Last night was pretty busy. From about 9 PM until midnight, I was communicating with several manufacturers in China. Most of that time was spent talking to one manufacturer who informed me that the product I shipped to her had finally arrived at customs in China. I was happy to hear that it had made it there, but apparently getting the package through customs was going to be more complicated than I expected.
She explained that there was a customs form that needed to be completed and started asking me questions so she could fill it out. That was fine, but then she sent me the form and explained that I also needed to complete my portion and stamp it with my company’s official seal. I told her that I didn’t have a company seal and asked what would happen if I were just an independent individual shipping something to China. Apparently, that makes the process considerably more expensive.
She told me to give her a few minutes so she could speak with customs and figure out what we could do. For the next couple of hours, we went back and forth while she apparently communicated with someone at customs. Eventually, she explained that there would be additional fees, but her company was willing to cover some of the cost to help me out. However, she made it clear that if I shipped another product to them in the future without a company seal, I would either have to cover those additional expenses myself or get a company seal.
I guess that’s something I’m going to have to look into if I plan on continuing to ship products to manufacturers in China. I didn’t even realize that having a company seal was something I might need for this process.
She also mentioned that customs in China can be pretty tedious and that they inspect the packages being shipped into the country. Apparently, they go through the contents and documentation to make sure everything is in order. It’s interesting seeing how differently things operate in China compared to the United States, especially since this is my first time dealing with this particular situation.
The arrangement we eventually came to was that her company would pay the customs fees upfront so they could receive the product. Once they finished manufacturing the new version and shipped it back to me, they would adjust the final price to recover the portion of those expenses that I would be responsible for. That’s fine with me. I just want to get the product into their hands so they can start working on it.
Trying to Figure Out These Customs Fees
When I woke up this morning, I noticed that the last thing she had asked me was how much I paid to ship the product from the United States to China. I told her it cost me $65.20 through USPS, and she responded that it wasn’t too bad and that the customs fees shouldn’t be very expensive.
I’m not entirely sure what the amount I paid USPS has to do with the customs charges in China, but apparently it matters somehow. I don’t know enough about their customs system to say whether everything she’s telling me is accurate, so for now I’m just trying to understand the process.
What makes the situation interesting is that when I originally shipped the package at the post office, it took me about 30 minutes to get everything completed. The postal clerk was explaining some of the requirements and documentation involved in shipping internationally, and a lot of what she told me seems to line up with what the manufacturer is now explaining. So at least some of this makes sense based on what I experienced when I sent the package.
Still, this entire process is new to me. I’m used to sourcing products from overseas and having them shipped to me, but now I’m sending physical products to manufacturers so they can examine them and recreate them. Apparently, that comes with its own set of complications.
Another Part of the Learning Process
I actually shipped two different products to two separate manufacturers, so I’m still waiting to see whether I’ll have to go through this same process with the second shipment. If the other manufacturer runs into the same problem, then I guess I’ll seriously have to look into getting an official company seal for Moonrock Media and Commerce.
I don’t know how much that would cost or what would be involved in getting one, but if it’s going to save me money and prevent these kinds of delays in the future, then it might be worth doing.
For now, I’m just learning as I go. Every time I start working on something new with these manufacturers, I seem to discover another part of the process that I didn’t know existed. It’s a little frustrating having to figure everything out for the first time, especially when something that seems as simple as shipping a product turns into a three-hour conversation about customs paperwork.
But that’s part of developing these products. I run into something I don’t understand, figure out how to deal with it, and hopefully make the process easier the next time around.