r/alibaba
About delivery fees — is $60 for a single kids bike normal?
First-time Alibaba buyer questions if a $60 shipping fee for a small kids bike to Switzerland is normal or a rip-off.
Hey, FIRST time Alibaba I'm ordering a small kids bike from China to Switzerland and the seller is charging $60 shipping for ONE item. That's 3-4x the actual product price — feels completely insane.
Here are the specs:
\- Box size: 50 x 22 x 35 cm
\-Actual weight: 3.5 kg
\-Volumetric weight: \~8 kg (so they're billing on volumetric i guess)
I'm flexible on delivery time — anywhere between 10 and 30 days is fine for me. I just want the cheapest option possible.
Is $60 normal for this? Am I getting ripped off? Any cheaper alternatives you'd recommend for shipping to Switzerland?
Thanks!
sounds way too cheap. a letter via DHL is already 50
The price seems pretty normal. Maybe a little on the high side, but not by much.
I am a salesman of Alibaba, and I can check it on our system
There is a good option, $72 includes duty, 9 days to 15 days to arrive According to 8 kg
According to 3.5 kilograms, it is $59 including duty, both 9 to 15 days to arrive
One bike from Alibaba, as a sample?
$60 doesn't sound bad for the size and weight
The whole point in Alibaba is wholesale bulk purchases for businesses, other than a sample no one is going to buy one bike.
For a package this size you will be charged either on the weight in KG or volumetric weight (which ever is higher).
It does not sound that bad, how much to send a kids bike to China from Switzerland?
Its normal to go by volumetric weight for airfreight. You pay for the space the package takes which obviously makes sense. As for the price, sounds very reasonable. Is it the factory thats shipping it or do you use an freight agent? Lately ive had to pay between 11-16usd per kg, but my packages usually also contains electronics (usually more expensive to ship if it contains batteries). Im thinking about purchasing some clothes and if i got such a quote on freight id be very happy. I might need to find a better freight agent because my usual ones are not that cheap.
Freight also has fixed costs and air freight / air courier often has pricing tiers, the more you ship, the cheaper the per kg price can be.
Ordering a single bike? Go AliExpress or other market.
I'll help you. Alibaba's official logistics is the cheapest at 79 USD, which does not include customs duties.
It takes 10-17 days to arrive with a weight of 3.5 kg.
If it's 8kg, it's 94USD without shipping.
The arrival time is the same.
Yes, $60 for air express on a bike box is actually reasonable, given volumetric weight the dimensional factor typically makes a bike box bill at 8-12kg even if actual weight is 4-5kg. For a one-off purchase, you're stuck paying retail express rates. Where it changes is when you're ordering multiples: LCL sea freight from China to Switzerland via consolidation routes drops per-unit cost dramatically once you have 3+ units. China Post Parcel is cheaper but adds 4-6 weeks. For one bike, asking the supplier if they have a DDP sea line they use regularly is worth trying some have ongoing forwarder contracts that beat retail express pricing significantly.
For a box that size, $60 via air express is actually completely normal because of the 8kg volumetric weight rule that couriers love to abuse. Since you're flexible on time and just want the cheapest option, ask the supplier to quote you for China Post Air Parcel or a standard rail/sea DDP line to Switzerland, which should drop the price closer to $25 or $35. Just make sure whatever cheap shipping method you choose includes DDP so you don't get slapped with customs handling fees and VAT.