r/alibaba
Shipping to Canada
User asks for advice on optimizing shipping costs and methods from Alibaba to Canada.
Hi there. I am fairly new to Alibaba. I am on east coast of Canada. Have done aprox 100k in transaction over 5 years some years ordering loads and other years very little. Mostlty sell on FB Marketplace.I have always shipped DDP Sea from the supplier.
Is there a better way to do this ? Between paying USD, the freight prices kill alot of deals. How much of a tangle is it to ship a full container load vs ddp sea etc. Is it way cheaper ?
Or am I best off sticking with what I am doing now.
A lot depends on your shipment volume and how consistently you're importing.
DDP can be very convenient because many of the logistics and customs details are handled for you, but as volume grows, some importers start comparing that model against managing freight and customs separately to gain more control over costs.
You can share a bit more information about your typical shipment size and I’ll take a look.
You will have to hire your own customs broker in Canada to clear the goods.
I'm a sourcing agent and also provide shipping services, comparing prices from different shipping companies to help sellers shipping costs are minimized. If you need our services, pls reach out to me.
DDP sea FCL will be more expensive,DDP sea LCL is cheaper.
May you share more details? I’m in Yiwu. Maybe I can help.
My wechat:bradley315
why not dropshipping?>
Talk to a local freight forwarder in Canada if you are wanting to do FCL. Then you can actually get a good clean estimate. Make sure any quotes include all charges on both-sides as often companies quote the raw-container cost only which is not helpful.
Reality is you are going to want to be shipping a minimum of around 20CBM, but then you need to think about how you are going to unload everything and where you will store it. Different game entirely to shipping a few cartons now and then and putting them in the garage.
If you are doing large scale legitimate business and want to be able to claim GST/HST and other deductions properly, you probably do not want to be doing DDP.