Overcoming challenges importing from China
The key steps to ensure a profitable business importing from China are:
Identifying your local market before you place a Chinese order;
Sourcing a range of potential suppliers;
Ensuring your supplier is reputable;
Organising your freight forwarder / postal service;
Engaging a customs broker;
Organising freight pickup from port;
Checking the quality of the goods
Delivering to your market.
It’s Not the duty of Customs to tell you you’re paying too much Customs duty
As recently reported in this story in the Australian (Businessman-alan-thiess-loses-out-on-duty-gst-paid-to-import-yacht), it’s very important to make sure that you’re not overpaying customs duty, and don’t think for a minute that Customs will tell you if you are.
How to avoid an importing horror story
Importing goods into Australia can become an expensive nightmare for those who try to manage it themselves. It’s not uncommon for a novice to experience delays, damaged and missing goods, or extra charges, so it pays to understand the potential importing pitfalls in order to make the right choices. Every country has different importing/exporting regulations, therefore it makes sense to employ the services of an experienced freight management company. Here are some real life importing horror stories.