01
Official contract
We fix the scope, prices, timelines and each side’s responsibility. You deal with a company, not a “private trader”.
Logistics · Customs · To your door
Shipping from China door-to-door — turnkey, no surprises
Sea, rail, road or air — we calculate the optimal route, consolidate, insure, clear customs with correct codes and deliver to your door. For a flat 10%.
30–45
days by sea, to your door
10%
flat fee
100%
clean customs clearance
Shipping is not just "bring it" — it is the whole chain
The biggest losses in China freight happen not on the main leg but at the joints: consolidation from different factories, packing fragile cargo, insurance, export paperwork and correct import clearance.
Dream View runs the whole chain under one contract for a flat 10% — from the warehouse in China to your door, with documents and liability for the batch. If you need procurement as well as logistics, that is the China sourcing agent service. For batches from 10 kg there is a dedicated format — small cargo shipping.
Shipping modes
Sea (FCL/LCL)
30–45 days · the cheapest per kg
Rail
18–25 days · price-speed balance
Road
15–22 days · address flexibility
Air
5–10 days · urgent and compact
Who needs freight from China
Importers & traders
Regular batches where predictability matters: a fixed shipping schedule, correct documents for accounting and customs, and one party responsible for the whole chain instead of five contractors pointing at each other.
Businesses building & outfitting
Developers, hotels, restaurants: furniture, fit-out and equipment against an opening deadline. We consolidate dozens of factories into one container and take it to the site — insured and customs-cleared.
Those who already bought goods
The factory is found and the batch is paid — you only need logistics: we collect the cargo, check completeness at the warehouse, pack it for the sea passage and deliver to your door with clean customs clearance.
Modes and transit times
ModeTime*When to choose
Sea (FCL/LCL)30–45 daysLarge batches, the cheapest per kg
Rail18–25 daysA balance of price and speed
Road15–22 daysMid-size batches, address flexibility
Air5–10 daysUrgent and compact
*Indicative, from cargo readiness to door; depends on the route and congestion.
From the warehouse in China to your door
01
Request & quote
We calculate the route, timeline and door-to-door cost for your specification — sea, air, rail or road.
02
Consolidation & packing
We collect cargo from different factories at our warehouse in China, check it, pack it for the sea passage and insure it.
03
Customs clearance
Export clearance in China and import clearance at destination with the correct commodity codes. No surprises at the border.
04
Door delivery
We deliver to your warehouse or property. Landed cost is fixed before shipment — you know your economics in advance.
What makes up the shipping cost
The "$/kg" or "$ per container" rate is just the tip. The final cost depends on four components — and those are exactly what we work on when finding the optimal route for your cargo.
01
Main-leg freight
Sea, rail, road or air — the largest share of the cost. Rates move with the market: they climb before Chinese New Year and in peak season, so we plan shipping schedules ahead.
02
Volumetric weight & packing
Light, bulky cargo is billed by volume, not weight. Dense packing and smart consolidation squeeze the "air" out of the container — that is direct money.
03
Duties & clearance
Import duty and VAT depend on each item's commodity code. Correct classification before shipment means predictable payments with no reassessments or delays.
04
Insurance & the last mile
Insurance costs 1–3% of cargo value and covers the main risk of the sea passage. Delivery from the port to your door is the final link — we take that on too.
A typical price structure
Main-leg freight~55%
Duties & VAT~27%
Last mile~13%
Insurance~5%
Proportions for consolidated sea freight; the exact structure depends on the route and category.
EXW, FOB, CIF — what they mean for you
Delivery terms (Incoterms) define where the seller's responsibility ends and yours begins. They shape both the factory price and who answers for the cargo at sea.
EXW
EXW — from the factory gate
You (or your forwarder) collect the cargo straight from the factory and own the whole journey. Maximum control — and maximum responsibility.
FOB
FOB — to the ship's rail
The factory delivers to the port and handles export clearance; from there the logistics are yours. The most common scheme for container shipments.
CIF
CIF / DDP — to port or to door
The seller covers freight and insurance to the destination port (CIF) or everything including duties (DDP). Convenient — but the seller's markup often hides exactly here.
FCL
your own container, from 15–20 m³
LCL
consolidated cargo, pay for your cubes
A separate question is a dedicated container (FCL) versus consolidated cargo (LCL). From 15–20 m³ a dedicated container is almost always cheaper and faster; smaller volumes travel consolidated. We will price both options for your batch and show the difference in numbers.
Facts
Why It Pays Off
Designer furnitureup to 80%
Tile / marbleup to 70%
Plumbingup to 60%
Kitchens / facadesup to 50%
Almost any productfrom 20%
The same quality tier — 2–5 times cheaper.
Private projects in Thailand, Indonesia, Europe and the UAE.
Why Dream View
Flat 10% commission
Transparent logistics pricing with no hidden margins: you see freight, insurance and payments directly.
Turnkey consolidation
We combine orders from different suppliers into one shipment — cheaper freight and simpler paperwork.
Clean customs, correct codes
The right commodity code for every item before shipment. Not "grey cargo" but legal import with documents.
Insurance & liability
Fragile and high-value cargo is insured; we answer for the batch — not an anonymous market seller.
Common China-freight mistakes
Choosing a rate, not a chain
The cheapest per-kilo rate often means slow consolidation, transshipments and customs "surprises". What matters is the full door-to-door cost and timeline, not a number from a price list.
Shipping "grey" with sloppy documents
Cargo without correct documents cannot go on your balance sheet, be reclaimed for VAT or defended when lost. For a business, clean clearance is not an option — it is basic hygiene.
Skipping insurance
The sea means storms, transshipments and cranes. Insurance at 1–3% of value covers a risk that is otherwise entirely yours. On a $50,000 batch that is $500–1,500 — against losing the whole batch.
Ignoring seasonality
Chinese New Year stops factories for 2–4 weeks, and rates climb before it. Seasonal batches are planned 3–4 months ahead — otherwise the goods arrive after the season.
How you see your cargo at every stage
01
01
Intake at the warehouse
Cargo arrives at our consolidation warehouse in China: we weigh, measure and photograph it. You see the actual and volumetric weight before dispatch — the price will not "be confirmed later".
02
02
Tracking number & statuses
After dispatch you get a tracking number and see the key statuses: left the warehouse, at the border, ready for pickup. No "call tomorrow, we'll check".
03
03
Receiving
Pickup at destination or delivery to your door. If something goes wrong, we resolve it with the carrier — not you against an unfamiliar company.
Freight is half the purchase. If you also need to find the factory, negotiate the factory price and inspect the batch before shipment — that is the China sourcing agent service: one contract for the whole chain, from finding the manufacturer to a container at your door, for a flat 10%.
Guarantees
Your money is protected
“I paid — and the goods never came” is the main fear of sourcing from China. Here is how we close it at every stage.
We’ll show you the contract and payment schedule on a free consultation.
Get a consultationGood logistics is the kind you never think about
Shipping from China feels complicated exactly as long as five different contractors are responsible for it: the factory points at the forwarder, the forwarder at the customs broker, the broker at the last-mile carrier. We gather the whole chain under one contract: consolidation, packing, insurance, the main leg, customs clearance and door delivery. You have one contact, one invoice and one responsible party — whether it is a container of furniture or a consolidated pallet.
Plan around the season: before Chinese New Year (late January – February) factories stop for 2–4 weeks and freight rates start climbing in autumn. Seasonal batches should be placed 3–4 months ahead — then both production and the sea passage run on a calm schedule at normal rates. Send us your cargo specification — we will come back with a route, timeline and the full door-to-door cost within 1–2 business days.
Shipping from China — FAQ
How much does shipping from China cost?
The cost depends on the mode (sea, rail, road, air), volume, weight and route. Sea is the cheapest per kilogram for large batches; air is more expensive but fast. The price includes the main-leg freight, consolidation, packing, insurance, customs payments and door delivery. We calculate the exact figure and landed cost before shipment.
How long does delivery from China take?
Roughly: sea 30–45 days, rail 18–25 days, road 15–22 days, air 5–10 days — from cargo readiness to your door. Timelines depend on the route, congestion and customs clearance; allow a buffer in the peak before Chinese New Year.
What shipping options are there from China?
Four main ones: by sea (FCL — a dedicated container, or LCL — consolidated cargo), by rail, by road and by air. The choice depends on volume, budget and urgency. Large furniture and fit-out batches usually go by sea; urgent and compact cargo by air.
Do you handle customs clearance and commodity codes?
Yes. We assign the correct commodity code to every item before shipment, prepare the documents and arrange legal import. That removes the risk of reassessments and delays at customs caused by wrong classification.
How does door-to-door delivery from China work?
We run the whole chain: collect cargo from factories, consolidate and pack it at our warehouse in China, insure it, handle export and import clearance and deliver to your warehouse or property in Thailand, the UAE, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and other countries. One contract and one contact instead of a dozen carriers and middlemen.
How is this different from cargo services?
Cargo is often "grey" logistics with no documents and no liability for the goods. We work clean: legal customs clearance with correct codes, insurance, a fixed landed cost and liability for the batch. That is safer for a business that counts taxes and risks.
What is volumetric weight and how does it affect the price?
The carrier bills the greater of two weights: actual or volumetric (volume in cubic metres × 167–200 kg). Light but bulky cargo — cushions, lampshades, foam packaging — "weighs" by volume. Dense packing and smart consolidation reduce volumetric weight, and that is direct savings on every shipment.
What documents will I receive for the cargo?
A full clean-import set: invoice, packing list, bill of lading or waybill, certificates where needed and a customs declaration with correct commodity codes. This is cargo you can put on the balance sheet, reclaim VAT on and defend in a dispute with a carrier or insurer.
Can I insure only part of the cargo?
You can, but it is usually false economy: the batch is insured as a whole, because when a container is damaged or a hold is flooded, any part of it can suffer. The 1–3% rate is calculated on the declared value — state it honestly in the invoice, and the payout covers real damage rather than a "paper" price.
How much does door delivery add versus port delivery?
The last mile usually adds 5–15% to the route cost depending on the distance from the port and the cargo dimensions. But it removes finding a local carrier, unloading and last-kilometre risks — for most clients it is the best value part of the service, measured in nerves.
FCL or LCL — which should I choose?
The rule of thumb is simple: from 15–20 m³ a dedicated container (FCL) is almost always cheaper and faster — the cargo travels without transshipments or neighbours. Smaller volumes go LCL, where you pay only for your cubic metres. We will price both options and show the difference in numbers.
How much does cargo insurance cost — and do I need it?
Insurance typically costs 1–3% of the cargo value and covers damage, loss and the force majeure of the sea passage. On a $50,000 batch that is $500–1,500 — against the risk of losing everything. We insure every shipment by default; you can opt out, but we advise against it.
