Which courier? (from China to Australia).

**charliee** · 01-12-2009 02:15 AM

Hey guys,

I did a quick search and there wasn't much info on this topic.

I was hoping some of you would be able to direct me towards a good courier. I will be bringing in individual LED lights from China as testing units (so very small packages), and was wondering what would be the best way to go about doing this, or the best company to set up an account with.

I have had experience importing cables from China with TNT couriers - however they charged me something like $250.00 for a small ~1kg package. Is there a cheaper alternative? I will be importing testers from many different manufacturers and I just don't want to blow a whole heap of cash on shipping or air freight. Once again this is from China to Australia (Victoria).

You all are the best resource I could think of - don't let me down guys!

Thank you in advance,
Charlie

**crackah** · 01-12-2009 03:00 AM

Hey buddy. Wont be much help but there must be something cheaper. Alot of parts I get from china (ebay) are $10-$20 AUD postage to vic.

**charliee** · 01-13-2009 08:54 PM

Thanks man that's helpful to know. A bit of a bump here, anyone able to help me out?

Thanks guys.

**TylerBakerllc** · 01-13-2009 09:06 PM

I use DHL for my international shipping. I haven't had a bad experience yet.

**pboychuk** · 01-13-2009 10:18 PM

I think their national post office is the best for a sample order, it may be called EMS. Not sure. But, I would never have something sent DHL or TNT, especially if it is being billed to my account, if you do want to use an express service, ask the sender for a quote or get a forwarder their rates are half of what I would pay if it was billed to recipient

**TylerBakerllc** · 01-13-2009 11:06 PM

I agree that you should use a forwarder to get the best rate, no doubt. But I use DHL for peace of mind and reliability, not because they are cheap. If you are in a hurry for your product/sample then I would use some other service than the Chinese postal service. China Posts' Express is very expensive and delivery time sometimes lag WAY behind (I am not sure why?!).

I didn't say that DHL was the cheapest, I simply said that I use them and that i have not had any problems when sending product samples from mainland China or Taiwan.

I tend to use several services, including Maresk for my STR containers.

**TheBigIdea** · 01-14-2009 09:05 AM

what abt EMS?

**leonyu** · 01-15-2009 02:04 PM

you need to find someone help you send the products-someone has contract with the courier-UPS/DHL/FEDEX/EMS/TNT, ALL, all couriers can provide some discount to contracted clients.

UPS give me 60% discount and EMS give me 40% discount.

So, the charge should be less than USD20.00 for your package.

**Aletheides** · 01-15-2009 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by leonyu

you need to find someone help you send the products-someone has contract with the courier-UPS/DHL/FEDEX/EMS/TNT, ALL, all couriers can provide some discount to contracted clients.

UPS give me 60% discount and EMS give me 40% discount.

So, the charge should be less than USD20.00 for your package.

Solid advice right there.

**charliee** · 01-16-2009 01:29 AM

Thanks for the help everyone. Just wondering what exactly a forwarder is as opposed to a courier? I looked up forwarder and it sounds very similar.

**rpermana** · 01-16-2009 02:24 AM

This is based on my understanding..

Courier usually used cargo plane.

Forwarder usually has contract with airlines. They usually ship their goods by passenger plane and with special rates.

Passenger plane freight cost is cheaper than cargo plane since the passenger has already paid most of them.. your goods is used to fill up the remaining weight that the plane can carry.

Forwarder has many customers, so they can consolidate all their customers' goods into one which may save cost.

But anyway, usually for me, I ask the supplier to send it to me. They know better because they have been doing this business... they might have connection also.

**charliee** · 01-16-2009 05:55 AM

thanks for that rpermana, very helpful. I'll speak more with my suppliers.

**davidqi** · 02-08-2009 08:46 PM

i think every suppliers have their courier with discount, you may ask them to help you. or you ask Leon to help you. I think he can help you to save money. good luck

**ctsong** · 02-08-2009 09:12 PM

I suggest to use courier that are mainly use in Australia that have service provide in china.

There are several courier companies in Australia which cover most of the land which is both sparsely populated and remote. Here are what i know of.

* Parcel Post
* Australian Air Express
* Pack and Send
* AusPost
* Toll / Ipec
* Startrack Express
* Fastway
* Airroad express
* DHL, FedEx, UPS, AFF
* Courier's Please
* TNT and Hunter Express.
* Allied
Seems like DHL, FedEx, UPS can be your other choice. To make your Courier even cheaper, as what others say find a few proper forwarder who have contact with the courier provider who can quotes you for the item you need to send. As all of them have discount with them, and is only how much are they going to charges you after the discount.

Other ways which i suggest can be to gather all of the sample together to make at least a CBM, find a door to door forwarder and ship it over.

**rpermana** · 03-04-2009 01:30 AM

just for your info, i just changed my courier service from DHL to TNT due to cheaper freight cost & better service. For DHL, i got to fill up AWB by myself.. but TNT, they fill up for me...Im from Singapore and my courier destination is Indonesia.

You should check from your side though. It could be different from mine.