FOB means we get the signs on the boat and clear Chinese export. You own them from there.
CIF means we pay the freight and the minimum insurance to your port. But you still own the risk once they're on the water. Most guys think CIF means "covered." It doesn't. DDP means the factory quotes a door price including duties. That's the only one where you know your landed cost before the sign hits your dock. But it's not magic.
Look, FOB is what I quote by default. We build the sign, we clear export, we hand it to the forwarder you pick at Shanghai or Ningbo or wherever. That's it. The moment it's on the vessel, the risk is yours.
You arrange the freight, the insurance, the customs clearance at your end. A lot of sign shops think FOB means "factory pays everything until it floats." Wrong. We pay Chinese port fees, export docs, and loading. The rest is on you. It's the cheapest upfront because we aren't guessing at freight or tariffs.
Here's a real number: Sea freight LCL from Shanghai to LA runs $80-200 per cubic meter. A batch of 50 front-lit channel letters is maybe 1.5 cubic meters in crates. You do the math. FOB isn't bad if you have a broker and a forwarder already. Rookies without a customs bond get a $500 surprise.
Don't pick FOB if you've never imported before. Just don't.
Here's what nobody tells you: CIF insurance is minimum coverage. Institute Cargo Clauses C, typically. It covers total loss, fire, sinking. It does not cover your sign boxes arriving dented because the container got tossed around in a storm. That's a separate policy.
I've seen this go wrong: A contractor in Texas ordered CIF thinking his acrylic faces were insured. One crate shifted, forty acrylic light boxes arrived cracked. Claim denied. Insurance covered the container falling overboard, not the forklift driver having a bad day. That's $6,000 down the drain.
With CIF, we handle freight and pay the basic insurance to your destination port. But the risk transfers when the goods hit the vessel. So if something happens mid-ocean, the insurance might pay us, but you still have to pay us. You're dealing with customs and final delivery.
If you order back-lit halo letters with acrylic faces and you're not buying extra cargo insurance, you're gambling. Buy all-risk marine insurance. It costs maybe 0.3-0.5% of invoice value. Cheap sleep.
Look, DDP is what every busy sign shop wants. One price. To your door. All duties, taxes, freight, customs, delivery. We do that for some countries.
But here's the ugly truth: DDP to the United States is a bureaucratic nightmare. There's a ~30% Section 301 tariff on most signage. We cannot eat that. You shouldn't ask us to. DDP means we arrange it, but you pay the actual tariff bill — we just add it to the invoice after we see your broker's duty statement. Any factory that quotes you a low US DDP price is either lying or shipping under the wrong HS code. You'll get hit later.
For Canada, EU, Australia, Middle East, we can do true DDP with all costs included. You send a PO, we handle the rest. It's clean. But for the US, expect the landed cost to be the FOB price plus freight, plus 30% tariff, plus broker fees. No magic.
We've done DDP for a 200-unit stainless steel letter order in Germany. Door price included all VAT and clearance. Customer paid one invoice. It works if the destination country has predictable duties.
If you're a sign shop owner ordering your first container, FOB is fine if you have a freight forwarder. If you don't know what an ISF filing is, don't start with FOB.
For small orders under 200 kg, express or air freight often beats all three Incoterms. You can use DHL/UPS with DDP included automatically for packages under $800 maybe? Actually de minimis changed? Need be careful. But maybe mention express has DDP option. For small samples or one sign, use DDP express. That's 7-15 days and $30-100. No container drama.
For full 20ft or 40ft containers, FOB is standard. CIF is a waste unless you want convenience and plan to buy extra insurance. DDP is best for non-US markets or if you have zero import experience and are willing to pay for convenience.
You want to know what happens with a $50 front-lit channel letter? FOB Price: $50. Sea freight LCL adds $15-30. Tariff at 30% adds $15. Broker and customs adds $100-200 per shipment, not per letter. DDP might add 8-12% on top of total for handling.
Our price per letter for stainless steel letters is $15-40. But they're heavy. A 20ft container of only stainless letters can hit 5-7 tonnes. Freight per kg matters more than per cbm. Don't just think size.
Here's the part most factories won't tell you: We make money on the sign, not the freight. We don't hide fees in shipping. If I quote you FOB, I make the same margin as if you buy EXW. Some factories mark up freight 30%. We don't. You can bring your own forwarder and I'll smile.
I had a customer airfreight 48 acrylic light boxes because the store opening was in 3 weeks. Cost $2,200 for 180kg. Worth it? He saved his lease penalty. Sometimes speed is the real cost.
We handle FOB, CIF, DDP to most countries. We clear Chinese export for every order. We'll prepare commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin. If you need a specific forwarder, fine. We'll deliver to their warehouse in Shanghai or Ningbo.
What we can't do: We can't guarantee a firm US customs clearance date. Customs can hold a crate for a week for no reason. We can't control that. We can't pay your Section 301 tariff and still keep the price at factory level. It's a tax, not our margin.
We also can't guarantee that the buyer's forwarder will communicate. You'd be shocked how many US forwarders don't answer Chinese emails. If you choose FOB, make sure your forwarder has a Shanghai agent. Otherwise our guy sits on WeChat at 11pm waiting for an answer. That's not our first rodeo.
Here's the final thing: CE marking costs 20,000-50,000 RMB. We have it. ISO 9001 too. Ask for the certificate with today's date. Any factory can Photoshop one. We'll send a live video of the production line if you're paranoid. That's normal.
If you need UL-listed signs for US electrical, that's a separate certification. We don't claim we have UL. Most US sign shops buy the letters and have a local electrician certify the install under NEC Article 600. That's how it works.
Our warranty is 2 years on LED modules, 1 year on power supply. If a Chinese factory gives 5 years on cheap LEDs, they're lying. SMD 2835 rated L70 50,000 hours, but that's lab. Real world 5+ years if Samsung/Osram/Lan Jing, 12-18 months if cheap.
Don't overpay for shipping, but don't under-protect your signs either. FOB is standard. CIF is lazy without extra insurance. DDP is clean but not magic in the US.
We've been exporting since 2010. worldwide. MOQ one piece. Lead time 7-15 days. You want one letter or a full container, we'll shoot straight with you on terms.
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