Process
How an order
actually runs.
Nothing here is unusual. It is written down because a lot of suppliers will not write it down, and because you should be able to see where your money is at every step.
Enquiry
Tell us the product, the rough quantity and the market. If we are not the right supplier we will say so in the first reply.
Specification
We send carton dimensions, pieces per carton, container quantity and a colour breakdown before we talk about price.
Quotation
FOB Shenzhen or Guangzhou, valid 21 days. Freight and duty shown separately so you can see the real landed cost.
Sample
Paid sample by courier, cost credited against the first order. We would rather you hold it than trust a photograph.
Production & inspection
Deposit, then production. We visit the plant before packing and send photographs, including anything that is wrong.
Shipping & documents
Balance against B/L copy. Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificate of origin.
Inspection
What we check, and what we send you.
- Quantity and colour breakdown against the order
- Assembly fit, welds, castors, gas-lift travel, drawer runners
- Finish: coating coverage, scratches, colour consistency across the batch
- Carton strength, shipping marks, palletisation
- Photographs of defects, not only of the good units
For orders where you want a third-party report, we will arrange SGS or an equivalent inspector at cost. We do not mark it up.
Payment & terms
Straightforward.
| Deposit | 30% on order confirmation |
|---|---|
| Balance | 70% against bill of lading copy |
| Incoterm | FOB Shenzhen / Guangzhou (CIF on request) |
| Currency | USD |
| Quote validity | 21 days |
| Import duty | Duty into Australia is 0% under ChAFTA with a valid certificate of origin. For the UK, EU and other markets we quote the applicable rate against the HS code before you commit. |
A note on container loading
We will tell you if your carton is the wrong shape.
A 20GP is 589 × 235 × 239 cm inside. Whether a carton divides neatly into those numbers changes how much fits by as much as thirty per cent, and most factories design the export carton around domestic trucking rather than around your container.
Where it makes a difference we will propose a carton size before production rather than after. In one comparison, moving a carton from 80 × 60 × 40 to a dimension that tessellates took container utilisation from 61% to over 90%. That is a real reduction in your landed cost per unit, and it costs nothing but asking.