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Sea freight from China

Your shipping container from China, with forwarders bidding for it

Post a full container or a share of one and save the week of emailing forwarders. They bid against each other, priced per container.

Get free container quotesEstimate landed cost

No credit card needed. Nothing is booked until you accept a bid.

  • Full container or shared
  • Priced per container
  • Duty on its own line

Booking a container today

A container quote is easy to get and hard to compare

Two forwarders quoting the same box rarely quote the same thing. The difference shows up after the container has sailed.

No two quotes cover the same work

One includes trucking at both ends, another stops at the port. One adds customs and duty, another leaves them for you to find out about. The cheapest line is often the shortest list.

Full or shared is a guess

A shared container is charged by volume and weight, a full one by the box. Which costs less depends on your cargo, and most sellers only learn the answer from the invoice.

The paperwork has deadlines

An ocean shipment into the United States needs its security filing before loading, and someone has to clear customs and pay the duty. A quote that is vague about who does it is the quote that grows later.

From factory to your door

From a packing list to a board full of container bids

You say what is being shipped and how. Forwarders who move containers on your lane price it, and each bid has to beat the last.

  1. 1

    Choose full or shared

    Enter boxes or pallets for a shared container, or the container type, how many and the cargo weight in each for a full one. Past a certain volume the form suggests pricing it as full containers.

  2. 2

    Say who does the customs

    Pick the terms, then who is importer, who files the security filing and who pays the duty. Every bid is held to those answers.

  3. 3

    Forwarders bid

    Only carriers that move full containers on your lane are offered a container shipment, after the same checks as every bidder. Each bid must beat the one standing.

  4. 4

    Accept and follow it

    Choose on price per container, transit time and record. Milestones, documents and messages stay with the shipment, and the carrier’s payout is held until your claim window closes.

Built for container freight

Container freight you can compare line by line

What you would ask a forwarder before trusting it with a container, answered before it is allowed to bid.

01

Full container or shared, in one form

A shared container is priced on chargeable weight, worked out in front of you. A full container is priced per box, so the form shows the cargo weight and the space you are buying instead, and refuses more cargo than the type can carry.

  • Standard, high cube, refrigerated, open top and flat rack
  • A nudge towards a full container when your volume gets there
  • Containers by sea, rail or road, never quoted as air

02

Bids priced per container

On a container shipment the board shows each bid per container as well as in total, so one forwarder’s price and another’s compare directly however many boxes you ship. Each new bid must beat the one standing.

  • Price per container next to the total
  • Transit time and record beside every price
  • Sort the board by what matters to you

03

Customs settled before anyone bids

You say who acts as importer, whose broker clears the goods, who files the security filing and who pays the duty. A bid that prices duty you said you would pay yourself is refused, so every bid on the board is for the same job.

  • Importer, broker, bond and security filing chosen up front
  • Duty and import fees on a line of their own under DDP
  • Your answers remembered for the next shipment

04

Covered if the cargo arrives short or damaged

The carrier’s payout is held until your claim window closes, so a valid claim after delivery can be paid from it. Extra charges after the award need your agreement, and customs holds follow published rules on who pays.

  • Payout held for the length of the claim window
  • No extra charge without your yes
  • Documents, milestones and disputes kept with the shipment

Who bids, and what it costs

Free for sellers, and open only to forwarders who move containers

Posting a container, collecting bids and booking one cost you nothing. A container shipment is offered only to carriers that move full containers on your lane.

Who may bid on a container shipment

The checks every bidder passes, and the one only container carriers do.

  • Licence, company and cargo insurance checked by a person before any bid
  • Insurance at least as high as your declared value
  • Screened against U.S. restricted-party lists
  • Moves full containers on your lane

Side by side

Asking forwarders for a quote, or letting them compete

Getting prices

Quotes you collected: An email to each forwarder, and a week of follow-ups.

Ebbrate: One post. Forwarders who move containers on your lane bid.

Comparing

Quotes you collected: Different inclusions in every quote.

Ebbrate: The same customs answers and the same layout in every bid.

Full or shared

Quotes you collected: Decided before you see a price.

Ebbrate: Priced on your cargo, with a nudge when a full box makes sense.

Duty

Quotes you collected: Folded into an all-in number, or left for later.

Ebbrate: On its own line, or refused if you said you pay it.

Track record

Quotes you collected: Testimonials on their own site.

Ebbrate: Score and on-time record from delivered shipments.

If it goes wrong

Quotes you collected: You chase a company that already has your money.

Ebbrate: The carrier’s payout is held until the claim window closes.

What it costs you

Quotes you collected: Mark-ups you cannot see.

Ebbrate: Nothing. Carriers pay a published commission on their service.

Sea freight from China

How shipping a container from China to the USA works

Going into Amazon?

A container to a fulfilment centre has a few more rules: who may bid, the delivery appointment, the address.

Amazon FBA shipping

Full container or shared: FCL and LCL

With a full container load (FCL) you pay for the whole box and nobody else’s cargo travels in it; it is sealed at your supplier and opened at your door or warehouse. With less than container load (LCL) your cartons share a container with other shippers, are consolidated at a warehouse in China and split again after arrival, and you pay for the space and weight you use. Small shipments are cheaper shared. Past a certain volume a full container usually costs less, travels faster through the ports and is handled less, which is why the form suggests it when you get there.

Which container size

The common choices are a standard container in the shorter or longer length, and a high cube, which is the long one with extra height for light, bulky goods. Heavy goods fill a container’s weight limit before its space, light goods the other way round, so the right size depends on both. The types and their limits are listed above, and the form will not take more cargo than a type can carry.

Sea, rail or road

Most containers from China to the United States go by sea, standard or express. Rail is an option on some lanes into Europe, and road on short cross-border lanes. Containers do not fly: a shipment that has to go by air is posted as boxes or pallets.

Customs, the security filing and duty

An ocean shipment into the United States needs an Importer Security Filing before it is loaded, and a customs entry and duty when it arrives. Under DDP the forwarder does all of it and puts the duty in its price; on other terms you name your own importer and broker. On Ebbrate you choose who does each part when you post, so the bids price exactly that.

How much does it cost to ship a container from China?

It depends on the lane, the container type, the season and what each end includes, which is why a single published price is rarely the price you pay. Post the container and forwarders bid against each other for it, each bid laid out the same way. The DDP calculator gives a landed-cost estimate before you post.

Before your first container

What sellers ask before shipping a container from China

Still deciding? The container types, who may bid and the rules for claims are all above, and the DDP calculator shows a landed cost before you post anything.

What is the difference between FCL and LCL?

FCL is a full container load: you pay for the whole box and it carries only your cargo. LCL is less than container load: your cartons share a container with other shippers and you pay for the space and weight they take.

When is a full container cheaper than shipping LCL?

When your cargo takes enough of a container that paying for the whole box costs less than paying for the share. The form suggests a full container once your volume reaches that point, and you can post either way.

Can I ship a container from China directly to an Amazon warehouse?

Yes. Post the fulfilment centre as the destination and only forwarders approved for Amazon delivery on that lane can bid. The Amazon FBA page explains the extra rules.

Who files the ISF for an ocean shipment?

You decide when you post: the forwarder files it, or your own customs broker does. Bids are held to that answer, so nobody prices a filing you are doing yourself.

Can a container go by air?

No. A full container goes by sea, rail or road. A shipment that has to fly is posted as boxes or pallets and priced on chargeable weight.

Who is allowed to bid on a container shipment?

Only carriers whose licence, cargo insurance and company were checked by a person, whose insurance covers your declared value, and who move full containers on your lane.

What does it cost me to use Ebbrate?

Nothing. There is no booking fee, no subscription and no charge per auction. The carrier that wins pays a published commission on its own service, never on the duty it passes through to you.

Get container quotes for your next shipment

Post it in a few minutes. It costs nothing, and nothing is booked until you accept.

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