How do I determine, ahead of time, the total import cost to arrive at my door? How do I find out what all the costs will be? From insurance, to port duties and shipping etc....

John,

A freight forwarder should be able to provide you all of this information except the IRS. If you ask them to provide you DDP (delivered and duty paid) price, they should give you everything you need. Ask them to break down the price for you. 

I hope that helps.

Best,

Jonathan

Hi John,

The best way to deal with this is to shift the burden to your supplier.  I ask my international suppliers to quote me a fixed price FOB my location.  That way there are no surprises and I can build that cost into my quotations to my clients.  

So far this method has been successful and has worked for both my suppliers and for me.

You're right to be looking for hidden costs so you don't end up with a loss on your business, but I have not heard about special taxes for sports equipment....

Peter

What I would recommend is to get a quote from your shipper for FOB your location cost; and also get a forwarder/broker that can give you the quote (including clearance, bond, insurance, duty, and trucking delivery, etc)

Once you have a comparison, you can determine your total landed cost.

Usually the shipper just choose whichever shipping company they have, but a good forwarder will help you on your end to save costs.

I have a forwarder that i use which their company covers quite a lot route, especially in Asia if you are interested please contact me too.  Good luck!

sharon

John..if you are still looking for an answer, please contact me.