GUIDE · FIRST-TIME IMPORTERS
A first order from idea to delivered carton: samples, a small first run, the documents you'll see, and the mistakes that cost beginners money.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · FIRST-TIME IMPORTERS
Why the smallest order that tells you what sells beats a full range, how to pick the SKUs that carry the most information, and when to reorder on what moves.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
The checklist run before goods leave the factory: counts, dimensional and functional checks, workmanship, packaging, and destination-market documentation.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
Factory price is a fraction of the answer. A true landed-cost comparison covers duty, freight, lead time, minimums, tooling, and the cost of qualifying a new supplier.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · US IMPORTERS
US customs value can lawfully be declared on the manufacturer's price to the middleman rather than the price you pay. The conditions are strict and the paperwork has to be built in from the start; confidentiality toward your own customers is unaffected. Open-book pricing is what makes first sale available in the first place, because the valuation rests on a factory invoice you can see.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · US IMPORTERS
Metals tariffs reach into long derivative lists, and an ordinary good can be caught for a bracket or a housing. The 2026 changes moved duty onto full customs value; how to check your product before it ships.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · US IMPORTERS
These orders target specific products from specific countries, stack on every other duty, and can dwarf them. How to check for active orders before you commit to a supplier.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · US IMPORTERS
US enforcement can hold shipments until the importer proves the inputs' origin, down to raw materials. What tracing documentation requires, and why it must exist before the shipment.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
DATED · RETIRES DEC 2026
If you paid the surcharge before it expired in July 2026, you may hold refund rights with a closing window. What to gather, who to ask, and the deadlines. Retires when the window closes.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · RETIRES DEC 2026
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
The importer of record answers for classification, valuation, origin, and recordkeeping, whoever arranged the shipment. What the role obligates you to before the first container moves.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
What customs looks for, what third-country assembly does and doesn't change, and the questions to ask before anyone promises you a new origin.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
As our customer you see everything: the factory invoice, the costs, and our fee. The parties either side of you see only what they need to. Your customers don't learn the factory or its price, the factory doesn't learn your customers, and customs always receives true values and true origin.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · CANADA · MEXICO · CENTRAL AMERICA
Canada, Mexico, and Central America each run their own tariff schedules, remedies, and import systems. What changes when the same product lands in a different market.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
Factory commissions the buyer never sees, marked-up freight, and inspection fees folded into the unit price. How to ask for a quote that separates them, and what an open-book invoice looks like.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
LCL minimum charges, broker fees on every separate entry, and the arithmetic that decides whether your suppliers should deliver to one point in China and ship together.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
Under most of China's trade agreements goods enter at reduced or zero duty, if a valid certificate is in hand when you file. Who issues it, when to ask for it, and how to make it a condition of the purchase order.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
GUIDE · ALWAYS CURRENT
What an order integration actually involves: which platforms have connectors, what data moves in each direction, and what you can keep to yourself while it runs.
VERIFIED AUG 2026 · REVIEW FEB 2027
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