canrun Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Hi all, My wife has a friend in Hong Kong who wants to buy approx 100 kg. of cosmetics from us in the U.S. Has anyone had any experience with shipping large quantities of goods to Hong Kong or the Mainland? If so, I'd like to talk to you further about cost, duties, etc. This is NOT a solicitation for business or anything...just trying to get some facts and mostly to keep the wife happy! Cheers,Aaron BrownDaly City, Ca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachey Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 This thread may give you some leads: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?/topic/43918-moving-to-hangzhou/page__pid__579162&do=findComment&comment=579162 However, I suspect shipping to Hong Kong is much less complicated than shipping to the Mainland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canrun Posted September 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Thanks, Beachey! That's a start and certainly is related to what The Boss wants to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Be careful sending stuff USPS, it gets transferred to EMS and it is easy to get lost in customs. DHL/UPS/FedEx at least you can track and even that way I wouldn't ship anything that you couldn't afford to have disappear. Mission critical stuff bring with you on the plane. This was a curious statement, though. EMS is VERY traceable to or from any city in China that has a post office - it's known as Express Mail International in the US. But, yes, things sent by regular mail are NOT traceable. I sent something DHL once - the last thing I saw on the trace was that it was handed off to a local carrier in Guangzhou - "No further updates will be available". But it did get delivered a week or so later. Anyway, this isn't pertinent to shipping to Hong Kong (I'm sure USPS, DHL, UPS, or FedEx would all work fine) - pardon the interruption. Don't forget that this is a commercial shipment and may be subject to inspection - you may want to talk to an agent in Hong Kong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachey Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 This was a curious statement, though. EMS is VERY traceable to or from any city in China that has a post office - it's known as Express Mail International in the US. But, yes, things sent by regular mail are NOT traceable. This is a little bit off-topic but I think it is valuable information EMS within China is very traceable but those are domestic shipments not subject to customs. If you send something USPS Express International it is traceable up until it gets transferred to EMS. This might be before or after customs? USPS tracking says it is delivered when the transfer is made. The path from the transfer to actual delivery is not traceable. I have successfully sent documents to myself via USPS Express which are then delivered by EMS. In my experience these document envelopes are delivered without even being opened by customs. I have never attempted to send electronics or anything of any inherent value. Recently, a company sent me a package by mistake (I won't get into the details) by USPS Express. They asked me to send it back to them and they would reimburse me. This was about a month ago that USPS confirmed delivery and I have not seen nor heard any indication of attempted delivery. I don't even know exactly what was sent but I was told it was something electronic. My best guess is it is caught in customs sitting somewhere. I am giving the Chinese authorities the benefit of the doubt that someone didn't just steal it though I think that could have happened as well. I have also been involved with importing equipment as part of my job here in China. Dealing with Chinese customs is a challenge to put it mildly and requires a significant amount of paperwork This is why I would caution anyone to send a shipment USPS Express that has any inherent value or technological complexity (i.e a computer, stereo, etc.) where if you are lucky you will be notified and have to try and figure out how to satisfy Chinese customs. DHL/UPS/FedEx/Customs Broker will handle the customs for you and worst case it will get rejected and sent back to the US. Caveat Shipper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 (edited) This was a curious statement, though. EMS is VERY traceable to or from any city in China that has a post office - it's known as Express Mail International in the US. But, yes, things sent by regular mail are NOT traceable. This is a little bit off-topic but I think it is valuable information EMS within China is very traceable but those are domestic shipments not subject to customs. If you send something USPS Express International it is traceable up until it gets transferred to EMS. This might be before or after customs? USPS tracking says it is delivered when the transfer is made. The path from the transfer to actual delivery is not traceable. I have successfully sent documents to myself via USPS Express which are then delivered by EMS. In my experience these document envelopes are delivered without even being opened by customs. I have never attempted to send electronics or anything of any inherent value. Recently, a company sent me a package by mistake (I won't get into the details) by USPS Express. They asked me to send it back to them and they would reimburse me. This was about a month ago that USPS confirmed delivery and I have not seen nor heard any indication of attempted delivery. I don't even know exactly what was sent but I was told it was something electronic. My best guess is it is caught in customs sitting somewhere. I am giving the Chinese authorities the benefit of the doubt that someone didn't just steal it though I think that could have happened as well. I have also been involved with importing equipment as part of my job here in China. Dealing with Chinese customs is a challenge to put it mildly and requires a significant amount of paperwork This is why I would caution anyone to send a shipment USPS Express that has any inherent value or technological complexity (i.e a computer, stereo, etc.) where if you are lucky you will be notified and have to try and figure out how to satisfy Chinese customs. DHL/UPS/FedEx/Customs Broker will handle the customs for you and worst case it will get rejected and sent back to the US. Caveat Shipper. I've tracked international EMS shipments without any trouble - we can usually tell my wife's mother (where we get it delivered) when she can expect a call from the EMS people. Check on the China EMS site once it's handed off to China EMS. Yes, customs is a separate issue - the only thing I've done there is to send 20 lbs of coffee to myself without any problem. I don't care to use the other guys since they don't come here, but yes they may be better with any customs issues. Edited September 23, 2011 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachey Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 I've tracked international EMS shipments without any trouble - we can usually tell my wife's mother (where we get it delivered) when she can expect a call from the EMS people. Check on the China EMS site once it's handed off to China EMS. Interesting, I did not know that the USPS number worked on the EMS website. Package still hasn't shown up but I might have been blaming the wrong people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 (edited) I've tracked international EMS shipments without any trouble - we can usually tell my wife's mother (where we get it delivered) when she can expect a call from the EMS people. Check on the China EMS site once it's handed off to China EMS. Interesting, I did not know that the USPS number worked on the EMS website. Package still hasn't shown up but I might have been blaming the wrong people. Worldwide EMS operators - http://www.ems.coop/operators It is run by the post office of each member country, under the UN agreement. Express Mail Service (EMS) is an international express postal service offered by postal-administration members of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) which created the EMS Cooperative in 1998 within the framework of the UPU, a specialized agency of the United Nations, to promote the harmonization and development of postal services worldwide. Currently EMS is offered by 154 of the 191 UPU member countries' postal authorities[1] as an integral part of their normal postal services. Seven additional countries have arrangements to deliver EMS items. Edited September 23, 2011 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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