In a thread on r/ImportExport that sits at the top of the subreddit’s all-time ranking, an importer walked through their first purchase out of China and closed with a piece of advice: budget at least 25 to 30 percent above product and shipping. Not because the shipping was mispriced, but because the number they had budgeted against was never the whole cost.
The gap is not a mystery and it is not usually dishonesty. A freight quote is a price for a defined piece of work. Everything outside that definition gets billed later, by someone else, on a different invoice. This page takes one real quote apart so you can see which lines are which, and then shows you how to build the same sheet for your own shipment.
One real quote, taken apart
In August 2026 a shipper posted a full quotation for a 40HQ from Shenzhen to New York on r/freightforwarding and asked whether it looked reasonable. The document is useful precisely because it is ordinary. Nothing in it is exotic.
| Line item | Amount (USD) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight | 7,000 | per 40HQ |
| Destination charge | 155 | per bill of lading |
| Delivery to NY 11222, one hour free unloading | 1,500 | per 40HQ |
| Regular chassis | 165 | per 40HQ |
| Prepull | 150 | per 40HQ |
| Customs clearance | 150 | per bill of lading, duty excluded |
| Total | 9,120 | excludes duty |
The same shipper was quoted USD 9,200 for the same move on an “all included, tariffs excluded” basis. Two numbers, USD 80 apart, for what is close to the same scope.
Three things worth noticing. Ocean freight is 77 percent of the total, not all of it. Customs clearance is priced per bill of lading rather than per container, so consolidations and multi-container shipments do not scale the way people expect. And the single largest non-freight line is inland delivery, which depends on a postcode — NY 11222 in this case — rather than on the ocean carrier.
What USD 9,120 still did not include
That quotation was explicit that duty was excluded. Duty is not a rounding error. On Chinese-origin goods entering the United States it can be the largest single number on the shipment, once the applicable tariff measures are stacked on the general rate.
Beyond duty, these sit outside a standard freight quote and are easy to miss on a first booking:
| Not included | Who charges it | What drives the amount |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty, and any additional tariff measures | US CBP at entry | HTSUS classification, declared value, country of origin |
| Merchandise processing and harbour maintenance fees | US CBP at entry | Declared value, formal entry |
| Customs bond | Surety, arranged through your broker | Single transaction versus continuous bond |
| ISF 10+2 filing | Broker or forwarder | Filed 24 hours before vessel loading; late filings are penalised |
| Demurrage and detention | Terminal and carrier | Days the box sits at the terminal or stays out with you; per-day rates are on the carrier tariff |
| Chassis beyond free time | Chassis provider | Days, and whether the terminal is chassis-supplied |
| Exam, hold and storage | CBP and terminal | Whether your container is pulled for exam, and for how long |
| Marine cargo insurance | Insurer | Declared value plus coverage terms |
The demurrage and detention pair is where first-time budgets break. Nothing about them appears on a booking confirmation. They start accruing the moment free time runs out, and the free time is defined in the carrier’s tariff, not in your quote. If you are arranging your own trucking for the first time, ask for the free time in days before the vessel sails, not after the box lands.
These are 2026 planning categories, not a rate card. Per-day demurrage, detention and chassis rates are set by the carrier and terminal on each shipment and we confirm them in writing with the routing before space is committed.
Port-to-port and door-to-door are different products
This is the comparison that causes most of the confusion, and it is worth being blunt about it because it affects how you read our own numbers.
The Shenzhen to New York quotation above is door delivery including customs clearance. It moves the container from the origin port to a specific postcode in Brooklyn.
Our own published rate is different in kind:
| Route | 20GP (USD) | 40HQ (USD) | Scope and transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shenzhen → Los Angeles | Not published | 7,200 | Port-to-port, direct, 14 days |
| Shenzhen → New York | Not published | 8,700 | Port-to-port, direct, 35 days |
| Shenzhen / Ningbo / Shanghai → Rotterdam | 1,950 | 3,050 | Port-to-port, direct, 28–32 days from Shenzhen |
| Shenzhen / Ningbo / Shanghai → Hamburg | 1,950 | 3,050 | Port-to-port, direct, 30–34 days from Shenzhen |
A related trap: we publish 40HQ only on the trans-Pacific lanes. A 20GP price on those lanes moves faster than a public page can stay accurate, so we quote it per sailing rather than print a number that will be wrong in a fortnight.
The same exercise on a Europe lane
Shenzhen, Ningbo or Shanghai to Rotterdam or Hamburg runs USD 1,950 per 20GP and USD 3,050 per 40HQ port-to-port on a direct service. The structure of what sits outside that number is similar, but Europe adds documentation that the United States does not ask for in the same way.
- EORI. An EU-established consignee needs one. It identifies the business in the customs declaration and in the ICS2 entry summary declaration.
- ICS2 ENS. For ocean container cargo the entry summary declaration is due 24 hours before loading at origin. A 48 hour figure circulates widely online and is wrong for this mode.
- Import VAT. Charged by the member state of import on the customs value plus duty, not on the invoice value alone.
- The EUR 3 low-value duty. From 1 July 2026 the EU removed duty relief for consignments at or under EUR 150 and replaced it with a flat EUR 3 per item, charged per HS subheading rather than per parcel, under Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382. It runs to 1 July 2028.
That last one catches e-commerce shippers who consolidate. One women’s silk blouse and two men’s wool shirts travel in the same parcel but fall under two subheadings, so the duty is EUR 6, not EUR 3.
Full detail on the Europe lanes, including the port-pair transit times and the compliance fields, is on our China to Europe major ports page.
Two traps that blow the budget
Customs can change the numbers your supplier declared
The importer in that first-time thread described being caught by this: the value on the supplier’s commercial invoice is a starting position, not the final answer. US Customs and Border Protection can reassess value against its own records and can reclassify the HTSUS code. Both happen after the goods have shipped, and both change what you owe.
Someone will eventually suggest you get ahead of this by declaring low. In a separate r/ImportExport thread, an importer reported that their supplier had proposed paying 40 percent in cash and 60 percent by invoice to reduce tariff exposure. That is not a pricing tactic, it is a false statement on entry. Penalties under 19 U.S.C. 1592 are assessed by culpability tier rather than as a flat percentage, and the exposure lands on the importer of record, not on the supplier who suggested it.
We cover the filing mechanics, bond types and classification on our USA customs compliance page.
A DDP quote that cannot be met
Here is the fastest sanity check you can run on any delivered-duty-paid quotation. Work out the duty yourself, roughly, before you look at their number.
The arithmetic takes two minutes and it is the single most useful thing a first-time importer can learn. Look up your HTSUS code, apply the duty rate to your declared value, and see whether the DDP price leaves room for the duty. If it does not, ask how they intend to handle the entry.
How to build your own landed-cost sheet
Nothing here needs software. Work in one column and keep the scope statement at the top.
- Write the scope first. Port-to-port, door-to-port, or delivered duty paid. Every number below depends on it, and it is the thing people forget to write down.
- Product cost at the commercial invoice value your supplier will actually declare, not the number in the chat messages.
- Origin-side charges: inland pickup, export customs, terminal handling, documentation.
- Ocean or air freight, with the container type and whether it is direct or transshipped.
- Destination charges: terminal handling, delivery to your postcode, chassis, prepull.
- Clearance: broker fee, bond, ISF filing.
- Duty and taxes from your own HTSUS or HS code and declared value.
- A contingency line. That 25 to 30 percent in the Reddit thread is not a rule, but budgeting a contingency for demurrage, exam and storage is what separates a first container that lands on budget from one that does not.
When you ask us for a quote, the questions we need in order to fill this in are commodity, HS code if you have one, container type, origin port, destination postcode, cargo-ready date, and whether you want port-to-port or door delivery. We confirm the routing, the surcharge stack and the transit estimate in writing before you commit space.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a USD 7,000 ocean freight quote the same as a USD 7,000 shipping cost?
No. Ocean freight is one line on the invoice. On a 40HQ from Shenzhen to New York quoted publicly in August 2026, the USD 7,000 of ocean freight came with a destination charge of USD 155 per bill of lading, delivery of USD 1,500, chassis of USD 165, prepull of USD 150 and customs clearance of USD 150, for a total of USD 9,120 before any duty.
Can I compare a port-to-port rate with a door-to-door rate?
No. Port-to-port covers the ocean leg and origin terminal handling. Door-to-door adds destination drayage, chassis, clearance and inland delivery. They are different products. Our Shenzhen to New York rate of USD 8,700 per 40HQ is stated as port-to-port precisely so that this comparison cannot be made by accident.
When do I need a US customs bond?
A bond is required for formal entry, and the informal entry threshold in the United States is USD 2,500 of declared value. That threshold is why many guides say a bond is only needed above USD 2,500, yet carriers and forwarders frequently still require one for any ocean or air shipment. Ask which bond type is quoted, single transaction or continuous, and what it covers.
Can customs change the value my supplier declared?
Yes. US Customs and Border Protection can reassess declared value against its own records and reclassify the HTSUS code. Both change the duty payable after the goods have shipped, which is one reason first-time importers end up above budget.
How do I tell if a DDP quote is realistic?
Estimate the duty first. If your own calculation on the commodity comes to roughly USD 3,500 and someone offers the whole shipment delivered duty paid for USD 800, the quote cannot be met legally. Either the goods will be under-declared, misclassified, or you will be asked for more money once the cargo is on the water.
What is the ICS2 ENS deadline for containers into the EU?
For ocean container cargo the entry summary declaration is due at least 24 hours before the goods are loaded at the origin port, not 48 hours. The 24 hour rule follows from the Union Customs Code delegated and implementing acts, and the widely circulated 48 hour figure is incorrect for this mode.
How much should I budget above product and shipping on my first container?
An importer describing their first China purchase in a widely read r/ImportExport thread said they would budget at least 25 to 30 percent above product and shipping. The right figure for you depends on the duty rate on your commodity, whether you buy port-to-port or door-to-door, and how quickly the container is collected at destination.
References
- r/ImportExport — My First Time Importing from China: What I’d Do Differently (source of the 25–30% budgeting advice and the observation that customs may reassess declared value)
- r/ImportExport — Importing quartz from India: antidumping & tariff questions (source of the 40% cash / 60% invoice suggestion)
- r/ImportExport — Newbie to Importing Customs Bond Question (USD 1,400 shipment quoted a USD 50 bond despite the USD 2,500 threshold)
- r/ImportExport (source community for the three threads cited above)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Basic Importing and Exporting
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Entry Summary
- 19 U.S.C. 1592 — Penalties for fraud, gross negligence and negligence (official U.S. Code text; penalties are assessed by culpability tier)
- European Commission — Customs Security (ICS2)
- European Commission — Temporary flat fee for low-value imports until 1 July 2028
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Guangzhou Yingdong Global Forwarding Co., Ltd. — freight forwarding and procurement
Company registered 2021 · 5034, Huanqiu Building, Xihua Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou