q: peak season to avoid
a: October November due to online discount day , transit warehouses across the country flooded with sea of parcels , the staff will climb and step
Jan - April , export customs will inspect more parcels , item loss rate is higher particularly small items they can use
entire month of Chinese new year , their national holiday , delivery system is not functional
q: actual weight or volumetric weight
a: actual is suitable, don't be tempted by volumetric 1/4 lower quote ... volumetric easily 2x of actual weight
almost all forwarders will have the disclaimer 'actual or volumetric whichever is higher'
official forwarders use actual weight less extreme cases of shipping air
q: scam ?
a: check individual seller rating and product page sales volume , buyer comment
language proficiency needed to understand seller stated terms and avoid dispute, some item price are per 1 quantity not exactly shown in photo
use ALWW messager to ask about stock status before payment for item listing with 0 sales in last 30days and 0 buyer feedback in last 6 months
q: go through buying with google translate browser plugin to English ?
a: possible , early pioneers have done it , very hard
q: can the sellers communicate in English on ALWW messager ?
a: nope
q: can the sellers ship directly to Singapore ?
a: yes , high price not economical , SF express starts from 160 cny
![Image](http://i.imgur.com/wseGoHL.jpg)
q: I used my Singapore address and paid , the shipping cost calculator shows 海外 200 cny
a: the calculator is bugged, it only apply for mainland china excluding far off western provinces
the seller will hold your money and do nothing until you request refund , most of them have no experience sending parcel direct out of china
q: payment limit and unverified alipay payment account
a: credit card is 2000rmb max per day transaction , e-nets no limit
q: verify account ?
a: some accounts are flagged for verification by passport photo , may require proof of entry into mainland china
contact CSO to solve
q: spam by phone or email ?
a: received sms are related to parcel update , email spam very little
q: pricing in china
a: nationwide price controlled, the packaged goto scopes are higher than USA, with shipping cost it is not competitive against existing options
during promotion they give free 7ah powertank , price is negotiable in private by ALWW messager
Non-electronic, easy to produce items are cheaper than western countries. Accessories have the widest difference in pricing.
q: how many days from china forwarder to doorstep delivery ?
a: off peak season at least 5-7 days
custom inspection and reject can cause severe delay up to 1month , follow some TB online community to keep up with daily updates
payment -> 3 days domestic -> 1 day warehouse update and payment -> 7 days -> nearly 2 weeks
q: lemon ? returns ?
a: singpost at your own cost , repair or sell it away cheap
q: GST ?
a: official forwarder air shipping is processed the same as postal system parcels , below 400sgd inclusive of shipping cost no gst
daily exchange rates calculated based on customs.gov.sg website
q: sea shipping bulk
a: outside the official forwarders there are many providers of this service
minimum 1 cubic meter is 450 to 580 rmb (SGD $120) + 7% GST on all goods + possible SGD $39 permit fee not every company charge this
they don't do 0.5 cubic for 580/2 ... above 1m cubic is pro rated
q: agents ?
a: there are a handful of local companies providing this service at a service charge of ~8% + other surcharges , billed volumetric
they cannot help you check the quality or whether this adapter fit that part