80%'s cross-border sellers calculate logistics costs, the first step is wrong! Transportation, Customs and Insurance Full Analysis

Did you know that logistics costs are often the most neglected aspect of cross-border e-commerce? Logistics costs are often the most easily overlooked aspects of cross-border e-commerce, once the estimation is wrong, it will eat up the gross profit, or the goods will be subsidized. Want to sell products to the United States, in addition to mastering the platform operation and marketing skills, sea transportation, air transportation and other cross-border logistics costs are the key factors affecting profitability. International logistics quotes are complicated, and there are often unscrupulous operators who cheat cross-border novices, so be careful when choosing a logistics provider.

First of all, the calculation of freight, according to the shipment volume and time demand, you can choose different modes of transportation. For a small amount of shipments, we can use the LCL method, which is based on the higher of the "actual weight" or "volume weight" of the product. For example, if you are shipping from China to the US, the common shipping rate is US$$3-5 per kilogram. For large volume shipments, FCL (Full Container Load) can be chosen, which is about US$$2,000-3,000 for a 20-foot container and US$$3,000-4,000 for a 40-foot container.

The most eye-opening thing is that many freight forwarders only offer a single "basic ocean freight" price, hiding many additional fees! These fees include AMS (U.S. Advance Manifest Fee), ISPS (Security Fee), etc. on the Chinese side, as well as ISF (Cargo Information Filing) and Customs Clearance Fees on the U.S. side. Freight rates vary greatly between ports of entry and exit, with basic ocean freight rates for exports from Shanghai being more than 1.8 times more expensive than those from Shenzhen!

Secondly, the calculation of tariffs is the key to accurately checking the HS Code of a product. When goods are imported into the U.S., they are subject to import duty according to the product category, and the duty rate depends on the product's HS code. You can use AI tools such as ChatGPT to make preliminary inquiries, and then go to the USITC website to confirm the duty rate. Take "Type C 60w charger" as an example, assuming the HS Code is 8507.60.00, the standard duty rate is 3.4%, plus the 301 duty rate of 7.5% and 25%, the total duty rate is up to 65.9%!

Lastly, the insurance premium is an important tool for risk prevention and capital security. The formula for calculating the premium is: Premium = Sum Insured x Rate, the sum insured is usually the invoice amount plus 10%, the rate depends on the type of cargo and other factors, usually 1/1000, the minimum premium threshold is USD$15.

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# Cross-border E-commerce Seller # Amazon Logistics # International Logistics # Tariff Calculation # Overseas Warehousing # Logistics Costs # Cross-border Exports # E-commerce Entrepreneurs