Importing bottles from China is four separate decisions, not one: what your supplier must put on the import data sheet, how the payment is staged, when the goods ship around China’s holiday calendar, and who carries the freight under each incoterm. Get those four right and a first shipment is routine. Below is the structure we work to.
Quick answer
- Ask your supplier for a 14-field import data sheet before you book anything; most delays are missing fields, not missing bottles.
- 30/70 is the market default. 50/50 suits repeat orders, 40/60 is negotiable, and no buyer should pay 100% before loading.
- Price FOB or CIF and you control freight. DDP costs more but removes the freight, duty and clearance argument from your desk.
What 14 fields does your supplier have to give you before you can import?
Customs does not ask your supplier anything. Your broker, your freight forwarder and your customs declarant each ask you for the same data, usually on the same day, in slightly different words. If one field is missing, the container sits. These are the fourteen we send before a first shipment leaves.
| # | Field | Why your side needs it | Common failure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supplier legal name and address as it appears on the invoice | Must match the exporter record exactly | A trading company name sent instead of the factory’s registered name |
| 2 | Product description in words, not a model code | Goes onto the declaration | Only a drawing number is supplied |
| 3 | Currency of the invoice | Decides your currency exposure and duty valuation | Mixed currencies across components on one order |
| 4 | Incoterm and named place, such as FOB Shenzhen rather than just FOB | Decides where risk and cost transfer | “FOB” written with no port |
| 5 | HS code or tariff heading, with the national sub-heading if asked | Drives the duty rate and any restrictions | A heading stated without supporting evidence |
| 6 | Certificate of origin: applicable yes or no | A “no” removes the preferential rate option | Left blank so nobody has to answer |
| 7 | Dangerous goods: yes or no | Triggers separate freight and documentation rules | Not answered because the bottle is empty |
| 8 | Total shipment gross weight including pallets | Freight is charged on weight or volume, whichever is greater | Net weight sent instead of gross |
| 9 | Gross weight per carton | Used to check the container weight plan | Only a total weight given |
| 10 | Units per carton | Drives carton count, pallet count and arrival counts | “About 40” instead of a fixed number |
| 11 | Total number of cartons | Cross-check against the quantity ordered | Derived but never confirmed |
| 12 | Units per pallet | Shows how the pallet was built | Not stated |
| 13 | Pallet dimensions, length x width x height | Confirms the pallet fits the container | An oversized pallet quoted for a standard container |
| 14 | Number of pallets | Final volume check before booking | Stated per carton by mistake |
Three more lines travel with the same sheet: the quantity being shipped in this lot, the mode (sea, air or courier), and the port of loading. A sheet without a port of loading cannot be turned into a booking, and a quantity field that says “annual” cannot be cleared.
Why do payment terms decide who carries the risk?
Payment terms are not a courtesy. They decide who is exposed if the goods are late, short, damaged or never shipped. The percentage you pay before loading is, roughly, the amount of risk you hand over.
| Structure | Buyer pays | Supplier is exposed for | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% before production | Everything up front | Nothing | Rarely accepted for a first order; occasionally for repeat business |
| 30 / 70 | 30% after the purchase order, 70% after loading | Raw material and labour already spent | The market default for a first order |
| 50 / 50 | Half before production, half before loading | Half the order value | Harder to get on a first order; common once you have a record |
| 40 / 60 | 40% after the purchase order, 60% one week after the vessel departs | Most of the order value | A realistic middle position when a buyer has volume but no history |
| 30 / 70 against documents | Balance against a copy bill of lading or shipping confirmation | Same exposure as 30/70 | Sea freight, where the buyer cannot see the container |
Our default is 30% after the purchase order is confirmed and 70% against a copy bill of lading. Our article on what 30/70 actually costs you covers the pricing side, and how to pay a Chinese supplier safely covers the mechanics. Two rules do not move: the deposit should never exceed what the order needs to start, and the balance should never fall due before loading.
Why does the bill of lading become part of the payment terms?
Because it is the only document that proves three things at once: the goods left the factory, they were loaded onto a named vessel, and they were shipped to the port stated on it. Sea freight buyers treat the balance as documentary rather than commercial — they are not refusing to pay, they are refusing to pay without proof.
So agree which document releases the balance and by when: copy bill of lading, telex release, or a signed shipping confirmation. And agree whether the balance falls due at loading, at departure, or at arrival. A shipment confirmation listing cartons, gross weight and vessel name is worth more than an invoice with no reference to cargo. The six documents to collect before a bulk order lists the rest.
How do China’s public holidays change your lead time?
Factory calendars are not the same as the street calendar. The pattern is simple: the weeks around the New Year and the October holiday are when schedules slip, and the weeks right after them are when the factory, the truck and the forwarder are all trying to catch up at once.
| Period | What happens to lead time | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Late December into the New Year break | Production days are lost and staff leave in stages | Place orders at least four weeks earlier than you normally would |
| The first two weeks after the break | Backlog; tooling and maintenance all in progress at once | Do not schedule a loading date in this window |
| October holiday week | Shortened working weeks, same output expectation | Book freight capacity before the break, not after |
| Mid-year and year-end peak season | Capacity is committed; the slot is what moves | Reserve the production slot with the deposit, not with a verbal promise |
| Normal months | The quoted lead time holds | Plan arrival with a safety margin of one week |
Stock moulds in standard colours are the fastest route. A new mould adds roughly 30 working days, and those days land wherever the calendar puts them — often inside a holiday week. If a launch date is fixed, work backwards from the arrival date. Our MOQ and lead time breakdown gives the working-day math.
Should you ship LCL or FCL?
The decision is mostly about who pays for unused space. On a full container you pay for air you do not use; on a shared load you pay for handling twice and lose control of when it leaves.
| LCL (shared load) | FCL (full container) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | First trial orders, mixed sizes, uncertain demand | Repeat volume, one specification, predictable demand |
| Cost shape | Charged per CBM or per ton, plus destination handling | Charged per container, so unit cost falls as volume rises |
| Transit reliability | Rolls with consolidation; slower at peak | Direct sailing, few transhipments |
| Damage exposure | More handling, more repacking | Fewer touches from port to your warehouse |
| Mixing SKUs | Possible, and the reason many buyers start here | Possible if the pallet plan fits; see our guide to mixing many SKUs in one container |
A practical rule: ask for the FOB price and the CBM from the data sheet, then price the empty space yourself. If you would pay for half a container you do not need, ship LCL and consolidate deliberately.
What is the real difference between CIF and DDP?
CIF puts the freight and minimum insurance on the supplier up to your destination port. Everything after the port is yours: duty, clearance, inland haulage, and the risk of goods sitting on a dock. DDP puts the supplier in charge of the whole route to your door, duty included.
| Element | EXW | FOB | CIF | DDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goods cost | Supplier | Supplier | Supplier | Supplier |
| Export clearance | Buyer | Supplier | Supplier | Supplier |
| Main ocean freight | Buyer | Buyer | Supplier | Supplier |
| Insurance | Buyer | Buyer | Supplier, minimum cover | Supplier |
| Duty and import taxes | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer | Supplier |
| Port charges to destination port | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer | Supplier |
| Inland delivery to your door | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer | Supplier |
| Who carries transit risk | Buyer from the factory gate | Seller to the port of loading | Seller to the destination port | Seller to your door |
When DDP is worth paying for: first-time importers with no broker relationship yet, unfamiliar clearance procedures, buyers consolidating several component origins into one delivery. It costs more than FOB, and the difference is itemised: freight, insurance, duty, clearance. Ask for FOB and DDP on the same quotation, and see how freight, customs and incoterms interact.
What buyers actually asked us
Real questions from inquiries we handled. Company names, countries and order quantities are removed, because those are our customers’ business.
“A 50/50 arrangement is not suitable for us and this is something we cannot change. We cannot pay the full amount before the goods are shipped, because the bill of lading is the evidence that the goods have left your factory and are on their way to us. We can offer 40% a week after the purchase order and the remaining 60% a week after the vessel has departed the port.” — personal care company, annual monthly-order programme
“Please send the pending DDP quote for 5,000 and 10,000 complete bottle, cap and liner sets, and quote the same bottle in the standard wall and two heavier walls so we can compare the feel before choosing.” — agricultural and garden-input distributor, Latin America
“Your freight sheet shows 200 sets per carton and one total gross weight. Is that calculation based on the standard wall or the heavier wall? If it is based on the standard wall, please update the gross weights and the freight for the heavier version.” — agricultural and garden-input distributor, Latin America
Three mistakes we see every year
1. Accepting a quotation with no port of loading on it. FOB without a named place is not a price, it is an intention. It leaves inland trucking, the export declaration and terminal handling open.
2. Taking the gross weight only once, then changing the wall. A heavier-wall bottle is a different freight calculation, not a small quality upgrade. Switch the wall after the freight quote was prepared and the weight, CBM and freight all need redoing.
3. Releasing the balance on a photo of a loaded container. Loading evidence is not shipping evidence. Ask for the document naming the vessel and port, check its cartons and gross weight against the 14-field sheet, and pay against that.
What should you send your supplier before you book the first shipment?
Send this once, in one message, and require it back in one reply:
- The 14-field import data sheet, filled in, not promised
- Quantity for this lot, separate from any annual or forecast figure
- Mode (sea, air or courier) and the port of loading you intend to use
- Payment structure requested: 30/70, 40/60 or 50/50, and which document releases the balance
- Balance due point: at loading, after departure, or at arrival
- FOB, CIF and DDP pricing for the same lot and specification
- Confirmation that units per carton multiplied by cartons equals units per pallet multiplied by pallets
- Carton dimensions and CBM, so the forwarder can check the container type
- Confirmed production window, checked against the holiday calendar
If a supplier answers eight of those nine lines, you are not comparing products — you are comparing answers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard payment term for a first order?
30% after the purchase order is confirmed and 70% against a copy bill of lading. On a first order this is normally accepted without argument.
Can a supplier ask for 100% before shipment?
They can ask. We do not accept it for a new customer, because it removes every check between placing the order and the goods sailing. Repeat business with a documented history is a different conversation.
How long does a full import cycle take?
Production, then booking, then sailing. A new mould adds roughly 30 working days. Add a week of safety margin for port and clearance, and plan backwards from your in-stock date.
Should I choose CIF or DDP for a first shipment?
DDP if you have no broker relationship yet or the clearance procedure is unfamiliar to you. FOB or CIF if you already have a forwarder.
Does an empty bottle count as a dangerous good?
Almost never, and the supplier should still answer yes or no on the data sheet. Declaring it properly takes one line and removes an argument at the forwarder.
What if the carton count does not match the quantity ordered?
Resolve it before the balance is released. Units per carton multiplied by cartons must equal the lot quantity. A mismatch usually means a mixed pallet.
About Shijin Packaging
Shijin Packaging Products Co., Ltd. has been manufacturing plastic packaging in Shenzhen, Huizhou and Guangzhou since 2003. We hold more than 2,000 existing moulds, run ISO 9001, GRS and SGS audited production, and ship roughly 500,000 bottles a day for cosmetic, personal care, household, car care and food-grade customers. We fill the import data sheet ourselves, so your broker gets a complete file at loading instead of a request three days later.
Send us your bottle specification: capacity, material, closure and the lot quantity you have in mind, and we will return the 14-field import data sheet, the FOB and DDP prices, and a production window checked against the holiday calendar.