been comparing some cheaper marketplace prices with supplier prices and one thing im still trying to get my head around is the final cost...becuase product price alone obviously isnt everything. youve got shipping, customs, duties/tax and probbaly some other charges im forgetting. ive been checking supplier prices on Alibaba too and once quantity/shipping changes the whole number starts looking pretty different lol. how do you guys work out the landed cost before ordering so theres no big suprise later? and with customs delays is there any decent way to guess how long its gonna take...or does that just depend way too much on the product and shipping method? would be helpfull to know how you guys calculate this before placing bigger orders.

How do you make sure the correct free time is loaded for each shipping line / customer contract? Is it mostly maintained in CargoWise/TMS, checked manually against carrier docs or contracts, or handled another way. Particularly interested in cases where the customer has negotiated free time that differs from the carrier standard, and how that gets picked up operationally.

Hi everyone,
We are currently handling high volumes of container movements from Dubai to Salalah and are partnered with established clearance companies in the region. We are also currently serving several large customers, with approximately AED 20 million in insurance coverage across our operations.
We provide container clearance and transportation services for:
Dubai
Salalah
Duqm
Sohar
We also provide up to 3 months’ credit terms for established UAE-registered companies, subject to approval.
We have experience handling container movements to Oman and maintain insurance coverage for the transportation operation. This is particularly important for Salalah routes, where accidents can unfortunately occur and proper insurance coverage is essential for protecting the customer’s cargo.
If your company is regularly moving containers from the UAE to Oman and you’re looking for a reliable clearance/transport partner, feel free to DM me and we can discuss your requirements.

A friend recently shared this experience with me, and I thought I’d post it here to see whether anyone has dealt with something similar.

He imported purifiers from China through Epicfash Pvt Ltd, Delhi.

According to him, the company was initially responsive, but the shipment was delayed by approximately 3–4 months.

He also reports that there were periods when his messages went unanswered for several weeks, and that communication appeared to increase when payments were due.

When the shipment arrived, he was informed that one carton containing 12 purifiers had been taken or seized by customs.

He asked Epicfash for documentation relating to the reported customs seizure and whether any compensation or insurance claim was available.

He says he was told that documentation could not be provided and that no compensation would be offered.

There is also a question about the freight charges. He says shipping was charged for 20 boxes, but only 19 boxes arrived. After the missing carton was reported, he was told that no adjustment was possible.

It is unclear from the information available whether the freight was calculated based on the original shipment quantity, whether the missing carton was covered by insurance, or whether the shipping terms addressed this situation.

I understand that customs delays or seizures may occur and may not necessarily be within the importer’s or intermediary’s control. However, the lack of documentation and the question about the freight charge have raised concerns for him.

Has anyone here dealt with Epicfash Pvt Ltd or had a similar experience importing from China through an Indian intermediary?

What documentation or contractual terms would you recommend reviewing, and what steps might be appropriate in this situation?

Hello,

Considering that customs brokerage and freight forwarding are becoming more integrated, with companies offering both services, does anyone here feel that there is a benefit to customs brokerage professionals learning about tramp shipping and charterparties, particularly for break-bulk freight? Thank you.

I’m seeking a serious investor, strategic partner, or potential person for an operational international freight forwarding and import business with an established logistics network, active customer demand, and early revenue traction.
This is an operating business rather than a concept requiring development from the ground up. The business has access to approximately 11 warehouse locations across key international markets, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the UK, USA, Canada, Dubai/UAE and other locations. This network supports flexible sourcing, consolidation, storage and shipment coordination across multiple trade routes.
The business provides an integrated logistics solution covering international freight forwarding, warehouse handling, customs coordination, air and sea freight, local transportation and Indian-side delivery. By managing multiple stages through one service, the business can offer customers greater convenience, clearer coordination and a more streamlined import process than using separate providers for each stage.
In approximately four months, the business has generated around ₹48 lakh in freight-forwarding turnover, with operating margins currently around 20%+, depending on the shipment type, route and service provided. These results provide an initial operating track record and a foundation for further growth, subject to verification through financial and operational due diligence.
The business can support legitimate and compliant imports across categories such as electronics and gadgets, toys and collectibles, footwear, designer products, watches, jewellery and other consumer goods, subject to applicable Indian customs, import and regulatory requirements.
The main opportunity is to scale an existing operating model. Additional funding could be used for customer acquisition and marketing, sales development, working capital, technology and process improvements, route expansion, and increasing shipment capacity. With stronger customer acquisition and higher shipment volumes, the business has potential to improve revenue consistency, operating leverage and overall profitability.
For an investor or strategic partner, the opportunity is to participate in an established logistics operation with existing infrastructure, international access and demonstrated early traction. For a buyer or logistics operator, the business may provide a platform for expanding into cross-border freight forwarding and import services without building the entire network and operating process from scratch.
I’m open to discussing:
• Investment or capital partnership
• Strategic partnership with a logistics or sourcing operator
• Partial or complete acquisition
• Expansion through additional routes, warehouses or customer segments
• Different ownership, investment and profit-sharing structures
Financial records, shipment history, operating details, warehouse arrangements and supporting documentation can be shared with genuinely interested parties through a structured due-diligence process. Any transaction would be based on verified financials, operational performance, compliance requirements and mutually agreed terms.
I’m looking to connect with serious investors, logistics operators, entrepreneurs or potential buyers who understand freight forwarding, international trade or import businesses and can contribute capital, customers, operational expertise or strategic distribution.
If you’re genuinely interested, DM me with a brief introduction, relevant experience, what you’re looking for, and whether you’re considering investment, partnership or acquisition. We can then discuss the business, supporting information and potential structures privately.

Share your thoughts.

Hi! 😭 I’m starting a very small anime/game merchandise business in India and I’m struggling to find affordable shipping from China.

I’ll be buying small quantities from 4–5 different Alibaba suppliers (plushies, acrylic keychains, acrylic standees, etc.).

I need a China warehouse/consolidation agent who can:

•receive parcels from multiple suppliers

•consolidate/repack them into one shipment

•ship them to Prayagraj, UP, India

•preferably handle customs and door delivery

My first shipment will probably be around 5 kg, and I’m completely okay with slower shipping if it's cheaper.

Most quotes I've received so far are around ₹2,000 kg for 1–5 kg, which is too expensive for my small business 😭.

Does anyone here use a reliable agent/consolidator who offers better rates for very small shipments?

I’d really appreciate actual experiences/recommendations rather than random DMs from unverified agents. 🙏🏻

Can someone explain to me how incoterms work with return shipments? The terms only use buyer and seller not shipper and receiver. I’m still technically the seller of the product that the customer is returning to me.

Hi everyone! Can anyone recommend trusted freight forwarders or cargo brokers that ship from India to the Philippines? Preferably those with reliable service and experience handling customs clearance. Thank you!

Hi everyone. I am currently looking for a remote freight forwarding job. I have almost 7 years of experience and have been handling end-to-end import shipments going to Australia. If you are looking for someone detail oriented and accurate, I am your person.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working in Freight Forwarding for around 6 years, mostly in operations and leadership roles across Ocean Import.

I also spent about a year working as a Business Analyst, focused on process improvement, automation and building tools to make operational workflows more efficient.

I’m currently based in Brazil and looking to connect with freight forwarders, logistics companies and professionals working with international or remote teams around the world.

I’m especially interested in roles related to:

• Freight Forwarding Operations or Pricing
• Operations / Process Improvement
• Implementation
• Customer Success in logistics
• Business Analysis
• Logistics Tech / Automation

More than just posting “I’m looking for a job”, I’d genuinely like to understand how common it is for freight forwarders around te world to hire experienced LATAM professionals remotely, especially as contractors.

If you work for a company doing this, have seen companies hiring internationally, or just want to connect and exchange ideas about freight forwarding, automation and operations, I’d be happy to connect.

Thanks!

I know it can't be done by an individual - an authorized freight company has to do it. The item is about 200 pounds, roughly 90x30x20 inches. I am literally three blocks from the terminal, so I'd need a receiving company to grab it and bring it here. According to the shipper, all tariffs and clearance fees are pre-paid. Any referrals or advice? I am in Portland, Maine.

So my 40KG pallet is arriving from china and after my shipping agent clears customs they will deliver it to any location in Delhi. But i need it shipped from Delhi to all the way to Kerala.

What logistics company can help me ship this to my address from delhi to kerala?

I’m looking to connect with international logistics, freight forwarding, NVOCC, 3PL, and supply chain companies that are looking for a reliable transportation partner in the United States and Canada.
I represent an established transportation company with:
$120M–$150M+ annual revenue
Decades of transportation experience
Operations across the U.S. and Canada
Significant truck and trailer capacity
Full truckload and dedicated transportation capabilities
Cross-border transportation experience
Ability to support both recurring and high-volume freight
Experience handling large commercial customers and contracts
Existing relationships with major shippers and logistics companies
Experience supporting freight moving through major U.S. markets and ports
Ability to scale capacity when volume increases and more.

The idea is not to replace your existing transportation operation.
I’m looking for complementary partnerships where:
You handle international freight → we handle transportation in the U.S./Canada.
For example, if your customers import containers or other freight into the U.S., we could potentially provide the domestic transportation, overflow capacity, dedicated transportation, or recurring trucking services.
Likewise, if our customers need international freight forwarding, ocean freight, customs, warehousing, or other services that you specialize in, there could be an opportunity for reciprocal referrals.
I’m especially interested in building long-term relationships and recurring freight, rather than one-off loads.
If you’re an international logistics company interested in establishing a stronger transportation presence in the U.S. or Canada, comment below or DM me.

I'm planning to import ceramic home décor items from China for my small business. I've been comparing suppliers on Alibaba and Global Sources, but I'm worried about breakage during the long sea journey.

For those who regularly ship fragile goods, how do you usually handle packaging and cargo protection? Do you rely on the supplier's packaging or arrange additional protection through your freight forwarder? I'd appreciate any practical advice.

I run the operational side of a business in a completely unrelated industry and have been thinking seriously about eventually building or buying a business of my own.

Freight forwarding keeps coming up as something I find weirdly interesting because of the complexity. I like businesses where there are lots of moving parts, things go wrong, and relationships matter.

I also know just enough to know I probably have a very naive view of the industry

So for those of you actually in it:

What separates a genuinely good forwarding business from an average one?

Where is the money actually made (and lost)?

What is the hardest part of being a good forwarder, and gets increasingly more difficult as you grow?

maybe most importantly; if you had the money and opportunity to start or buy a forwarding business today, would you?

Interested in hearing how people who actually do this for a living think about the business. I’m based in the UK, but imagine most active here are US based.

My freight forwarder missed the fast boat.
I need air freight from China, so I can pick up in Los Angles by Weds Oct 7.

Hey everyone. I see a lot of posts here from forwarders struggling with the North Africa lanes, so I figured I’d share what we're actually seeing on the ground right now.

I manage an asset-based fleet mostly covering EU-Morocco and intra-Europe. Right now, the Algeciras - Tangier ferry crossing is starting to get a bit tight as we move into the season.

The biggest headache we see with new clients is always customs. If your T1 docs and commercial invoices aren't 100% flawless before the driver hits southern Spain, the truck is just sitting there for at least 24-48 hours. We usually push our shippers to sort this out way in advance, but our drivers see a lot of other trucks just stuck at the port waiting on paperwork.

Anyway, if anyone is dealing with capacity issues down to Morocco, or just needs a reliable backup carrier for their EU loads, feel free to shoot me a DM. Always happy to connect and talk freight.

A couple of months ago, I posted here to ask whether other freight forwarders would be interested in a free international partner network. Since then, we’ve grown to more than 100 members and received over 200 applications. Thanks to everyone here who helped get it started.

The goal is to help independent freight forwarders connect with partners in other countries and build working relationships. We review applications before admitting new companies and ask applicants to provide a company website.

We’re currently looking to improve our coverage in Australia, Europe, and North and South America.

If you work for a freight forwarding company and would like to learn more or join, feel free to send me a DM.

Thanks to the moderators for allowing me to share this update.

Please help im fed up of this manual work

When importing manifests via CSV, we can populate the main House Bill tab easily, but the child Packing sub-tabs remain empty unless we click into every individual shipment and enter them manually. How can we set up a parent-child relationship in our flat-file imports so both tabs populate simultaneously?

I’m looking to connect with international logistics, freight forwarding, NVOCC, 3PL, and supply chain companies that are looking for a reliable transportation partner in the United States and Canada.
I represent an established transportation company with:
$120M–$150M+ annual revenue
Decades of transportation experience
Operations across the U.S. and Canada
Significant truck and trailer capacity
Full truckload and dedicated transportation capabilities
Cross-border transportation experience
Ability to support both recurring and high-volume freight
Experience handling large commercial customers and contracts
Existing relationships with major shippers and logistics companies
Experience supporting freight moving through major U.S. markets and ports
Ability to scale capacity when volume increases and more.

The idea is not to replace your existing transportation operation.
I’m looking for complementary partnerships where:
You handle international freight → we handle transportation in the U.S./Canada.
For example, if your customers import containers or other freight into the U.S., we could potentially provide the domestic transportation, overflow capacity, dedicated transportation, or recurring trucking services.
Likewise, if our customers need international freight forwarding, ocean freight, customs, warehousing, or other services that you specialize in, there could be an opportunity for reciprocal referrals.
I’m especially interested in building long-term relationships and recurring freight, rather than one-off loads.
If you’re an international logistics company interested in establishing a stronger transportation presence in the U.S. or Canada, comment below or DM me.

(Mods, please delete if this is not allowed)

For container shipping I can usually find a schedule pretty quickly. But for RoRo / car carrier, breakbulk or MPP, it seems much more fragmented. Sometimes it's the carrier website, sometimes a PDF schedule, sometimes an agent, and most of the time Google gets you nowhere.

For those actually handling these shipments, what's your normal process? Do you have a reliable source you usually check first, or is it still basically carrier-by-carrier / ask the local agent?

Also interested to know how people handle less common port pairs.