- Engineering note
Import Customs Clearance: A New Buyer's Plain Introduction
What customs clearance means when goods cross a border, the words you should know, and why the buyer needs at least the shape of it.
- HS code
- the shared classification number for a product across countries; wrong here ripples into duties and delays
- Duties and taxes
- what you owe the importing country, set by that code and the origin paperwork
- Broker or agent
- the person licensed to clear goods for you, paid for their service not per surprise
- Engineering note
Mixed Pallet or Single SKU? A First-Order Decision
The first wholesale order is a bet on what sells. How mixed pallets and single-SKU depth split the risk differently — and what each one costs that is not money.
- First order at a new point of sale
- mixed, wide, shallow — the assortment is the experiment
- Second order of anything
- whatever your own shelf data picked, bought deeper
- Seasonal or trend items
- mixed regardless of order number; depth is a luxury for staples
- Engineering note
EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP: What Each Price Commits You To
The four quotation terms buyers and suppliers meet on — what each price includes, where risk transfers, and which unowned legs hide the surprise fees.
- EXW (ex works)
- the lowest price and the most journey: from the factory door onward, all yours
- FOB (free on board, origin)
- supplier delivers aboard at the origin port — ocean and home country legs are yours
- CIF (cost, insurance, freight)
- supplier pays ship and insurance to your port — your import customs is still yours
- Engineering note
The Order Contract Checklist Before You Sign
Points a new buyer should confirm in a purchase order before signing — delivery, quality bar, what-if clauses — so the paper matches the deal you want.
- Delivery date and deadline
- the ship date and any penalty for missing it, tied to real calendar days
- Quality bar
- what counts as good — approved sample, accepted specs, tolerances — not just 'as usual'
- Shipping terms
- who pays which leg and where risk changes hands, stated via the agreed incoterm
- Engineering note
Pre-Shipment Inspection: The Cheap Second Pair of Eyes
What a pre-shipment inspection actually checks, when to do it in the production calendar, and the three defect classes worth paying for.
- Quantity and packing errors
- wrong counts, wrong mixed ratios — found at sea they become your stock shortage
- Workmanship drift from the approved sample
- finish, colour, assembly: compared against the golden sample, not feelings
- Carton marks against paperwork
- the mismatch that stops a customs clearance is usually on the box
- Engineering note
Reading Wholesale Prices: Unit Cost, MOQ, Mixed Case
What a price ladder is really selling, what a minimum order quantity ties up, and when a mixed case beats a single-SKU pallet for a small retailer.
- Sell-through rate of the item
- decides whether a cheaper unit price is cheaper at all
- Cash cycle of the shop
- decides how deep the MOQ can be
- Shelf or warehouse space
- decides how long bulk can sit without becoming a problem
- Engineering note
From Sample to First Order: The Inspection List
A sample approved at your desk is not the goods you will receive. What to check on the sample, what to write into the order, and what to inspect on arrival.
- On the sample
- measure and photograph everything that matters; nothing on a shelf unmeasured
- Before shipment
- random units from finished cartons, not a pre-selected box — catches the difference between line and showroom
- On arrival
- carton count, weights, damage photos against the packing list, before shelving
- Engineering note
Trade Assurance for New Buyers: What It Covers
What trade assurance signals mean between a new buyer and a verified supplier on a B2B sourcing platform, and where that protection stops.
- Payment safety
- money held mid-flight, released only when both parties sign off on the delivery
- On-time ship
- missed deadlines trigger a refund path tied to the shipping date on the contract
- Product conformance
- quality issues you can document against the agreed specs are part of the claim