Import from China to Delaware USA

The practical consequence is that customs entry and brokerage costs are now largely fixed per shipment rather than per unit. Importing in bulk into a US warehouse and fulfilling domestically pays those costs once instead of on every parcel — which is why holding US stock has stopped being an optimisation and started being the default.

Shipping from China: Methods and Timings

Method	Typical transit to US East Coast	Best for
Sea freight FCL (full container)	30–40 days port to port	Full container volumes; lowest cost per unit
Sea freight LCL (shared container)	35–45 days, plus deconsolidation	Pallet-scale volumes
Air freight	5–10 days	High-value or urgent restocks
Express courier	3–6 days	Samples and small first orders

East Coast entry ports — New York/Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore — put a Delaware warehouse within short drayage distance. If your supplier quotes to a West Coast port by default, ask for an East Coast routing comparison; the ocean leg is longer but the inland leg is much shorter, and for East Coast fulfilment the total is often better.

Documentation You Will Need

• Commercial invoice — accurate values. Under-declaring was always risky; now that every entry is formal, it is materially riskier.
• Packing list matching the invoice line for line.
• Bill of lading (sea) or air waybill.
• HTS classification — the 10-digit code that determines your duty rate. Get this right at the start; reclassification later is painful.
• Customs bond — a continuous bond is usually cheaper than single-entry bonds once you import more than a few times a year.
• Product-specific certification where applicable: FDA, FCC, CPSC and others depending on category.

Duty Rates Change — Check Yours

US tariff treatment of Chinese-origin goods has moved repeatedly and continues to. Any specific rate quoted in an article — including this one — risks being out of date by the time you read it.

What to do instead: get your 10-digit HTS code confirmed by a customs broker, then check the current rate against that code before you commit to an order. The difference between two adjacent classifications can be several percentage points on every unit you will ever import.

Shipping Direct from Your Supplier to Us

You do not need to touch the goods. Your supplier ships to our Claymont, Delaware address; we receive, count, photograph and log everything within 24 hours, then prep to your specification.

For container deliveries, contact us in advance so we can schedule dock time. Carton and parcel receiving is free; pallet receiving is $25.00 per pallet; container receiving is quoted individually.

FBA prep runs $0.69–$2.00 per unit by monthly volume. Storage is $5.00 per pallet per day tiered down to $2.00, or $5.00 per cubic foot per month for cartons.

Tariff Position — Reviewed 5 September 2026

US tariff policy has moved repeatedly since 2025: Section 232 measures on metals and derivative goods, country-specific layers introduced, amended and challenged in court, and further changes still working through. Any specific rate we printed here would be wrong within weeks.

So here is the durable version. What you pay on a shipment from China is decided by three things: your product's 10-digit HTS classification, its country of origin (where it was made, not where it shipped from), and whatever additional duty layers are in force on the date of entry. Only a licensed customs broker can give you the number that will actually apply, and it should be confirmed close to shipment rather than at the planning stage.

What we can tell you with confidence is the direction: duty and entry costs are now charged per shipment, not per parcel. That is what makes bulk import into a US warehouse cheaper than cross-border parcels, whatever the headline rate turns out to be.

What Your Forwarder Must Send With the Goods

Missing paperwork is the most common reason a shipment sits at the port at your expense. Before anything leaves China, make sure your supplier or forwarder has:

• Commercial invoice — value, currency, Incoterm, and a description a customs officer can match to an HTS code. Vague descriptions cause holds.
• Packing list — carton count, dimensions, gross and net weight per carton. We reconcile against this at receiving.
• HTS classification for every line, confirmed by your broker rather than guessed by the factory.
• Importer of Record details — your EIN or your broker's arrangement. Without an IOR nothing clears.
• Customs bond — single-entry for a one-off, continuous if you import regularly. A continuous bond usually pays for itself by the third shipment.
• ISF filing for ocean freight, submitted at least 24 hours before the container is loaded. Late filings carry penalties that dwarf the filing fee.
• Power of attorney to your broker, signed before the goods sail rather than while they wait.

A Landed-Cost Example

Numbers make the argument better than adjectives. Take 1,000 units at a $6.00 factory cost, shipped from China in one consignment:

Line	Per unit	1,000 units
Factory cost	$6.00	$6,000
Freight and drayage to Claymont	$0.85	$850
Duty (assumed 10% for illustration)	$0.60	$600
FBA prep at the 1,000-unit tier	$0.99	$990
Landed cost	$8.44	$8,440

The duty line is an illustration, not a quote — substitute your own rate once your broker has classified the product. What the table shows regardless of that number is the shape of the cost: freight and prep are per unit and predictable, and the entry costs behind the duty line are paid once for the whole consignment rather than on each of a thousand parcels.

Storage sits outside this table because it depends on how long the stock rests. Our warehouse sizing guide works that part through, and the cost calculator runs your own volume.

What We See Go Wrong on Arrival from China

These are the four issues our receiving team logs most often on shipments from China. None of them are exotic; all of them cost a day or two when they are found at our dock instead of at the factory:

1. Master carton counts that do not match the packing list. The most common single discrepancy we log, and it is almost always a short-ship rather than a counting error at our end — which is why we photograph the pallet before it is broken down.
2. Carton markings in Chinese only. US carriers and Amazon fulfilment centres need English shipping marks; cartons that arrive with only Chinese text have to be relabelled before they can move.
3. Poly bags with no suffocation warning. Factories bag by habit, not by Amazon's rule, and the warning is often missing on bags with a five-inch opening or larger.
4. FNSKU labels printed at the wrong scale. If the factory prints with "fit to page" enabled, the barcode's quiet zone narrows and it scans on a desk but not on a belt.

Every one of these is cheaper to fix before the goods sail. Send us a photo of a packed carton and a copy of the packing list before your first shipment and we will tell you what will not pass.

When Holding US Stock Does Not Pay

The honest counter-case, because it exists. Bulk import into a US warehouse stops making sense when:

• Volume is low and value is high. Under roughly 200 units a month on an expensive item, the capital tied up in stock costs more than the per-parcel savings.
• The product is a one-off drop. A single seasonal run that sells out in three weeks may genuinely be better served by direct shipping.
• Demand is untested. Prove the listing with a small consignment before committing a container. We would rather receive 200 units twice than 5,000 units once and watch them age.

If your situation is one of these, say so when you contact us and we will tell you honestly rather than sell you storage you do not need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still ship under $800 duty-free from China to the US?
No. De minimis ended for China and Hong Kong on 2 May 2025 and for all countries on 29 August 2025. Every commercial shipment now requires formal entry and full duty payment.

How long does sea freight from China to Delaware take?
Typically 30–40 days port to port for a full container, plus customs clearance and short inland drayage from an East Coast port.

Do I need a customs bond to import from China?
Yes for formal entries. A continuous bond is usually cheaper than single-entry bonds if you import more than a few times a year.

Can my Chinese supplier ship directly to your warehouse?
Yes. Give them our Claymont, Delaware address. We log and photograph every inbound shipment within 24 hours. Contact us in advance for containers so we can schedule dock time.

What duty rate will I pay on Chinese goods?
It depends on your 10-digit HTS classification, and rates have changed repeatedly. Have a customs broker confirm your code, then check the current rate against it before ordering.