The Shipping Forecast: How to Send Stuff Home From China

The Shipping Forecast: How to Send Stuff Home From China
Dec 21, 2009 By Susie Gordon , eChinacities.com

There are certain times in the life of an expat when you need to send things back to your home country. Whether it’s a birthday present for your mum, a pile of books that you don’t need any more, or a complete relocation of all your belongings at the end of your time here, you need to know the best way of transporting your stuff.


Photo: Lachlan Hardy

Sending parcels, packages, and letters home is pretty straightforward. China Post will let you send up to 30kg to the USA, Great Britain, Switzerland, France, and Germany, and 15kg to the Czech Republic. If you want to send items to Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Australia, Italy, or Hungary, weight must not exceed 20kg. Boxes are available in the post office branches (the largest costs 15 RMB) and you can choose between air freighting (taking anywhere up to 20 days depending on the country and weight) and sea shipping, which usually takes a couple of months. Just go to any branch, pick up as many boxes as you need, and fill them up. It’s best to use these special China Post boxes, as they usually won’t accept anything else. Some people like to leave boxes unsealed, as customs officials will sometimes open them anyway to check the contents, but if you feel safer sealing them, go for it. Once everything is in, take the box or boxes back to China Post and tell them where you want it to go, and which mode of transport to use. They’ll ask you what’s inside and how much it’s worth, and fill in a declaration form. There are certain things you shouldn’t send, such as food items and job lots of bootleg DVDs and CDs. Use this chart to see how much you will be charged.

International companies like FedEx and DHL have outposts in China. FedEx charges 3,103 RMB to air freight a 30kg box from Shanghai to New York, while DHL charges 4,350 RMB as part of their Worldwide Package Express system. To ship a 300kg box the same route, FedEx quote 38,013 RMB.

Another way of getting boxes home is to use a shipping company. One of the most trustworthy is Seven Seas Worldwide. They will ship a tea chest door to door from east coast Chinese cities to New York for 2,300 RMB, taking 70 days. By air, it will cost 3,000 RMB and take up to 21 days. Other reputable courier agencies are Shen Tong, and Shanghai Air Express.

If you have a whole apartment’s worth of things to transport, you should think about renting space in a cargo container. Your stuff will take up to two months to arrive at your destination, but it’s a more cost-effective way of sending it. A 20 foot container costs around 15,000 RMB. Be warned – your container will probably be packed in along with industrial cargo, so there’s a good chance it will be thrown around a bit in transit. Make sure individual boxes inside the container are well-wrapped and padded to minimize damage.

While it’s possible to organise shipment yourself through a shipping company, it can be complicated as there’s a lot of paperwork, and much of it will be in Chinese. A logistics firm or relocation company can make sure things run smoothly, and sort out the documentation you’ll need, like export permits and customs documentation. Relocation companies know everything there is to know about getting your belongings from A to B, and while their fees aren’t cheap, they will cover everything about the move so you don’t have to worry about anything. Some reputable and well-established relocation companies are Relocasia and Excel Relo, as well as Seven Seas Worldwide. Costs will depend on how much stuff you need to transport, and where you’re sending it to, but relocation projects usually cost between 18,000 and 30,000 RMB in total.

If you decide to use a relocation company, make sure you get quotes from more than one so you get the best price possible. A couple of months before you want to leave China, get in touch with them. They will send an agent to your house or apartment to do an estimate, and will put together a quote and schedule. Some companies will send packing materials, and even technicians to help you put everything into boxes. The company will sort out all the paperwork for you; you’ll just need to provide copies of your passport and visa, and sign on the dotted line. Many relocation companies offer storage at the destination port, which can be useful. Others will deliver your things straight to your new home.
 

Related Links
Leaving China and the Challenges of Returning "Home"
How To: Move Across China

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