Paying for goods in China

G

GVA

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What's the best way to pay for goods from a Chinese manufacturer? The company I have been in touch with are looking for money to be transferred to a Bank of China account - is this safe? Also, how do I go about completing this transfer - not sure if many Irish banks preovide this facility?
 
Whats the value of the goods ?
Are they being shipped in a sealed container ?
How do you know you will receive the goods if you pay ?

Depending on your answers to these it might be worthwhile arranging the transaction via a letter of credit.

I certainly wouldnt pay up front to a company that I don't know
 
I have done three transfers through Bank Of China in the last year and did not have any problems.

You will need :

Beneficiary Customer Details -

Name
Address

Beneficiary Account Details -

Bank Name
Bank Address
BIC(SWIFT Code)
Account Number

It cost about €30 with the bank here. Not sure if there is a scale depending on the amount.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm just ordering some samples, costing about €100 and they're being shipped by air. I have spoken to the manufacturer but obviously that's no guarantee that the goods will arrive. If I put in a larger order, they will be shipped by sea. F. Kruger - out of interest - were you buying goods from a manufacturer? If so, how did you go about building up a relationship with them?
 
Was not buying.

I would be very confident that you will receive what you are ordering, especially if there is the opportunity for future transactions. They are good business people and very honourable, in my experience.

Failing that, you just have to get on a plane and go and meet the manufacturer in person and then make the call.
 
We pay most of our Chinese suppliers that was. I wouldn't think you would have any problems as it's only a small amount.

If you are ordering a large quantity/value of items it would be best to have them checked at the port & pay by LC.
 
Importing is a straight forward enough once you have a reputable agent / supplier

1) See samples and agree on a quantity / price after a visit / some research, all prices will be agreed in USD / Per Unit, all monies will be paid via International Bank Transfer. Most 'sample' charges are to cover shipping costs as there's a lot of cowboys out there looking for freebies. If you ever visist China and set up a face-to-face relationship you wont usually be charged for sample as they know you
2) Most Chinamen will ask for either 50 % on conf of order and 50 % on delivery to the ship although 30 / 70 is not unheard of. The price per unit normally includes delivery to the port / ship -called FOB, this means 'Free On Board' (the other delivery option is Container Freight Insurance (CIF) - where the cost of the shipping is added to the unit price)
3) On delivery to the Ship a 'Bill Of Lading' is issued (BOL) this basically confirms the goods are on board and then you should pay the remaining agreed price when your chinese contact DHL's these docs to you
4) You're looking at 30 days to Ireland by sea. Make sure all shipments go through Rotterdam - if you have to go through Felixstow / Birmingham you will be charged dodgy fees by dodgy UK Stevedoors
5) On arrival into Irish port you will get a call from an agent, you will be liable for VAT, Duty, Port and Clearance fees and possibly shipping fees if you opted for the FOB.
6) Stock is delivered to your office / store - check the goods and start selling.

The Chinese are an impressive culture to deal with. They dont normally get things wrong once things are clear from the start - beware of the language barrier and check everything thrice.

BM
 
kind of looking into this myself. I got in contact with a chinese supplier this is an exract from their reply

"we only can ship the goods to your appointed international air port, you need to find the shipping
company who have the ability to clean the customs and get the goods for you."

would this mean you pay the chinese company for the cost of the goods. You then pay the shipping co. for shipping, customs etc and they lookafter all the paper work ie they would act as the agent??
 
We are also interested in importing from China. My sister lives there. Can you give the names of banks that do wire transfers to China. I was in touch with a wiring agent in Dublin and they do not provide wiring facilities using the bank, Anglo Irish Bank that they use to China. I was wondering where next!!!
Optimistic
 
"5) On arrival into Irish port you will get a call from an agent, you will be liable for VAT, Duty, Port and Clearance fees and possibly shipping fees if you opted for the FOB."

When you go to collect the goods, will the Vat/fees already be calculated i.e. do you just go to the port, pay the agent and take the goods away. Would it be worthwhile getting the shipping companey e.g. DHL to take care of this and just deliver the goods directly to you?
 
GVA said:
"5) On arrival into Irish port you will get a call from an agent, you will be liable for VAT, Duty, Port and Clearance fees and possibly shipping fees if you opted for the FOB."

When you go to collect the goods, will the Vat/fees already be calculated i.e. do you just go to the port, pay the agent and take the goods away. Would it be worthwhile getting the shipping companey e.g. DHL to take care of this and just deliver the goods directly to you?
Click to expand...

If pay the agent to ship to you, the goods should include carraige to your door. So, if you opted for FOB, you then have to pay an agent to get the goods to your door. The payment will include a VAT / Duty fee. There's no 'going to the port' in my experience anyway...

BM
 
Is the VAT charge for CIF and FOB the same? - I know VAT is payable on the vlaue of the goods + duty but is it payable on the freight for FOB and CIF?
 
Very easy to transfer to money electronically to banks in China. In my experience the problems usually arise at this end where staff processing the payment have no experience of payments to China.

I wouldnt use paypal (Suemoo) or western union, not because of any doubt about the payment method but if you are dealing with a supplier who doesnt have a bank account that can accept foreign transfers then they arent really set up for export business.

If they arent set up for export business then you're likely also going to have problems with logisitics, customs duty & clearance, quality & consistency and communication.
 
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