customers broker / freight forwarder
Thanks for your advise. Actually, I am not hosting the booth, I am just
helping a manufacturer from India to set up his booth. He is actually the
one footing the bill here.
***Very good... at a tremendous expense to himself...***
I am just helping him with freight logistics, and
reviewing photos of his merchandise to help him pick out material I think
will sell for him. He will sell off the booth merchandise so there won't be
any problem with storage at the end.
***If that particular show permits selling of samples... has anyone checked?***
Also, he is looking for a company that will rent display shelves, etc for
his booth as he will fly directly from India to Charlotte for the show (the
Super Floral Show) and display equipment is too expensive to airfreight. He
claims that when he has gone to gift shows in Frankfurt that they have
companies that actually do this sort of thing.
***Yes, all shows offer display for rent, so call the show organizers and get
the catalog and price lists for show display goodies...***
However, he does want me to act as his U.S. liason, for which I am a little
skeptical. I worked with this source at my last job where I was a buyer /
importer and he had a problem with shipping the orders on time and some
items came in not like the approved samples and also damaged--course, they
were huge orders, so there were problems with production on his end, I
think. It makes me nervous, there could be a major liability/logistics
problem which I don't want. Any advise for me on this? It could prove to be
very lucrative in the end, though, so it is hard to say no.
***Well, right... first you would be working for him in USA... rather teh worst
of all possible worlds... on the one hand, since you are in USA, and acting
effectively as his agent, you would hold all liability for his decisions,
mistakes, etc... and he being overseas, you'd have no recourse if anything went
wrong.
Second, the very idea that someone in India or anywhere else overseas is
competent in marketiing in USA is too much to hope for. With this offer, you
get to work very much with no assurance of payoff, very high liability, and
working for someone who probably does not know what he is doing. I'd pass on
this.
On the other hand, pick a field you love, you'll find plenty of first rate
suppliers happy to follow your lead on what works for USA...
At very best, sign NOTHING on this persons behalf... agree on a retainer for the
week paid in advance (say $2500) ... be his go-fer during the show so you can
learn this end of it... and keep working on your own thing...
John
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
Friday, March 19, 2004
Fw: [spiers] Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
John:
Thanks for your advise. Actually, I am not hosting the booth, I am just
helping a manufacturer from India to set up his booth. He is actually the
one footing the bill here. I am just helping him with freight logistics, and
reviewing photos of his merchandise to help him pick out material I think
will sell for him. He will sell off the booth merchandise so there won't be
any problem with storage at the end.
Also, he is looking for a company that will rent display shelves, etc for
his booth as he will fly directly from India to Charlotte for the show (the
Super Floral Show) and display equipment is too expensive to airfreight. He
claims that when he has gone to gift shows in Frankfurt that they have
companies that actually do this sort of thing. I actually have never done
any of this before so I am not experienced and am learning as I go....
However, he does want me to act as his U.S. liason, for which I am a little
skeptical. I worked with this source at my last job where I was a buyer /
importer and he had a problem with shipping the orders on time and some
items came in not like the approved samples and also damaged--course, they
were huge orders, so there were problems with production on his end, I
think. It makes me nervous, there could be a major liability/logistics
problem which I don't want. Any advise for me on this? It could prove to be
very lucrative in the end, though, so it is hard to say no.
Cindie
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 10:48 AM
Subject: Re: [spiers] Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
>
> In a message dated 3/19/04 10:13:00 AM, 3pecks@comcast.net writes:
>
> I am interested in bringing over by airfreight about 500 to 600 kgs of
items
>
> (pottery and brass) from India
>
> ***For which you have orders?***
>
> for a show in June in North Carolina.
>
> ***Highpoint show?***
>
> Does
>
> anyone know of a good customers broker / freight forwarder that could
handle
>
> this for me?
>
> ***Check the directory of us importers available at many libraries you can
> see who else imports your kind of goods and which customsbrokers serve
them...***
>
> They would have to store the freight for a few days as well
>
> till we can get into the show to set up the merchandise.
>
> Yes, they could, and you can check
> http://www.logistics-buyers-guide.com/apwr/ for local public
warehouses.
>
> Do recall though, that setting up and hosting your own booth I don't
advise,
> better to have space in an established rep's booth... on the other hand,
do
> let us know how this goes...
>
> John
>
>
> Cindie>>
Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
Re: [spiers] Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
I've done a lot of work with Kamino and TBB Global logistics - both very good
companies to work with. I can give you some names and numbers if you need
Larry Brewer
Timing of payments to suppliers
Hi All;
I have a small order for a supplier in China, where the supplier
wants payment in advance. He has stated that a shipment date will be
confirmed within 20 days and shipment will occur within 30 days. My
question is when to pay him. Do you pay when the PO is accepted and
he has sent the Pro-forma invoice or when he has confirmed a shipment
date.
I am talking about $3,500 so it is not worth doing a letter of credit
and the supplier said he does not take credit cards.
Tom
Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
Re: [spiers] Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
Cindie,
We imported a comparable shipment of Kenyan crafts last fall into Charlotte.
I don't remember the name of the broker that our people there used, but you
can contact me off line at rpete1220@aol.com and I can point you in the right
direction.
ron
Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
Re: [spiers] Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
In a message dated 3/19/04 10:13:00 AM, 3pecks@comcast.net writes:
I am interested in bringing over by airfreight about 500 to 600 kgs of items
(pottery and brass) from India
***For which you have orders?***
for a show in June in North Carolina.
***Highpoint show?***
Does
anyone know of a good customers broker / freight forwarder that could handle
this for me?
***Check the directory of us importers available at many libraries you can
see who else imports your kind of goods and which customsbrokers serve
them...***
They would have to store the freight for a few days as well
till we can get into the show to set up the merchandise.
Yes, they could, and you can check
http://www.logistics-buyers-guide.com/apwr/ for local public warehouses.
Do recall though, that setting up and hosting your own booth I don't advise,
better to have space in an established rep's booth... on the other hand, do
let us know how this goes...
John
Cindie
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Re: customers broker / freight forwarder
I am interested in bringing over by airfreight about 500 to 600 kgs of items
(pottery and brass) from India for a show in June in North Carolina. Does
anyone know of a good customers broker / freight forwarder that could handle
this for me? They would have to store the freight for a few days as well
till we can get into the show to set up the merchandise.
Cindie
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 3:03 PM
Subject: RE: [spiers] Shipping Costs
> Rosefab,
>
> What they presented was in effect a C&F (now called CIF) quote, (cost of
goods and freight). You may have been expecting a FOB quote, which would be
just the cost of the goods on board the vessel in the country of origin
port. In both instances one pays the freight, the question is merely
"when?".
>
> Happy we are here to help.
>
> John
>
> Anyway with info in hand I contacted the
> factory rep, who's English skills are less than perfect and he was quite
> shocked at first then upon double checking the quote realized that
> assistant had added product cost into the shipping quote also
>
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Shipping Terms
Rosefab,
CIF is a quote that includes cost of goods and freight plus insurance. You
can get a quote C&F if you want to pick up the insurance. Keep in mind that
you will still have to pay docking fees with both CIF and C&F when the
vessel comes to port.
Cindie
> Rosefab,
>
> What they presented was in effect a C&F (now called CIF) quote, (cost of
goods and freight). You may have been expecting a FOB quote, which would be
just the cost of the goods on board the vessel in the country of origin
port. In both instances one pays the freight, the question is merely
"when?".
>
> Happy we are here to help.
>
> John
>
> Anyway with info in hand I contacted the
> factory rep, who's English skills are less than perfect and he was quite
> shocked at first then upon double checking the quote realized that
> assistant had added product cost into the shipping quote also
>
Shipping Costs
RE: [spiers] Shipping Costs
Rosefab,
What they presented was in effect a C&F (now called CIF) quote, (cost of goods
and freight). You may have been expecting a FOB quote, which would be just the
cost of the goods on board the vessel in the country of origin port. In both
instances one pays the freight, the question is merely "when?".
Happy we are here to help.
John
Anyway with info in hand I contacted the
factory rep, who's English skills are less than perfect and he was quite
shocked at first then upon double checking the quote realized that
assistant had added product cost into the shipping quote also
Shipping Costs
RE: [spiers] Shipping Costs
Dear Fang Li:
Thanks for the info. Yes please give me your shipping agent's
information, that would be much appreciated. I have confirmed what you
said and contacted the manufacturers rep to confront him with the
information. It was my assumption that he was being very dishonest or
perhaps misquoted somehow. Well it turns out that the quote included
product cost and wasn't broken down. That is a relief, I just will not
do business with dishonest people. Thanks for your help.
Sincerely,
RoseFabHk
-----Original Message-----
From: Temp Tests [mailto:njnu_a_t@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 11:54 AM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [spiers] Shipping Costs
The amount you got must be kidding. According to my current shipping
agent a
regular 20ft container from Shanghai China to Oakland is about $2000. I
can
give you my agent's contact info if you need.
Fang Li
ESS Links
-----Original Message-----
From: RoseFabHk [mailto:sparksor@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 7:12 PM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spiers] Shipping Costs
I am in the process of estimating costs on a new product. I need to
ship by container from Shanghi China to Oakland, CA. This will be my
first experience using ship containers. I have been given an
estimate of $10,800 for 20ft of container space from the
manufacturor. This seems awful high to me. Anybody have any
experience in shipping by containers? I could use any advice on how
to obtain competitive rates from reliable shippers.
Thanks In Adavance
RoseFab
Shipping Costs
RE: [spiers] Shipping Costs
John:
Hahahahaaha! The story goes on. After checking rates myself and
receiving several emails from your students (thank you all) I rapidly
came to the conclusion that the quote was grossly high. What a valuable
resource your group site is. Anyway with info in hand I contacted the
factory rep, who's English skills are less than perfect and he was quite
shocked at first then upon double checking the quote realized that
assistant had added product cost into the shipping quote also. Shipping
only is $1,800. I have learned a valuable lesson about business
language skills and verbal shipping quotes, hahaha. Everything in
writing to minimize the mistakes. I almost gave up on this great
product idea. So things are looking very good now. Another business
adventure begins.
Thanks for your response,
RoseFab
-----Original Message-----
From: wileyccc@aol.com [mailto:wileyccc@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 6:04 PM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [spiers] Shipping Costs
In a message dated 3/12/04 9:44:00 AM, sparksor@sbcglobal.net writes:
<< I have been given an
estimate of $10,800 for 20ft of container space from the
manufacturor. >>
*** Haha... Leo beat me to it... i was going to say " a great rate...
for
Hazmat (Hazardous material)"
Anyway, like anything else, get three quotes, and you should certainly
be
working with a customsbroker here in USA...
Also, this is hard to explain, but sometimes in biz you will find people
who
are happy to lean on you starting out, too see how strong you are. A
kind of
test. I don't want it to sound negative, but it is the idea, sort of,
that
"if I don't test them somebody else will..." and if you are dumb enough
to pay
$10,000 for freight, well, better the supplier knows this immediately
than
later...
heck, car rental companies do this...yesterday I called and got a quote
for
$90 a day... then $44, then $20... all in the same call with the same
sales
rep. I don't get mad, i just know what the going rate is and I keep at
it until
I get the going price.
Don't let this discourage you, you have us to ask, but more important,
your
customsbroker would have steered you right... so it is important to
work with
the people I recommended, in the sequence I recommend. Then you'll
learn what
you need to know BEFORE you need to know it.
I had lots of help starting oout, and as you can see, from Leo and
others,
you do too!
John
Shipping Costs
RE: [spiers] Shipping Costs
Dear Leo,
Thanks for the info. Seems you are right in the ball park with pricing.
I am contacting manufacturers rep, must be something in error on the
quote.
Thanks again,
RoseFab