So you want to import a coffee roaster?
It's not really that difficult, although there are a lot of procedures and acronyms in sea transportation. It's interesting to learn about them but not necessary to arrange shipping. There are many ways to ship freight by boat, mine went port to port and that's a less complicated way to go. So I would ask for a price port to port, using the one closest to your location. The cargo is going LCL (less than a full container) and that involves several extra steps. Using this way, the shipper is going to crate your machine, arrange the shipping, stuffing in the container, ship, unloading at the destination, and transportation to your port. Now the guy who builds you roaster is not really going to do all this, he just picks up the phone and calls a freight forwarding company. Guess what? They charge for this service, something I did not know in the beginning but now you do.
So the price of the roaster does not include crating and transportation to the freight forwarder. The crating charge include treating the wood for insects as well. Once the freight forwarder picks up the cargo, it's going to be "stuffed" in a LCL container, and transported to the port. You can track the container online as well as the progress of the ship. At this point, the freight forwarder is in charge of the cargo, and that's who you will be dealing with. Before the cargo leaves the foreign country, they are going to ask for an ISF (10+2) form.
That's when you need to call a customs broker, if you haven't already. If you have a nice one like I did, they will answer all your questions and explain everything. They will handle all the paperwork and fill out the forms for the US Customs service, so all the gov. has to do is sign on the bottom. Then you will get a bill from the broker including their fee and the duty charged.
Sounds complicated? Not really.
1. you order a roaster, 110V LPG gas, including shipping to (your port). (They don't know the exact amount but can give an estimate)
2. you pay for the roaster, it's completed and crated. Now the shipping has to be paid and the paperwork completed. You pay the shipping, broker fills out the forms for the FF.
3. The freight forwarders (more than one involved) will call you to pick up the cargo at the warehouse after it clears customs.
4. Show up at the warehouse to pick up the cargo, or have them ship it to you.
So how much does all this cost?
The shipping is calculated by cbm, and a 1K or less roaster should occupy the minimum. My freight was @$100, freight forwarders charges were $60 and $65. Customs broker was $125, $35, $35, duty was @$100.
That's it in a nutshell...
