Here, we will talk about 4 ways to ship wholesale toys from China to US and other countries. Different ways to ship wholesale toys may vary greatly in terms of transportation time and freight. Therefore, we always need to determine which logistics methods will be the most cost-effective.
If your wholesale toys is shipped by air, the shipping time should be within 3-10 working days. If shipped by sea, the shipping time may take 30 to 45 days.
1. Ship Wholesale Toys By Regular Post.
To ship ship wholesale toys as soon as possible, choosing the most suitable way to transport is important. It will take 5~35 days to arrive for a normal, regular China Post (or Hong Kong Post). If you can wait, this is the cheapest choice for small goods, such as samples and packages. You can track and trace online, but the information cannot be updated in a timely manner.
We don’t recommend this way at most times. Although this is a very economical method, it’s unsafe and hard to find lost packages. We can regard this method as a good option for drop shipping.
2. Ship Wholesale Toys By Air Express
For most starters, choosing express companies will be the most suitable method for shipping the goods. The express companies widely used in China are DHL, UPS and FedEx. With the express delivery service, you can get fast delivery time and online tracking facilities. Most express deliveries take only 3 to 5 working days to reach anywhere on the globe.
The advantage of choosing express delivery is that you can get seamless delivery. All you have to do is signing for the parcel when it arrives. In most cases, delivery is quick and reliable. When a problem occurs, there is a tracking number that can help solve the problem. But the disadvantage is that the price is much higher than the postal service.
3. Ship Wholesale Toys By Airfreight
If the weight of the purchased product is too large for couriers, for example, 100 kilograms, air transportation may be the best choice. The cost of using airfreight will be much lower than express companies.
This method is suitable for goods with medium weight and has strict deadlines or strict control on security. The transit time varies according to the airline’s schedule, but generally, it ranges between 8 and 10 days.
It is worth to mention here that air transportation usually has a minimum requirement for shipping weight. The average cost of air express delivery is about $5 to $10/kg, and the shipping time is about 3 to 5 business days, while the average cost of air transportation is $4 to 8/kg, and the shipping time is about 5 to 10 business days.
4. Ship Wholesale Toys By Sea Transportation/Ocean Transportation
It may take a long time to ship goods through sea transportation, but it can carry a large amount of goods, thus reducing costs. The diversity of transportable goods is also a major benefit of this model. That’s why it is a popular and widely used model in logistics.
The delivery time is very long, but if you plan ahead and have enough time to wait, sea transportation will be your first choice. Depending on your location, it will take about 30 to 60 days.
There are two types of shipping, FCL and LCL, relatintg to shipping costs and the size of containers used.
FCL = full box loading.
LCL = less than (less than) container load.
For sea transportation, there are usually two ways, expedited or normal ocean shipping method. Usually, the expedited shipping from China to us will be 3-10 days faster than normal.
Usually, there are different sizes for shipping containers. You can choose different sizes according to your needs. Container size from China depending on the quantity you purchase from Chinese suppliers, you can fill the entire container or only one container.
When you use the whole container yourself, you are shipping FCL (full container loading). Generally speaking, it is cheaper to transport a whole carton of volume and weight. However, many importers do not buy enough goods to ship. You can try airfreight, but the cost is usually too high. In this case, LCL (less than container loading) is the ideal solution.
When shipping LCL, your products share containers with other people’s items. In other words, goods from multiple buyers end up in the same container.
What is LCL vs FCL?
It is easier to track the whole case directly through the shipping company’s website. In this way, you can accurately predict its arrival.
Under FCL, your items will be safer. FCL means that your items will not be mixed with other shipments. There is less risky that your goods will be damaged or lost because fewer people will deal with it. FCL can handle it faster because your cargo will be the only one that will be loaded into a container. Under LCL, the goods will first be merged with other goods.
As mentioned earlier, when the cost broken down per unit, the whole case is cheaper. Finally, your choice of FCL or LCL will depend on your shipping volume.
You can choose FCL or LCL as needed. However, when you want to save Alibaba’s freight, you should follow a basic rule.
This is the second step to ship your cargos after making an order from China. Hope you can choose a suitable shipping method, and if you want to review something about wholesale toys business, please click Wholesale Toy Blog.
