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Pricing, with nothing hidden
We will never be the cheapest quote on a single shipment. We will usually be the cheapest option per delivered carton that arrives correct. Here is exactly how the numbers work.
What costs you nothing
These are not trial offers or "first order only" hooks. They are how the business is structured.
180-day storage
From the arrival date, no minimum volume, no expiry games. Use it to consolidate or to wait for a better shipping window.
Supplier delivery
Your suppliers ship to our address instead of a forwarder's door. Domestic delivery is not something we charge you for.
Quote & advice
Route comparison, feasibility advice, honest guidance on whether you even need to ship yet. No charge, no obligation.
Kickbacks
We do not take commission from suppliers and we do not mark up their prices. Ever. That is in our terms.
Four cost components, quoted separately
We never bundle these into one number you cannot audit. Each one is quoted on its own line, so you can tell which part is expensive and decide what to change.
| Component | What it covers | How it is calculated | When you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight cost | Ocean, air, rail or express carriage, including line charges and fuel surcharges | By chargeable weight (actual or volumetric, whichever is greater) or by CBM | At booking, against the confirmed rate |
| Origin handling | Export declaration, terminal handling, documentation | Fixed per shipment or per CBM | At booking |
| Warehouse handling | Receiving, counting, photo QC, consolidation, repacking, labelling | Per carton or per operation, listed individually | When the service is performed |
| Duty & tax (DDP only) | Import duty and VAT/GST, settled by us then re-charged | Based on declared value and HS code, at the real rate | At booking, itemised separately from freight |
| Destination delivery | Last-mile delivery to your address or warehouse | Flat rate by zone, or per parcel | At booking |
| Optional extras | Supplier audit, factory visit, procurement negotiation, insurance, photo report detail | Quoted before you approve — never added afterwards | As agreed, in advance |
A published price list would be a lie
Anyone publishing a flat rate per kilogram for international freight is either lying, or will add charges later.
The real cost of moving one pallet from Shenzhen to Rotterdam depends on: the mode, the season, the fuel index that week, the port, the HS code of the goods, the destination country, and how much of the container you actually fill. A flat rate would tell you nothing useful.
What we can commit to is the process: itemised quotes, re-confirmed rates in writing at booking, and no charge billed that was not on the quote. If a competitor offers you a cheaper fixed price, ask them what happens when the fuel surcharge moves — that is when you find out what it really costs.
Four ways we reduce your total cost
Not by being cheaper per kilogram — by changing what gets shipped, how it is packed, and when.
1. Consolidation
Five small supplier shipments become one. You pay one origin handling fee and one freight minimum instead of five. On mixed supplier orders this is frequently the single largest saving available.
2. Volumetric reduction
Air and express charge on whichever is greater: actual weight or volume. Repacking to a denser carton — removing void space, demounting furniture, compressing soft goods — often cuts freight without touching a single product.
3. Timing
Shipping three weeks before you need to, by sea instead of air, costs a fraction of the freight. Free storage exists precisely so you can wait for a better window instead of paying to hurry.
4. Route choice
Rail into Europe costs roughly 60–70% of air with a much shorter transit than sea. For many destinations it is the correct answer and most sellers do not know it exists.
The four things clients ask before booking
Our quotes state a validity period. When you approve, we re-confirm the rate in writing at that moment. If the market moves after you approve but before we book, we absorb the difference — we do not come back to you with a surcharge. That commitment only holds if you approve in writing before the sailing date, which is what we ask for.
Yes, and we will contact you well before day 180 to tell you what the options are — move to a paid storage plan, ship out, or collect. You will never discover the change on an invoice you had not seen. Long-term rental rates are agreed in advance rather than applied month to month.
Sensitive cargo uses dedicated channels with a higher base freight rate, and some items need documentation prepared — testing summaries, MSDS, fumigation. Those costs are quoted per shipment and listed line by line. We do not add a vague "special handling" percentage and hope you do not notice.
Supplier verification is quoted per supplier — the scope depends on whether you want a licence and trading history check, or a full on-site factory audit with a written report. Payment settlement is a service fee quoted as a percentage of the settled amount. Both are quoted before you commit, and if you decline after receiving the verification report, you are not charged for the supplier's side of the work.
The only way to get a real number is to tell us what you are shipping.
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