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Landed cost checklist: the twelve lines between a factory price and a usable room
A factory price is one line of twelve. Here is every cost between the factory and an installed room, who owns it and how to mark what is still unknown.
- A furniture quote from a factory usually covers one of twelve cost lines.
- International shipping costs break into six parts: domestic, transport, overseas, tax and duty, warehouse and delivery, install and clean-up.
- Mark every line as quoted, estimated, to confirm or excluded before you compare anything.
- Unload, carry-in and installation are the lines most often missing.
The cost that matters is the cost to a usable room, not the factory price. Between the two sit freight, insurance, duties, port charges, final-mile delivery, carry-in, installation and spare parts. A comparison is only fair when each of those has a status and an owner.
Sources: the cost structure in our freight partner’s shipping and delivery guide, and the cost sheet we use on our own projects. No tariff rates or freight prices are quoted here, because both change by product, date and destination.
What are the twelve lines?
We group them by where the money is spent. The first four are in Foshan, the next three leave China, two arrive at the destination and three happen at your door.
| Line | Basis | Usual owner |
|---|---|---|
| In Foshan | ||
| Product price | Per signed specification | Factory |
| Sourcing service fee | Method disclosed in writing | Sourcing agent |
| Samples and materials | Per sample plan | Factory |
| Quality checks | Per inspection plan | Agent or inspector |
| Leaving China | ||
| Packing and consolidation | Volume per item | Agent or forwarder |
| International freight | Quote date, currency, terms | Forwarder |
| Insurance | Policy holder and excess | Forwarder or buyer |
| Arriving | ||
| Duties, taxes and clearance | Product and destination | Importer of record |
| Destination port charges | Port and trade terms | Importer |
| At your door | ||
| Final-mile delivery, unload and carry-in | Postcode and site access | Local carrier or crew |
| Installation | Local labour | Local installer |
| Spare parts | Hardware, fabric, touch-up | Agent |
How does a freight quote break down?
A freight quote for furniture has six parts. Domestic expenses cover goods receipt, container loading, trucking, export declaration and local port surcharges. Transportation is the sea, land or air leg and its insurance. Overseas expenses are clearance, port charges and container pickup. Tax and duty are tariffs and VAT or GST. Warehouse and delivery covers devanning, tallying, loading and unloading. Install and clean-up is in-home delivery, unpacking, installation and taking the packaging away.
If a quote does not say which of the six it includes, it is not finished.
What status should each line carry?
Four, and only four. Quoted means a dated price from the party who will invoice it. Estimated means a figure with stated assumptions. To confirm means it depends on something not yet known, usually the destination. Excluded means nobody in the quote is doing it. A line with no status is the one that surprises you later.
What does a forwarder need to quote accurately?
- The delivery address and postcode, to assess floor, lift and access.
- The product list, to check duty categories and any certification or fumigation need.
- The product value, for duty and insurance.
- Packing list data: volume, weight and carton count.
What this means for an overseas buyer
Ask for the twelve lines before comparing a Foshan quote with a local one. Our own cost sheet is laid out this way on the Cost & Fit page, and the last three lines are expanded in the door matrix.
FAQ
Is DDP the same as “landed cost”?
No. DDP bundles duty and tax into the freight price to an address. It usually does not include carry-in or installation. See what DDP door to door includes.
Why are there no prices in this guide?
Because a freight rate or duty rate without a date, a product and a destination is not a fact. Amounts belong on a real, dated quote.
Which line is most often forgotten?
Carry-in and installation. They are local labour, they depend on stairs and lifts, and they are rarely in a factory or freight quote.
Next stepWorking through this for a real order? Send the item list and the destination.
