OEM & ODM stainless steel drinkware — Yongkang, Zhejiang, China
Custom logo, Pantone colour matching & retail packaging
Reply within one working day · samples before mass production
JXGM — Yongkang Jiexun Industry & Trade Co., Ltd. Jiexun
Drinkware
English 中文 — coming soon Español — coming soon
Get a quote

Home / Blog / Shipping

Shipping

FOB, EXW or CIF: what each incoterm means for a drinkware order

Where your cost and risk actually start, why most factories quote FOB, and the questions to ask your forwarder before you book.

FOB, EXW or CIF: what each incoterm means for a drinkware order

Most Chinese drinkware factories quote FOB, but the quote is only comparable once you know where your responsibility begins.

EXW — Ex Works

Your cost starts at the factory gate. You arrange trucking to the port, export clearance, freight and insurance. Cheapest quote on paper, most work for you, and export clearance in China is not something a first-time importer wants to arrange alone.

FOB — Free On Board

The supplier delivers to the named port and handles Chinese export clearance. Your responsibility starts once the goods are loaded on the vessel. This is the default for container orders and the easiest quote to compare between suppliers, because the Chinese inland leg is inside the price.

CIF — Cost, Insurance and Freight

The supplier also pays ocean freight and insurance to your destination port. Convenient, but you will not know whether the freight price was reasonable, and you are tied to their forwarder. Useful for small importers, less useful once you ship regularly.

Questions for your forwarder

  • Which port should we nominate — Ningbo or Shanghai?
  • Do you need the goods palletised, and does that change the loading plan?
  • What HS code and product description will you use for the entry?
  • Which documents do you need from the factory — packing list, invoice, certificate of origin?

One practical note

Whichever incoterm you choose, keep the destination port in the written quotation. “FOB China” is not a quote you can compare or enforce.

Need a quotation for a drinkware program? Send the model, quantity and branding you need — we reply within one working day. Get a quote
Keep reading

Quick questions — answered on WhatsApp, in English.

What is your MOQ?Can you print our logo?Sample & lead time?Shipping to our port? Or send a full inquiry →
WhatsApp