An accurate freight quote from China is not a psychic trick. It is a complete cargo card plus a complete commercial story. If you send “100 kg to USA, how much?,” you will get a number that cannot be shipped.
This 2026 guide lists the information a forwarder actually needs, then connects that list to documents, customs, DDP versus port delivery, LCL versus FCL, packaging, transit stacks, and the mistakes that make quotes expire on contact with a warehouse. Ranges are planning tools. Xinhan Logistics will not publish a fake live rate as today’s quote.
The quote is only as honest as the packing list you have not issued yet. Issue it, even as a draft.
1. Start with the cargo card, not the destination slogan
Product name, packed L×W×H, gross weight, carton count, factory city, and delivery city. Those six fields already decide whether the conversation is LCL, FCL, air, or “this is a project.”
Add the date the goods must be sellable. A quote without a calendar is a brochure.
2. What the commercial invoice contributes to a quote
Value and Incoterm decide insurance basis, DDP tax method, and whether the cargo looks like a routine entry. A missing Incoterm means the quote must assume one, and assumptions become disputes.
You can still request a quote on a draft invoice. Mark it draft. Do not let a draft value become the export declaration by accident.
3. What the packing list contributes to a quote
CBM for LCL, box type for FCL, chargeable weight for air. If the factory has not packed, send estimated cartons and say they are estimates. Then update before cutoff.
Palletized versus cartons loose changes loading and sometimes whether a 20GP is even the right box.
4. Hazard flags that must be in the first email
Lithium batteries, liquids, powders, magnets, perfume, and anything with a UN number. Also wood packing, food, plants, and brand-sensitive goods. These flags change whether a mode is legal, not just whether it is cheap.
A general cargo quote on battery cargo is not a bargain. It is a refused booking later.
- UN number and packing group if known.
- Whether batteries are in equipment, with equipment, or packed alone.
- MSDS if anyone has already issued one.
- Whether wood pallets are ISPM-15 stamped.
5. Planning table: quote inputs versus what they unlock
Without these inputs, any number you receive is a conversation starter, not a freight contract.
| You send | We can then | If you omit it |
|---|---|---|
| Packed L×W×H and kg | Choose LCL / FCL / air math | The quote is a guess |
| Origin city in China | Price pickup and export path | Shenzhen is wrongly assumed |
| Delivery city and door type | Price inland and DDP last mile | Port-only number looks “cheap” |
| Invoice draft + Incoterm | Scope duty/tax and insurance | DDP is theatre |
| HS family / product photos | Flag licences and exam risk | Clearance plan is missing |
| Ready date | Match cutoff and space | Peak-season fiction |
6. Cost groups a complete quote should name
Origin pickup and export handling, main carriage, destination THC or destuff, possible exam handling, duty/tax method if DDP, and last mile. If a quote is one number with no method, ask which groups are inside.
Xinhan Logistics would rather list groups than win on a silent total.
7. Transit time cannot be quoted from destination country alone
China is large. Chengdu to a US door is not Yantian to the same door. Transhipment versus direct also changes the stack. Give origin city and whether the cargo is already packed.
Planning bands still help: many air airport-to-airport files sit around 3–8 days; many sea lanes sit in multi-week bands. Your file needs its own stack.
8. DDP versus port delivery must be an explicit question
If you do not say DDP, a port-to-port or CY-CY number may come back. That number is not wrong. It is a different product. Say “DDP to warehouse in …” or “DAP destination port.”
For DDP also say whether the door is commercial receiving or residential. Tail-lift and appointment rules belong in the quote inputs.
9. LCL versus FCL is a math result, not a preference slogan
Send CBM. Around a few CBM, LCL is usually the conversation. Around a 20GP load, FCL is usually the conversation. In the awkward middle, send the card and let the forwarder show both, including destination destuff versus box detention risk.
Do not ask for FCL pricing on 1 CBM “to be safer” without accepting that you will pay for empty space.
10. Packaging photos are quote documents
A photo with a tape measure next to the carton beats a catalogue size. Outer cartons include wood, pallet, and overhang. Quotes die when the warehouse measures a larger outer pack.
If cargo is stackable, say so. If it is not, FCL loading density changes.
11. Customs information that belongs in the quote request
Importer of record, destination country, and whether you already have a broker. If you want preference duty, say which origin program you think applies. Do not assume the forwarder will claim a treaty you never mentioned.
First import versus hundredth import also matters. First files need more explanation time.
12. How to choose what to send if the factory is slow
Send estimates clearly labelled, plus a date when packed dimensions will be frozen. A professional forwarder can hold a planning band and reprice on freeze.
What does not work: a frozen cheap quote on unfrozen cargo.
13. Common mistakes in quote requests
Country only, no city. Weight without dimensions. Dimensions without weight. “DDP” with no street type. Battery cargo described as toys. Mixing several POs into one CBM guess.
Another: sending a competitor’s quote screenshot with no cargo card and asking to beat it. We can only beat a scope we can see.
14. What we will still not invent after you send a perfect email
We will not invent a precise HS code, a live bunker index, or a duty as a promise. We will use your draft and the destination’s rules to plan, then confirm when papers are final.
If a website shows a calculator rate, treat it as marketing until a human has the packing list.
15. How long a serious quote should take
Routine LCL/FCL general cargo with a complete card can often be quoted the same working day. DDP, batteries, and odd doors take longer because more parties must speak.
A five-minute DDP number on incomplete data is a delay later. Prefer the slower honest number.
16. Reduce cost by sending complete data once
Requotes after “actual CBM came out 40% higher” are not market movements. They are the original request being false. Measure once at the factory.
Complete data also lets us choose LCL versus FCL correctly, which is a larger saving than haggling a few dollars on a wrong mode.
17. Worked thinking example without fake rates
“2 tons to Europe, DDP.” That could be 4 CBM of metal or 20 CBM of pillows. Air versus sea, LCL versus FCL, and VAT treatment all swing. Add dimensions, origin city, and a German delivery postcode, and the quote becomes a file.
Until then, nobody is lying yet, but nobody is quoting either.
18. Keep pickup access in the request
Some factories cannot load a 40HQ. Some need a small truck to a CFS. That origin constraint belongs next to the CBM. It changes the origin line even when the ocean line looks similar.
Photos of the loading bay help. A luxury showroom with no dock is a useful warning.
19. Insurance questions belong in the same request
Say whether you want cargo insurance and on which value basis. If you stay silent, some quotes omit it and look cheaper.
High-value electronics and furniture should not leave this as a postscript after damage.
20. A short audit list before you hit send
City pair. Packed size. Weight. Product truth. Hazards. Incoterm wanted. Door type. Ready date. Invoice draft if you have it. That is an accurate-quote email.
If you cannot fill those, you are requesting a workshop, not a rate.
21. How Xinhan Logistics reads your email
We look for contradictions first: DDP plus a residential door plus FCL, or general cargo plus a battery photo in the corner. We will ask. Answering quickly is how you get a number you can use.
We publish no live tariff on the website for this reason. The cargo is the tariff.
22. Documents you should attach even if they are ugly drafts
Excel packing lists are fine. Stamped PDFs are fine. WeChat photos of handwritten carton lists are a last resort but better than nothing if they include cm and kg.
Please crop enough that numbers are readable. A blurry kilogram is a wrong kilogram.
23. Air, sea, and express need different extra fields
Air: whether cargo is stackable, battery status, airport of preference if any. Sea: whether you can accept transhipment. Express: commercial value for the courier clearance and whether the shipment is documents or goods.
Say which modes you are willing to hear. If you only want sea, say so. If you want a comparison, say so.
24. How to request the quotation after the list is complete
Email gzxinhang@126.com or use the contact path on wuliuaou.com with product name, packed dimensions, gross weight, origin city in China, and delivery city. Ask for LCL, FCL, air, or DDP as needed.
We will come back with a plan, a document list, and a number tied to that pack—not to a banner rate.
25. Incoterm, named place, and why “DDP USA” is not enough
USA is not a place of delivery. A zip code, a warehouse dock, or a residential street is. Quotes change when the last mile changes. Put the named place on the same line as the Incoterm you want.
If you do not know the warehouse yet, say “DAP destination port” for now and request a second door add-on later. A fake door on a DDP quote becomes a failed delivery, which is not a freight-market event.
Currency on the invoice also belongs in the quote request. RMB invoices converted at an unspoken rate become valuation arguments. State the commercial currency.
26. Ready date, production photos, and space
A ready date copied from a sales deck is how cargo misses cutoff. Send a photo of packed cartons when you claim they are packed. Space can be reserved on a plan; it should not be treated as loaded until VGM and docs exist.
Peak weeks need earlier cargo cards, not louder ready dates. If production slips, tell the forwarder the same day so the booking can move. Silent slips create rolled cargo and a quote that no longer matches the calendar.
27. Who else must see the same cargo card
Factory, exporter, buyer, and forwarder should share one card. If the factory thinks the cargo is 8 CBM and the buyer told the forwarder 5 CBM, the first CFS measure becomes a commercial argument.
Copy the live packing list to everyone who will touch cutoff. Xinhan Logistics will quote the card we were sent. If a second card appears at the warehouse, the number will move, and that is not a bait tariff. It is physics.
Contact Our China Freight Forwarding Team
If you are importing from China and need a shipping plan, transit-time estimate, or all-in quotation, contact Xinhan Logistics. Send the product name, packed dimensions, gross weight, origin city in China, and delivery city so we can recommend LCL, FCL, air freight, or DDP door-to-door service.
Email: gzxinhang@126.com
Website: https://www.wuliuaou.com/
We handle sea freight, air freight, customs support, and door-to-door delivery for importers, wholesalers, and e-commerce sellers.