Anyone know about Importing from China?

[TaijiMonkey]

My wife's family has a little shop in their home village and they sell lots of Tai Chi stuff (DVD's, shoes, Tai Chi uniforms, etc...)

 

We have some students and fellow Tai Chi teachers who would like to buy some of that stuff through us. There is also a local shop here in Kansas City that wants to sell our Tai Chi gear pretty much on consignment...

 

Her family can simply box things up and mail them to us, no problem.

 

But I want to cover my behind (obviously) with the gov't.

 

Does any one have any experience with this? Is there a number I can call?

 

Any ideas / information would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Broseph32]

WOW ITS YOU!!

 

Weve never met, but i know your wife! (from CJG)

 

Hows it goin for you two? doin OK?

 

 

Yes, actually i know a little about importing, but mostly just about the logistics part. Want exactly did you want to know?

Just last year i shipped 2 taiji dagan's from zhengzhou to NC.

 

Actually thinking about it a little more, you may or may not be better off just using good 'ol China post. (that is, by boat)

 

I cant say for sure if it would be cheaper to find a company in china to ship containers to the US...... assuming your wanting to ship ALOT, then maybe, but let me break it down:

 

When i shipped my Dagan i first found a special shipping company to do it (well, actually that was after ALOT of talking to ems, dhl, fedex, ups- NONE of them would do it == 4 meters long), and ill skip all the original prices and just list what it ended up being after all negotiation was said and done:

 

1500 RMB to the the company, mostly because 1. using a container isn't cheap, and 2. very much over sized.

$~80 to a 'lavinstar logistics', which i really have no idea what it was they did, other than collect money.

another $100 fee for going in and picking it up at the wherehouse myself.

Whole ordeal took about a month from shipped to home.

Edited June 2, 2010 by moonandstar99 (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

WOW ITS YOU!!

 

Weve never met, but i know your wife! (from CJG)

 

Hows it goin for you two? doin OK?

 

 

Yes, actually i know a little about importing, but mostly just about the logistics part. Want exactly did you want to know?

Just last year i shipped 2 taiji dagan's from zhengzhou to NC.

Wow Mike, your wife is a legend!

 

You can find Mike and Chen on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chen-Style-T...ian/49003889535

 

Website: http://www.chenhuixian.org/

[Broseph32]

Yea when i was in CJG i met alot of legends! Chenhuixian was one of them!

 

Tell her James says hi! (if she still remembers me )

Edited June 2, 2010 by moonandstar99 (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

Yea when i was in CJG i met alot of legends! Chenhuxian was one of them!

 

Tell her James says hi! (if she still remembers me )

Go and friend them on Facebook!

[TaijiMonkey]

Hey James!

 

I'll let her know you're on here! Small world, huh?

 

Actually, that is some good news! we have been dying to ship over some long poles!

 

But that is another issue I may address with you later.

 

Right now, we have no isssues using China Post to get things from the village to out house (small post packages; DVD's, shoes, etc. - nothing like the long poles).

 

They ship things to us all the time with no issue.

 

my main question right now is the legality and tax/tariff implications of selling products that we have "imported" from China.

 

I can simply call them with a list, have them mail the stuff, and wire them the money. No biggie.

 

 

 

What I DON"T KNOW right now is what the U.S. gov't would think about that, and how to comply with any import tariffs/taxes that may result from sellingproducts I have had shipped from the PROC...

 

We can set ity all up through our LLC, but I don't know what we have to do to be legal about it...

 

Any suggestions?

[Broseph32]

Hmm, sorry i dont know much about that aspect of it.

You may be better off finding a forum for people that are trying to sell imported products.

Although a quick google search wasn't very fruitful, from what i can see, as long as its nothing unusual the duty will be paid and taken care of while its in customs after it arrives in the us. Thats how i paid the fees from that logistics company- after (or shortly before) it arrived in the us, they emailed and called me telling me about an invoice for a wide range of fees. I'm sure that if a duty was required on it, regardless for what i plan to do with it in the US, i would have paid it before the port would let it go.

[dnoblett]

A good place to start is:

 

http://www.alibaba.com/

http://exporter.alibaba.com/gsService.htm?...sk.alibaba.com/

[b.c]

This should be no problem at all. First, there is no real legal issues or requirements to worry about provided that nothing is illegal in the US. For example, that the DVD's are not pirated. If everything is legit and legal then nothing else to concern yourself about.

 

How much of this stuff are you bringing in, in $ amount and CBM volume? If its just a little bit (like a few boxes, etc) then most carriers (like UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc) will charge the duties (if any) upon delivery. If you are looking at a container load (20ft, 40ft or 40ft HQ) then you will be best served by contacting a local customs broker. Here is a list for the Kansas City area: http://www.magicyellow.com/category/Custom.../-State_ks.html

 

They fill out and file all the customs documents for you for a relatively small fee. It is well worth it as even just looking up the product classifications for each item can be a pain. Most will also take care of the logistics as well. If they dont then they will at least give you somebody who will. Its a very smooth process.

 

I dont have much experience in small orders but I import several containers a year. Let me know if I can help you further.

[Kyle]

Just curious - where in KC are you guys at? My wife and I live in north KC, right on the edge of Liberty, only about 15 minutes away from MCI. Send me a PM, if you guys want to meet sometime. I don't want to get this thread completely off track.

Edited June 3, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history)

[shenzhen]

Yea when i was in CJG i met alot of legends! Chenhuixian was one of them!

 

Tell her James says hi! (if she still remembers me B) )

CJG?

[knloregon]

When you graduate to containers, its helpful to go with a freight forwarder who knows customs from both sides: point of exit, and point of entry. My wife worked with one of the world leaders shipping out of the very busy GZ office. When it gets to that point, let us know... she still has contacts.

[TaijiMonkey]

Yea when i was in CJG i met alot of legends! Chenhuixian was one of them!

 

Tell her James says hi! (if she still remembers me )

CJG?

 

CJG = Chenjiagou. a.k.a. Chen Village, Henan Province.

Home to the Chen family clan and the Official Historical Birthplace of Tai Chi.

[dnoblett]

Just curious - where in KC are you guys at? My wife and I live in north KC, right on the edge of Liberty, only about 15 minutes away from MCI. Send me a PM, if you guys want to meet sometime. I don't want to get this thread completely off track.

Hey, I was thinking that! Perhaps check out their website and take a Tai Chi class from them!

[TaijiMonkey]

This should be no problem at all. First, there is no real legal issues or requirements to worry about provided that nothing is illegal in the US. For example, that the DVD's are not pirated. If everything is legit and legal then nothing else to concern yourself about.

 

How much of this stuff are you bringing in, in $ amount and CBM volume? If its just a little bit (like a few boxes, etc) then most carriers (like UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc) will charge the duties (if any) upon delivery. If you are looking at a container load (20ft, 40ft or 40ft HQ) then you will be best served by contacting a local customs broker. Here is a list for the Kansas City area: http://www.magicyellow.com/category/Custom.../-State_ks.html

 

They fill out and file all the customs documents for you for a relatively small fee. It is well worth it as even just looking up the product classifications for each item can be a pain. Most will also take care of the logistics as well. If they dont then they will at least give you somebody who will. Its a very smooth process.

 

I dont have much experience in small orders but I import several containers a year. Let me know if I can help you further.

 

We are really talking about very little. Her family has Tai Chi shoes, DVD's (legit and legal) some silk Tai Chi uniforms, some practice swords... things like that.

 

They are easily sent to us using China post. We have had them ship us shoes and uniforms for our own personal use, and it has no problems coming through customs and arriving at our door.

 

But before we start to sell these items to students and other teachers, I want to know what I'm resobisible for as far as taxes.

(I don't want to be selling thing and have someone come tell me I owe in back import fees or something!)

 

But I'm having a terrible time finding ANY info on this topic.