred and economic way to process the T/T transaction. Do I need to approach a particular department/company somewhere, or can my bank do it, or do they charge big prices. My Bank BTW is the Bank of Scotland UK.
Please advise me of the options or point me in the right direction. As a final point, the goods will be docking into Liverpool, is it a normal practise to engage a carrier or say parceline to collect it from the port, and road transit to my address, what would be my course of action.

Many thanks in advance.

Jon Ovington,
Scotland

[consultant]

ignoring the dilligence side, as you are happy to be where you are, to do a TT, the simplest way is to get your bank to arrange. It will cost you £10-30, dependant on who you use.

WRT shipping, what are your terms, FOB, CIF, CFR etc? Ideally, go for the last two, as the supplier will get a better rate than you would. Find a good freight forwarder/shipping agent and let them take the starin out of the process.

[PT]

As above, let your bank handle the T/T. I do all mine online, via HSBC Internet banking. It couldn't be easier. The costs involved are minimal too.

As its only a sample order, I would get them to invoice you a CIF price and have the package sent via an express door-to-door method (FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.).

[studio1one]

if you are going to do a lot of TT to China you may find HSBC a better option, many of my suppliers hold a HSBC account in HK in the name of an export company that they control, it makes things easier all round.

Because I am HSBC also it means my TT go quickly and cheaply to source, sometimes that extra two days is worth more than using a 3rd party currency converting company for the .2usd more I get, when sales are very time sensitive.

[hardwareheroes]

Bank of Scotland are reasonable and quick with money transfers.

As said above, get a freight forwarder - takes a lot of the hassle out of the whole process. There is a good un based in Livingstone I think it is and they get the fgreight shipped to Grangemouth and from there to your door. Where abouts are you out of interest?

[jonouk]

Thanks for the comments so far. I have got online banking with The Bank of Scotland, but I expect for T/T it is specific rather than just a standard transfer? I will call into the branch tomorrow. I actually have the CIF invoice here now, and it is scheduled to ship to Liverpool? Apparently they had difficulty locating any options they can deal with further North? No idea why. I am on the east coast in fact, North Berwick, east of Edinburgh, so I did ask if Leith could be the port of landing, but seems to be a no go. Actually being samples, although combined weight is approx 20kgs it may be that they are finding free space in a container bound for Liverpool, that now on the face of it seems most likely. So, getting it here from L/Pool.? Should I just call up one of the major couriers or Parceline or something and arrange a pick up there, and pay the customs before collection? Maybe the suggestion of the freight forwarder in Livingston would handle all that, customs VAT etc. What kind of charge are they likely to charge, is it based on value?
Thanks for the help folks, I guess we all have to start somewhere eh? LOL

[consultant]

If only 20kg and samples, you could airfright. I would guess it would cost under £200 delivered, with rates from HK about/under HK$20/kg at the moment, and you would get them in under a week.

If you use a FF, they will arrange delivery and should be cheaper than a courier.

As for ports, as the goods are LCL, you are restricted to where other people wat to move to, but what about Tyneside?

[jonouk]

Thanks consultant and all, sorry I should have mentioned, air cargo is not an option. The products contain a Lithium Battery type power source. And although I think one can obtain a special certificate for air ship of uncharged batteries, it can be quite expensive and slow to organize, hence why I am concentrating on surface freight. So I had a mail from the supplier and it seems that L/pool is the best option in terms of cost, to ship elsewhere will cause the shippers to arrange specific movements, I think we are fitting in with them right now, to arrange out of the current options is likely to cost several hundred USD's So I will run with that and have trucked up from L'pool.
I checked with Bank of Scotland and they can arrange quite easily for £17.50 charge. So that is fine, just now have to find a freight forwarder, any in Edinburgh that would handle a small shipment like this, total weight approx 40kgs 850mm X 400mm X 760mm ?
thanks
JonO

[consultant]

what are the products?

i have just shipped a load of 2 way radios with Li-on batts without the need for a license!

As for FF, look for a national one, like Signet, or use a Liverpool based one, not local.

[jonouk]

The samples are categorized as electrically driven vehicles, batteries fitted. I think it may depend on the size of them these being larger than the smaller type fitted to electronic devices. I have come across this problem in the past, for instance DHL will handle uncharged batteries with a certification for this product type, but they need to be packed individually. Some suggestions were leave the batteries out and buy as separate in the UK but that works out quite expensive, especially for the latest technology available in large lithium batteries. Even so, air freight was going to be expensive, especially considering the small amount and value of the samples in the first place. Of course surface freight is slower, but time is not a pressing issue in this case.
OK and thanks re the FF advice, appreciated
JonO