Importing from China to say Australia - Alibaba?

[DTJ]

I've been trying to source some cable from the usual suppliers but it's waaaaay to expensive so I've started looking on Alibaba.

If I wanted to purchase say 500m of cable from a Chinese cable factory are there any hurdles with customs etc or things I need to know about?

Is it as simple as getting a sample, then a quote with delivery and then placing an order and hoping it comes through?


I think the total order would be under  Au$1000.

[Brumby]

From my experience, if it's under AUD$1000 it should sail through.

If it's over that, then the hoops and costs will test you.

[DTJ]

Thanks Brumby, do you know how the FOB shipping stuff works? I guess I'd just ask for a quote shipped direct to my address.

[Brumby]

I wouldn't worry about FOB or any of that for a small one-off item.  Just go for a total delivery cost as you have indicated.


If you start importing containers of stuff, then you will want to get into it more.

[DTJ]

Cheers Brumby, I wasn't sure and figured that the FOB approach might be the vendors preferred / only shipping method.

Looks like I'll give it a go, navigating Alibaba and actually finding what I want is yet another issue!

[Brumby]

FOB means Free On Board.  It basically means the merchant has delivered the goods if he gets it onto a ship at a port of export.  You are then responsible for sea transport, insurance, unloading at the destination port, delivery to you and everything else in between.

Something that can be posted doesn't need this degree of complexity.



If you want to find out a bit more, you can start by checking out "Incoterms"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incoterms

[VK3DRB]

From my experience, if it's under AUD$1000 it should sail through.

If it's over that, then the hoops and costs will test you.

Not after July 1 this year.

[DTJ]

What's the new figure VK3DRB?

All I can find is a 2015 SMH news article that mentions a values as low as $20. That would be an administrative nightmare!

[Brumby]

From my experience, if it's under AUD$1000 it should sail through.

If it's over that, then the hoops and costs will test you.

Not after July 1 this year.

.... until then.

What's the new figure VK3DRB?

All I can find is a 2015 SMH news article that mentions a values as low as $20. That would be an administrative nightmare!

It's still a mystery as to what's going to happen....

...unless someone has come across anything.

[maggotronix]

Whatchoo talk about Willis? 

Are you kidding me? Serious?

[Brumby]

Yes ... it is said the $1000 threshhold has been impacting local Australian retailers.  Gerry Harvey was one of the noise makers.  The argument was that by bringing stuff in under the $1000 mark, GST was avoided - and this was unfair to local merchants who have had to cough up GST.

The noise makers completely avoided a fundamental detail ... that of the base price differences.  GST is only 10% but the basic prices differed anywhere from 50% to 500% (or more).  At the time I had just bought some goods from China that I paid around $30 for.  Would have cost me more than $120 from local retailers.  I was quite prepared to walk up to Gerry Harvey and hand him the $3 in GST I "avoided".  It still wouldn't have changed my buying.

This had been looked at years ago, but was passed over because it was going to cost too much to administer ... about as much as they expected to collect from it.  Walking away from such an exercise was the sensible move.

Anyway, the threshhold is coming down, supposedly from 1st July - but I don't know what's going to happen.  Adding GST isn't the worry ... it's the administrative costs and delays.  Anybody who has brought in goods over the $1,000 mark will have experienced these - and they can easily knock up an extra $200.  They better not have something like that in mind - or there is going to be blood in the streets.

[Towger]

I imagine you will end like here, it goes along these lines:

Comes in by standard post:
Quoted value on C22/3 is less than €300 (was €800?)  -  Post Office: Let most of them go through with no tax, it only creates work for them to collect it.
After a number of years the Post Office gets a bollixing from the Tax Man for not collecting VAT and Duty...
Quoted value on C22 is > €22  -  Post Office: Collect tax on more packages than before, base value on stated value + €7 handling charge.  If charged, Postman looks for money at the door, don't get receipt, and may or may not have any change.

Comes in by DHL, Fedex, UPS etc.
This is where is hurts big time.
Stated value is not believed, especially when comes from China.  Value is what they 'think' it is worth.  They first calculate the VAT and duty on this. Then they add in postage + VAT Using the rates they charge to send from Europe back to country of Origin , not what it originally cost from China. (Last year I had a long argument with them over this and got a total refund, probably just to get me off their case. ) Then they add in their commission, extra €16 to €25 + VAT (GST) on to the total.  But at least they take credit cards and issue receipts and the better companies send you SMS messages and emails in advance, allowing payment online.

Just to add: If the item has 'free shipping' and you produce proof of this etc, they will still add in the cost of sending the parcel back to China 'the country of origin' from Europe into their calculations.

[rrinker]

 It's the government - to collect that $3 in GST you avoided, they will spend $20.

[Towger]

The thing is they don't collect just the $3, a handling charge is whacked on so you end up paying $20+.  The big couriers treat this as a money making exercise.