| Term | Handed over | Sea freight | Insurance | Risk passes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOB | On board the vessel at Ningbo | Yours | Yours | On board at Ningbo |
| CFR | On board at Ningbo, with the sea freight paid to your port | Ours | Yours | On board at Ningbo |
| CIF | On board at Ningbo, with the freight and a minimum insurance paid | Ours | Ours: the minimum cover, in your name | On board at Ningbo |
The port: Ningbo
Ningbo is the port we ship from, about two hours by road from Yiwu. Another port can be arranged if your carrier insists, but it is not how we normally work.
So on all three terms below, Ningbo is the port of loading: the place the goods go on board, and the place the risk in them passes to you.
FOB: Free On Board
The most common term for our shipments. We deliver to the port, clear the goods for export and load them on board; the sea freight, the insurance and the import are yours.
It suits a buyer who already has a forwarder or a freight rate of their own: the price on the quotation stops once the goods are on board, and your forwarder takes it from there. Where you already have a forwarder in China, FCA is usually the cleanest term.
CFR: Cost and Freight
As FOB, plus the sea freight to your port. Insurance is still yours, and the risk still passes at Ningbo once the goods are on board: if anything happens at sea, the loss is yours to claim on your own insurance, even though we booked and paid the freight.
CIF: Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, with a minimum insurance policy taken out in your name. The insurance is the minimum level the term requires, not full cover: under Incoterms 2020, CIF asks only for cover on Institute Cargo Clauses (C) terms, which leave out many of the risks a full policy covers.
So CIF gives you one figure to your port and a policy to claim on if the worst happens at sea. If you want your cargo covered properly, ask what the policy covers, or arrange your own.
Which to ask for
Most of our orders are quoted FOB. If you have a forwarder in China, FOB or FCA keeps the freight with them, where you can compare rates. If you would rather see one price to your port on the quotation, ask for CFR or CIF, and read what the insurance covers on CIF before you rely on it.
Whichever you choose, ask for it before you compare: two quotations on different terms are not two prices for the same thing. All seven terms are explained on the shipping page.
What stays with you on all three
Import duty, VAT and customs clearance at your port are yours on FOB, CFR and CIF alike. Only a delivered term carries the goods further: on DAP we carry them to your named address and the import is still yours; on DDP the duty is paid as well, and it is quoted case by case, because it depends entirely on your destination's tariff treatment.
The freight is agreed before it is booked
We select the sailing out of Ningbo that fits your order and your port, and send you the freight cost. Nothing is booked until you have confirmed it: the price of the voyage is agreed with you, every time, not discovered on the invoice. The indicative transit time to your port has a page of its own; the figure for your order is confirmed on the quotation.