Hi All,

I've had a few things imported from China and since the weight has always been around 5 kilos or so, I've had shipped DHL. However, now I'm ordering a larger quantity and things will be shipped by sea.

The factory that I'm working with wants to know which "discharge port" I'm using, which leads to this question: "How do products shipped from China arrive in Switzerland ?".

Which sea port do they arrive at ? Do I have to indicate this ?
How do they arrive in Switzerland ? Where do they enter ? (Basel ?)
And how do they arrive to me once in Switzerland ? (Swiss post ?)

I'm a neophyte with regards to this. I probably should have found these answers before making the first payment

Thanks for your help.

Who is doing the shipping? They are the ones who will know that. Either the company you are buying from has a shipping company they use or you have to contract a shipping company to go get the stuff from the warehouse.

It seems you are missing a step.

Do yourself a favour and only finalise the order when you have figured out the transport - it can get very expensive if you leave the transport to it's own device...

You need to contact a shipping agent / forwarder / import agent PDQ...

Otherwise, there's usually something in the contract that says where you have to take delivery. That's also the point from which the shipment is at your risks and perils. What does it say in yours? Does it say "EXW"? That's bad, because then you have to take delivery at the factory. Or is it FOB <name of port>? Then your goods will be delivered on a ship at that port - it's your responsibility to organise the ship and the onward transport to Switzerland. If you can, get DDP (delivery duty paid = stuff arrives at your place, duty paid and all) terms next time, although this is difficult to achieve esp for a small volume customer.

Generally from the Far East it would be Rotterdam, Hamburg or Antwerp.

If it is a whole container you could have it shipped direct to Embrach-Embraport which is a duty free area; you pay duty when you collect it.

As it was written before, you should organize your shipment through a transport company, otherwise you will have a load of paperwork. Be careful with the choice. Often, the price looks favorable to Europe, but then they deliver only to Europe (such as Rotterdamm) and the way to Switzerland can become very expensive then. Select a company who directly imports to Switzerland. (z.B. Fracht AG Basel). They will organize as well, that you can send your items in a collection container, if you do not have a container full of goods ordered. From China, they have weekly broadcasts from diffrent ports. Prices are fair. Service is good. Be sure to agree with your China company at least a FOB delivery (free on bord INCOTERMS)

All the shipping company has an agent worldwide .

the shipping company should send you the bill of lading which you will need later for custom clearance through their agent at your local country .

your port is your address whatever where you live , once the goods arrived you will deal with their agent at Switzerland for custom clearance .

* other case if they have not agent at Switzerland the nearest agent of them will deal with you for example France, Germany .. and of course they will deliver the goods to your local address here at Switzerland.you must understand that the shipping cost you paid include the deliverance till your physical address .

Very misleading; the shipping company will only release the BL once freight has been paid and they will only release to the shipper unless otherwise instructed with suitable guarantees to release elsewhere. You will need to pay your shipper who in turn pays the freight, gets the BL released and will send this to you with any other original doxs..cert of origin,inspection doxs, insurance policies, original invoices etc etc.

If you don't know what you are doing, and it's patently obvious that you don't, get a forwarder, pay him and have him do it fou. By trying to do it yourself, you'll get totaly shafted and pay 3 times a s much.

See how the forwarder does it, learn and then maybe try yourself after you've imported a few boxes, otherewise just let the forwarder do his job, pay him and you get on with your job which is selling the contents of the box, not importing formalities.

I totally agree with you. Goods to import specifically from China, is not so easy, it's better be done by a professional shipper, otherwise you can expect unpleasent surprises and cost.

Most people don't know INCOTERMS. Please explain.

Attached you will find the most important terms

INCOTERMS as explained in Wiki

Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport

The four rules defined by Incoterms 2010 for international trade where transportation is entirely conducted by water are:

FAS – Free Alongside Ship (named port of shipment)
The seller must place the goods alongside the ship at the named port. The seller must clear the goods for export. Suitable only for maritime transport but NOT for multimodal sea transport in containers (see Incoterms 2010, ICC publication 715). This term is typically used for heavy-lift or bulk cargo.

FOB – Free on Board (named port of shipment)
The seller must load the goods on board the vessel nominated by the buyer. Cost and risk are divided when the goods are actually on board of the vessel (this rule is new!). The seller must clear the goods for export. The term is applicable for maritime and inland waterway transport only but NOT for multimodal sea transport in containers (see Incoterms 2010, ICC publication 715). The buyer must instruct the seller the details of the vessel and the port where the goods are to be loaded, and there is no reference to, or provision for, the use of a carrier or forwarder. This term has been greatly misused over the last three decades ever since Incoterms 1980 explained that FCA should be used for container shipments.

CFR – Cost and Freight (named port of destination)
Seller must pay the costs and freight to bring the goods to the port of destination. However, risk is transferred to the buyer once the goods are loaded on the vessel (this rule is new!). Maritime transport only and Insurance for the goods is NOT included. This term is formerly known as CNF (C&F).

CIF – Cost, Insurance and Freight (named port of destination)
Exactly the same as CFR except that the seller must in addition procure and pay for the insurance. Maritime transport only.

As the OP has stated in his first post
The factory that I'm working with wants to know which "discharge port" I'm using, which leads to this question: "How do products shipped from China arrive in Switzerland ?".
I assume the factory will take care of transportation in the sense they will act as agents to deliver and they want to know the port. You need to check if they will accept as Basel or just Rotterdam, Hamburg etc and then you have to get in touch with another agent to have the container delivered to Basel or have it transported to your base via truck. OP has to make full/part payment or give a bank guarantee(depending of conditions) to have container placed on board vessel and if bank guarantee has been given then the container will be released after payment is made.
You should check with shipping companies like Maersk, APL, Evergreen, MSC, Hapag Loyd etc for transportation and they can advise you on the agents as well. Lot of companies have office in Geneva and they can help you out. Possibility of having two agents i.e one in China and one for on arrival in Europe should not be ruled out and having agents handle for you will be far more easier. Once the container is shipped out of China get the tracking number and name of ship so that you can track same on net.