How do I Ship to Amazon FBA?

Why Use Amazon FBA? What does FBA mean?

Shipping to Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is increasingly popular as more global traders seek to sell their goods across the globe on the worlds largest market place.

There are a few minor hurdles that you have to overcome and with Mannson freight Services Ltd being experts in delivering to Amazon FBA we are happy to assist you.

Amazon and EORI/Duties and VAT

With Amazon being a market place for your to sell your goods in the UK as opposed to an end use themselves they will not allow you to use their EORI number to enter goods through UK Customs, nor will they beat the duty and tax (VAT) charges.

However do not fear as it is very simple now for an overseas trader to apply for their own UK EORI number online and the process usually takes only 3-4 working days. Watch this short clip to tell you How to Get An EORI Number

Paying for Duties and VAT

As for paying the duties and taxes we are able to assist with this process by paying HMRC on your behalf. We can calculate the duties and taxes shortly before the vessel / flight arrives in UK and give you the figures to make payment to us so that we can in turn pay to HMRC using our deferment account with Customs.

What Is A Deferment Account?

A deferment account is simply an account with HMRC where they can deduct duties and taxes directly from this account at tie of clearance of goods.

Packing for Amazon FBA

Another consideration is packing. Amazon FBA depots in UK are very strict with pallet types and dimensions and will reject any deliveries that don't meet the criteria. Amazon will of course advise you of the full packing specifications at time of you placing your order.  We are aware that palletising shipments at origin can be expensive as you must use treated pallets (to ISPM 15 standard) for shipping to UK, also pallets take up additional room in FCL or for LCL shipping and that means higher freight costs.

How Can I Make Sure My Packing Meets The Amazon Criteria?

We can assist you by palletizing and wrapping goods to Amazon FBA specifications on arrival at UK port as well as labelling pallets.

Full Containers Amazon FBA - Guidelines

Remember that if you do load a full container with palletised goods for delivery directly to an Amazon FBA depot you must leave specific room between the last pallet loaded and the container doors to allow for Amazon FBA depot to get container onto loading bays and attach dock leveller safely. Again all of this information can be found in the information that Amazon will send to you.

We have a system for booking pallets and full container deliveries with Amazon depots adhering to their strict time slots and full booking procedures.

If you wish to obtain a quotation for our services relating to Amazon FBA deliveries, palletising/labelling, Customs clearance, shipping or any other services please contact sales@mannson.com .

How Do I Get An EORI Number?

How do I apply for an EORI number? 


We hear this question ALOT.


Quite simply if you do not have an EORI number, and are importing goods on a commercial basis, you cant get them into the country. You can read more about this on our previous blog.

Where Do I Start Getting An EORI Number?

The good news is that applying for an EORI number with HMRC is actually very simple. Once you have completed the online form and submitted to HMRC EORI team an EORI number is usually issued within 3-4 working day's.

What Is On The EORI Form? How do I fill out an EORI form?

As some of the questions on the form relate to vessel name / container number for your first shipment it is wise to wait until goods have departed from origin port, especially with the transit times from most origins to UK being well in excess of the time it takes for HMRC to issue you with an EORI number.

There may be occasions such as air freight shipments where you must apply for the EORI number prior to goods departing from origin and usually if you can not fill in a couple of fields relating to vessel / flight / container number etc. the EORI number will still be processed.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR LAST MIN SEA FREIGHT/AIR FREIGHT SHIPMENTS

It is important to realise if applying last minute for a sea freight shipment or if your first shipment is coming by air that once issued it can take a couple of days for the number to go live on the Customs CHIEF system meaning the freight agent who is handling your Customs clearance may not be able to clear your goods until this has happened.

Can I Apply for an EORI Number Online?

The link to apply for an EORI number is shown below:

https://www.gov.uk/eori

How Do I Get My Goods Custom Cleared?

We are able to assist you with Customs clearance for your goods arriving by sea or air, simply send an enquiry to sales@mannson.com for a quick and competitive price.

Need Shipping from Far East to UK? We have got it covered.

Global Freight Rates Rise in 2017

Are your shipping rates rising? Here's why:

http://www.lloydsloadinglist.com/freight-directory/news/Global-ocean-freight-rates-up-one-third-in-first-half-of-2017/69730.htm#.WWaD39KrRH2

Indian & Chinese Import and Export Rates - 2017 so far

The dawn of 2017 saw Container Freight prices start in robust fashion with both import rates from Asia and India to Europe staying strong as well as export rates rising due to reforming of strategic carrier alliances leading to space shortages. Maybe the real surprise for everyone involves with the industry was that these initially strong rates have continued at a similar level through to the third quarter, and if industry intelligence is to be believed may continue to increase or at least hold until the end of the year.

This new tougher stance by carriers has come as a blow to many importers in the UK who have enjoyed very low shipping costs from the Far East, S.E. Asia and Indian Sub-Continent to UK for the past 3-4 years. However it should be said that the shipping industry was itself suffering from the very low rates on offer for the previous years, and cracks were starting to emerge. The tipping point does seem to have been the declaration of Bankruptcy of #Hanjin Shipping in February 2017. Hanjin  were a major player in the containerised shipping trader since 1977, however the huge running costs twinned with dwindling container rates proved too much for the South Korean giant who eventually succumbed to the pressures of competition from even larger carriers and alliances.

In a clear act of necessity the remaining mega container carriers have looked at their own financial health and long term prospects and without exception decided that low balling rates and trying to kill off the competition is not the way to go. New alliances have been formed with carriers now operating in 3 main vessel sharing groups and freight rates have recovered to a healthy level for the carriers. Due to this the services on offer have improved in reliability which is itself beneficial to importers and the end users of their products.

Shipping with Mannson - Rates and Our View 

We at Mannson Freight believe that the restoration of freight rates is something that had to happen for the health of the carriers and therefore the strength and reliability of the services that we are happy to offer to our own clients. The good years of very low freight rates for importers were never maintainable in the long run as container freight was being offered sometimes at below 20% of cost. The industry should be stronger moving forward and this can only benefit our clients in the long run. Looking for costs for your next shipment? Need a price for a full or part load container? Door to door price for your shipment? Contact us on sales@mannson.com

How Do I Ship My Goods - What are Incoterms?

Making your first booking to ship goods from overseas can be very daunting. It isn't surprising the number of people trading internationally that do not know the basic meaning  of Incoterms. Incoterms are a set of international terms of sale that all shippers and consignees should be aware of. If you know what the term you are buying under means you will also know what else you will be responsible for in terms of transport costs, and will be able to avoid any nasty surprises. We are seeing an increasing number of people getting caught out by this, being told a value of their shipping and not being aware of costs at the other end. As a importer, you have a right to be able to arrange your own shipping of the goods.

The most common terms and their meanings are listed below...

CIF / C&F

Under the terms (CIF - Cost, Insurance, Freight) and (C&F - Cost and Freight) the shipper will be responsible for paying freight and charges up to an agreed point. For example if you are shipping goods from China to Belgium you may agree with your supplier your purchase goods under Incoterm "CIF Antwerp". In this case the supplier will nominate their own carrier and will ship goods to arrival Antwerp port. Supplier will include costs to get goods to Antwerp in his price to you under this term. If "CIF Antwerp" then supplier should also include cargo insurance (this should always be on door to door basis).

The tricky element of purchasing under CIF / C&F terms these days is that when goods arrive at destination port you have no idea what the carriers destination charges will be, and nowadays they can be much higher than the freight cost etc. We would always advise you when getting a CIF / C&F price for your goods to also press supplier to check with carrier and advise what the corresponding destination charges will be.

FOB

FOB means "Free on Board", which is to say that if you purchase from your supplier under this Incoterm your supplier will pay all charges at origin to the carrier. You will be responsible for paying the freight element (port to port or airport to airport), and the destination charges.

Why do business FOB? How do I organise my own shipment?

Due to the above mentioned problems with CIF / C&F terms FOB has become increasingly popular The main reason is that it is not open ended. You pay the supplier an FOB price in which they include the price for the product plus origin charges, then you pay the carrier a set price from port / airport of loading to your door. The only charges that are not covered are usually duties, taxes and any form of customs intervention which as the importer of the goods you should be aware of anyway.

With FOB you also nominate the carrier that the supplier uses giving you control over your shipping. 

Ex Works

Ex works is as it sounds a price that the supplier will give for products only, meaning that you will pay the full cost of shipping the goods from the factory at origin to your door. The down side of this Incoterm is that on every occasion your nominated carrier / freight forwarder will have to revert to their origin partners for clarification of local charges for your specific order. This can often cause a delay of 1-2 days while you wait for a price to approve prior to arranging shipment. Remember with FOB your suppliers price already includes local charges at origin and your carrier / freight forwarder  should be able to quote you a price from FOB to your door (port to door) straight away.

There are more terms of sale (Incoterms) out there, above are just the main three in use today. For a more complete listing please feel free to visit our website www.mannson.com and go to the resource centre where you will find "A rough guide to Incoterms".