How to compare freight quotes from China without hidden fees
The quote arrives as one number, or a short list of numbers, and the next step feels obvious: compare it with the other quotes in your inbox. That comparison misleads more often than not, because the total depends on what each forwarder chose to include.
A rate that looks twenty percent lower can cost more once the destination charges land. The opposite happens too. A quote that looks expensive may already cover duties, delivery and unloading, and the cheap one may start charging you the moment the container is discharged at the port.
Why two quotes for the same shipment differ
Forwarders quote different scopes. One prices port to port. Another quotes door to door but stops at the customs border. A third quotes door to door and includes duties. The wording on the PDF looks similar while the service behind it does not.
The second difference is which charges are bundled. Ocean freight, terminal handling and documentation usually show up on every quote, because they are unavoidable. Charges that only appear once the cargo reaches the destination port are the ones most often left out, sometimes on purpose and sometimes because the forwarder never gets asked about them.
What a DDP quote should cover
DDP means Delivered Duty Paid. The seller or the forwarder stays responsible for the cargo until it reaches the buyer's address, which includes import clearance and the duties and taxes owed to the destination country.
A DDP quote should name all of the following:
- Pickup from your supplier in China
- Export customs clearance at the Chinese port or airport
- Freight to the destination country
- Import customs clearance
- Duties and taxes payable on import
- Delivery to the address you give us
If a quote says DDP but never mentions duties and taxes, ask which of the two is excluded. That single question explains most of the gap between a cheap quote and an expensive final invoice.
Charges that appear after arrival
Destination costs are where a budget slips, because they are billed by companies in the destination country rather than by the forwarder you hired. A forwarder quoting only origin costs is not always obliged to mention them.
- Terminal handling and port security charges
- Customs examination or inspection fees
- Storage or demurrage if the container waits
- Delivery beyond a standard postcode area
- Residential or limited-access delivery
- Waiting time when the receiving site is not ready
- Unloading when the vehicle arrives without equipment
None of these charges is unreasonable on its own. The problem is timing. You find out about them after the cargo has arrived, when there is no time left to compare alternatives or renegotiate.
How to compare quotes properly
Send every forwarder the same written brief and ask for the same scope back. A brief that works looks like this:
- Cargo description, carton count, dimensions and total weight
- Supplier address and the address where the goods must end up
- Which parts you want quoted: pickup, export clearance, freight, import clearance, duties, delivery
- Whether you will clear customs yourself or want the forwarder to handle it
- Your deadline, and whether the cargo can wait
- Anything unusual about the goods, such as batteries, liquids, fragile items or branded products
Then ask for the charges as separate line items instead of one total. A forwarder who can break the price down can also explain it when something changes mid-shipment, and something usually does.
Questions worth asking before you book
- Which charges are excluded, named one by one?
- Who pays the destination charges, and who sends the invoice?
- What does a container cost per day once the free days run out?
- If the sailing is rolled to a later vessel, does the price change?
- Is there a peak season surcharge, and what triggers it?
- Which company issues the bill of lading, and to whom?
A forwarder who answers these in writing is easier to work with than one who answers them only on a call, because you can check later what was agreed.
A note on seasonal surcharges
Rates on the main trade lanes move with capacity, fuel and demand. Around Chinese New Year and during the autumn peak, carriers add surcharges and the same shipment costs noticeably more than it did a month earlier. This is normal, and it happens to every forwarder on the lane.
Ask whether a quoted rate is valid for a set number of days, and what triggers a change. That question tells you more than asking for the lowest number, because it tells you how much of the price you can rely on when you plan your landed cost.
How we quote
Yueyang International Logistics has moved cargo out of China since 2010, from our office in Yiwu. We quote DDP door to door and we list the charges separately rather than folding them into one figure, so you can see what each part of the journey costs.
If a charge is not part of our quote, we say so. If you have a quote in hand and want a second opinion on it, send it to [email protected] and we will tell you which items look unusual for the route.
Editorial team at Zhejiang Yueyang International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. — an international freight forwarder headquartered in Yiwu, Zhejiang, China, providing sea, air and rail freight plus DDP door-to-door shipping since 2010.