Costs & payment

The unit price a factory quotes is rarely the number that matters. What matters is the landed cost: the price of good product, delivered and duty-paid, at your door.

These guides cover how to build up a landed price, the costs that get missed until they appear on an invoice, how to pay suppliers without carrying unnecessary risk, and which levers actually reduce cost rather than just moving it.

Understanding your landed priceLanded price is what one sellable unit costs by the time it is in your warehouse: goods, freight, duty, clearance and delivery, plus tooling spread across the run, divided by the units you can actually sell.5 min readHow to pay Chinese suppliers safelyThe common payment methods, when each fits, and the simple checks that prevent most payment fraud.6 min readThe hidden costs of importing (and how to avoid them)The factory price is only the start. Here are the costs that catch importers out, and how to see them before they bite.5 min readNegotiating price and terms with factoriesNegotiation is about more than squeezing the unit price. Here are the levers that actually move a deal.5 min readPractical ways to reduce your import costsThe levers that genuinely lower your landed cost from China — without cutting corners on quality.6 min read