Fragile-grade delivery, from kiln to door, duties shown.
Air express for samples and first orders, sea and rail for reorders — packed to a written fragile-goods standard and delivered DDP with duties prepaid, not discovered on arrival.
Air for samples, sea and rail for reorders.
Ceramic freight is a two-layer decision. Samples and launch stock fly, because a late first order costs more than the air premium. Reorders move by sea express or rail, where the kilogram price drops sharply and the calendar can plan around them. All ranges on this page are typical figures, retrieved September 2026, subject to market movement.
Ceramics ship or break on packaging. Ours is written down.
Published standards you can hold us to — specified per carton, checked at packing, and referenced in every claim.
| Program | Packing standard |
|---|---|
| Retail & ecommerce parcels | Each piece wrapped in honeycomb paper or bubble wrap; air-pillow cushioning fills the void; five-layer corrugated carton closes the box. |
| FBA & platform inbound | Each piece individually packaged; complete sets pass a 125 cm drop test — three drops: face, edge, corner — before cartons are sealed. |
| Palletized sea freight | EPE foam profiles and corner protectors; IPPC heat-treated timber frames or fumigation-free plywood boxes; bracing inside the container. |
Solid-wood packaging without IPPC heat-treatment marks risks rejection at port — treated or plywood packaging is used accordingly.
Packaging is a specification, not an option.
- Standard per carton type — quoted in the program, audited at the packing bench.
- Drop-test discipline — 125 cm, three orientations, per set for FBA programs.
- Verification available — ISTA-series transit testing can be arranged for new carton designs.
- Retail-ready inner boxes — inner carton counts, labels and marks agreed before packing starts.
Duties prepaid. Formal clearance. Nothing collected at the door.
Trade rules ended the cheap shortcuts; DDP with duties prepaid is now the stable default for ceramic tableware. Market by market:
United States
The USD 800 de minimis exemption was suspended from 29 August 2025 (EO 14324, continued by EO 14388). Every parcel now enters formally; we book DDP with duties prepaid and clearance handled.
European Union
A unified 79.0% anti-dumping duty has applied to Chinese ceramic tableware since 7 February 2026 (Reg. (EU) 2026/274). EU programs are quoted with the duty line shown — included, or excluded as a DAP option.
Canada, Australia & others
No major trade-remedy measures on ceramic tableware. Standard DDP or DDU terms by preference, with duties and taxes stated in the quote.
What the lanes actually take.
Ranges, not promises. Figures are typical windows from published forwarder rates, retrieved September 2026, subject to market movement and excluding customs delays.
| Channel | China → United States | China → Europe |
|---|---|---|
| Air express (DDP) | 5–10 days (typical) | 7–15 days (typical) |
| Sea express (fast boat) | 15–25 days door-to-door (typical) | — |
| Sea freight (standard) | — | About 35–40 days after sailing (UK lane basis) |
| Rail (China–Europe) | — | 18–35 days door-to-door (typical); roughly one third of air cost |
Lane-specific standards are quoted per program so you can hold us to them in the SLA.
Breakage is a pricing decision, made before the cartons close.
Industry and insurer figures put fragile-goods breakage at 5–8% without professional packaging, and 34% of packaging-related returns trace to damage in transit. We treat that as a line item, not bad luck.
Written packing standard
The standards on this page apply to every carton — wrap, cushioning, five-layer boxes, drop-tested sets, IPPC-compliant pallets.
Allowance built into the quote
Every quote carries a damage allowance with the settlement ratio fixed in the SLA — agreed in the contract, not improvised after the fact.
Claims that resolve
Inspect on arrival, file with photos within the SLA claim window. Claims are settled against the packing standard and the inspection record.
Shipping questions we hear most.
Air or sea for my order?+
Our default is the two-layer structure: samples and first orders by air express DDP (China to US typically 5–10 days, to Europe 7–15 days); reorders and bulk by sea express or rail. All figures are typical ranges retrieved September 2026 and subject to market movement.
Who pays duties and taxes?+
On DDP programs, we do: duties prepaid, formal clearance, nothing collected at the door. Since the US suspended de minimis on 29 August 2025, duty-paid delivery is the stable default for US parcels. EU programs are quoted with the anti-dumping duty shown explicitly — see the Tariffs & Trade Guide.
What happens if cartons arrive damaged?+
Every carton ships to the written packing standard above, and every quote carries a damage allowance with a settlement ratio fixed in the SLA. On arrival: photograph the damage, file within the claim window, and we settle against the packing standard and the inspection record.
Can you deliver into Amazon FBA?+
Yes. FBA inbound runs to the platform's fragile-goods rules: each piece individually packaged, complete sets passing the 125 cm drop test (face, edge, corner), cartons labeled to plan, and pallets IPPC-compliant where timber is used.
Get a delivered cost, not a guess.
Send the item list, destination and volume — we will model the mode split, the packing standard and the duty-inclusive price.