Updated almost 10 years ago on . Most recent reply
Buying a container of laminate from China
I buy my laminate from Costco ($1.5 per sq ft) and those Chinese flooring vendors 12mm ( $1 sq ft). Since I mostly use the same product, I wanted to know if anyone can explain how I could order a 20 foot container from China and if the savings will be significant. On Alibaba.com, I am seeing pricing as low as $0.35 per sq foot before shipping which would be substantial.
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I do deal with China often and I would warn against Alibaba.com. Your first load might be ok but your second, third and fourth might not be. That really goes for a lot of Chinese manufacturers though. If their wanting payment upfront I start questioning it. 50% when shipped and 50% when arrived is okay... But not 100% up front.
As for a container of flooring... I just did a 40ft with 55k lbs. Might want to look into LCL shipments cause thats a ton of flooring. Ball park pricing on a full 20ft ocean container from Shanghai or Hong Kong to Atlanta would run about $2500-$3500 depending who you broker it through. West coast would be a little cheaper.