It would be nice to know your experience wether good or bad.

So the floor is open....

For me, DHL has been pretty impressive so far...I havent had any issues with them.

DHL have been marvelous as far as am concern....dont know about you.

starbasi: DHL have been marvelous as far as am concern....dont know about you.

I had a shipment that I thought I might have to cough up import duty. The shipper wanted to under-invoice but I said no. They were warning me that I may have to pay duty..to which I said "i will pay whatever duty comes up". To my pleasant surprise, my shipment was delivered to my doorstep by Dhl without any demand for duty- much to my relief.

hi,
please what is your definition of "mini import"? let 's say i want to "import" 30 cartons of maryland cookies from the US (from Amazon) via a shipment agency, how do i go about it?

My experience is not sweet currently. A N320k TV was shipped with $926 (close to N150k) and now DHL asked me to pay another N116,103 customs duty before they release to me or else they will take it back to govt warehouse.

What? But I thought you were using MyUs.com for the shipping? Hmmm... I guess circuitatlantic would have been better in this case. Why didn't they(myus.com) inform you before hand?

arbitrage: My experience is not sweet currently. A N320k TV was shipped with $926 (close to N150k) and now DHL asked me to pay another N116,103 customs duty before they release to me or else they will take it back to govt warehouse.

Maross: hi,
please what is your definition of "mini import"? let 's say i want to "import" 30 cartons of maryland cookies from the US (from Amazon) via a shipment agency, how do i go about it?

Now that you mention, I realise I have never really given it much thought. But I would say a Mini- importer is one that buys things online in small to medium quantities such that freight is almost always by courier air shipment and the mini-importer is rarely ever directly involved in clearing the goods.

I hope that definition covers it ..if I missed something, anyone in the house can please chip in.

Now as for "importing" cookies from amazon....I must say I am not an expert on that ..but I imagine you would have to somehow arrange payment and drop-shipping to the shipping agency's address for onward forwarding to you here in Nigeria. Am I correct house?

arbitrage: My experience is not sweet currently. A N320k TV was shipped with $926 (close to N150k) and now DHL asked me to pay another N116,103 customs duty before they release to me or else they will take it back to govt warehouse.

Mmm....this is why a thread like this is useful. There are some questions I would like to ask...Did you buy from a retailer.... Did DHL give you the breakdown of this customs duty...l thought customs duty for such should be around 20%? How can one know when to expect that a shipment will attract customs duty prior to shipment?

I have read before on this site about people getting slammed with unexplainable customs duty by DHL and I have often wondered why it is so...there should be transparent rules guiding the process.

So when does one get slammed with duty and when does one NOT get slammed with duty?

@fellow mini importers, guess importation is for business purpose, from all d listed options NiPOST should be the cheapest but the most unreliable. If u'd ask me I'd say its a no-no. For me I use any of these courier coys as DHL or UPS will be too expensive and that might mean doing business at a loss.

2sexy.us:
What? But I thought you were using MyUs.com for the shipping? Hmmm... I guess circuitatlantic would have been better in this case. Why didn't they(myus.com) inform you before hand?

Yeah, that's right. DHL and Fedex are the couriers for myUS.com and they have even brought some items for me few days earlier but this TV saga is another. I used them when I was outside Nigeria and there was no story like this. I even had to contend with myUS first when they calculated price that was higher than what was on their website for the shipping. They said it was because they used dimensional (volumetric) weight (118 lbs) instead of the real weight of the TV package (65 lbs). That made about $550 shipping charge become $926+. And now DHL is claiming their so called Customs Duty after they have taken possession of the item.

IseOluwa777:

Mmm....this is why a thread like this is useful. There are some questions I would like to ask...Did you buy from a retailer.... Did DHL give you the breakdown of this customs duty...l thought customs duty for such should be around 20%? How can one know when to expect that a shipment will attract customs duty prior to shipment?

I have read before on this site about people getting slammed with unexplainable customs duty by DHL and I have often wondered why it is so...there should be transparent rules guiding the process.

So when does one get slammed with duty and when does one NOT get slammed with duty?

I didn't buy from retailer but from Amazon.com and the shipping was free in the States to myUS.com but from them to Nigeria is where the story started. The paper that DHL sent for the Customs Duty claim stated a higher value for the item and with several other fees like the 20% custom duty, another big VAT, another CISS, another intervention fee, and something else totaling N116,103. They said each charge is actually calculated on the total cost of the item plus cost of freight plus one other thing, that makes the total cost high before they will now start calculating each charge on that bloated total cost.

This is the fault of MyUS.com

arbitrage:

I didn't buy from retailer but from Amazon.com and the shipping was free in the States to myUS.com but from them to Nigeria is where the story started. The paper that DHL sent for the Customs Duty claim stated a higher value for the item and with several other fees like the 20% custom duty, another big VAT, another CISS, another intervention fee, and something else totaling N116,103. They said each charge is actually calculated on the total cost of the item plus cost of freight plus one other thing, that makes the total cost high before they will now start calculating each charge on that bloated total cost.

I imported 20pcs of human hair, only for DHL to demand for 48k as custom duty, after consultation with Importation Gurus on Nairaland, the likes of Cashmed(can't rememember the correct ID) and Naijamarketplace(can't remember his nairaland ID), I threatened DHL and escalated the issue to the management via email...I got several calls and had to pay 25k.

That was actually the second order, I wasn't charged for the first which makes me wonder why the sudden demand for custom duty, I never visited their office and got my goods after paying the duty...am done with DHL anyway cos the demand notice sent to me was on DHL's letter head and not Custom, how am I sure someone is playing a fast one

Its very interesting reading several on this topic. I habve a solution for you all. I know of a freight forwarding here in Nigeria with their head office in USA and their brach office in Lagos. You register with them n you will be given a US mailing address and a storage area where your goods will be stored. You ll be contacted when a parcel arrives in your storage box whether it should be sent to you or whether it shuld be discarded. The good thing with this people is that they can actually scan what is in your parcel for you to see online. Secondly they have a large storage area for those who want to order cars. Your cars will be stored untill u are ready for the cae to be shipped to you. Their charges are the cheapest n best in the world.

For more info contact
07082047305

^^^ save people d hassle and just state the name of the coy, sure they've a website. Hope there r no membership fee.
@hayoakins, that's a smart one, any rubbish quote from any of the, just threaten them via emails. They know its their loss if u dont pick up d item, so they've to apply some common sense

.

Interesting thread...

gmcb: @fellow mini importers, guess importation is for business purpose, from all d listed options NiPOST should be the cheapest but the most unreliable. If u'd ask me I'd say its a no-no. For me I use any of these courier coys as DHL or UPS will be too expensive and that might mean doing business at a loss. Lemme summarise my exp wt diff coys:
PSI shipping wt office in Texas and California, they charge $4.40/lb. But dont send ur package for them to consolidate for u ie when u r buying more than one items. Also they dont respond to emails, their followup is terrible.
Corporate messengers, they charge $4.55/lb or $10/kg.follow them bumper-to-bumper wt mails and u'd recieve ur stuff say 10days afterdelivery to their US address. They consolidate for u for free, when u buy more than one item from different stores. When u av a telephone conversation request they send u an email to back up d conversation.
Read abt american airsea cargo on their site,they charge 4.80$/lb.what pissed me off was that i had to pay minimum 20$ membership fee before they can consolidate for me, though they claim to ship out daily so u can get ur stuff within 7days max
for all these options visit and send them an email before sebding ur stuff for onward delivery to nigeria


here's ma 2cents

As I write , I am currently chasing a ship
ment at a Nipost office I unwittingly sent through Nipost from China. Tracking indicates "unsuccessful delivery" after over a month it has been in Nigeria. Seller said I should follow up the local courier-Nipost.

Never again will I try China or Hong Kong free shipping. Its not worth it for business n this part of the world.

Nipost Lagos finally informed me that my package must be at Nipost Ogun State, simply because the shipping address ( just the outskirts of Lagos) is in Ogun state..so now I have to find a way of confirming and getting to Abeokuta....what utter bureacratic nonsense...anyway..never again.

God help me O! My ordered from dx.com should arrives safely. Cos it free shipping through Hongkong post. Am counting days now is 5days 2day.

dailydolla4u: God help me O! My ordered from dx.com should arrives safely. Cos it free shipping through Hongkong post. Am counting days now is 5days 2day.

Bros.. Cool down..u neva start be that...in about 3 days, it will be two (2) months since I made that order
Anyway try tracking it and you will see it has not left China

crudeoilagent: Its very interesting reading several on this topic. I habve a solution for you all. I know of a freight forwarding here in Nigeria with their head office in USA and their brach office in Lagos. You register with them n you will be given a US mailing address and a storage area where your goods will be stored. You ll be contacted when a parcel arrives in your storage box whether it should be sent to you or whether it shuld be discarded. The good thing with this people is that they can actually scan what is in your parcel for you to see online. Secondly they have a large storage area for those who want to order cars. Your cars will be stored untill u are ready for the cae to be shipped to you. Their charges are the cheapest n best in the world.

For more info contact
07082047305

My concern with freight forwarding is safety..As I buy from China... NEVER without escrow, I have effectively taken delivery ( and hence have to release the escrow to the seller) even before I am physically able to confirm quality of goods supplied (if I use a freight forwarder in China). From then on, I am on my own and have no one to pass the ball to if something goes wrong. Besides how do you handle insurance from that point on..how do you know the freight forwarder is declaring properly for Customs...If they arent and something goes wrong, your goods become stuck and you bear the brunt...but with DHL, escrow protects you until goods arrive at your doorstep...it may be expensive but the flip side can be worse if and only if something goes wrong...or am I missing anything in my line of reasoning?

crudeoilagent: Its very interesting reading several on this topic. I habve a solution for you all. I know of a freight forwarding here in Nigeria with their head office in USA and their brach office in Lagos. You register with them n you will be given a US mailing address and a storage area where your goods will be stored. You ll be contacted when a parcel arrives in your storage box whether it should be sent to you or whether it shuld be discarded. The good thing with this people is that they can actually scan what is in your parcel for you to see online. Secondly they have a large storage area for those who want to order cars. Your cars will be stored untill u are ready for the cae to be shipped to you. Their charges are the cheapest n best in the world.

For more info contact
07082047305

My concern with freight forwarding is safety..As I buy from China... NEVER without escrow, I have effectively taken delivery ( and hence have to release the escrow to the seller) even before I am physically able to confirm quality of goods supplied (if I use a freight forwarder in China). From then on, I am on my own and have no one to pass the ball to if something goes wrong. Besides how do you handle insurance from that point on..how do you know the freight forwarder is declaring properly for Customs...If they arent and something goes wrong, your goods become stuck and you bear the brunt...but with DHL, escrow protects you until goods arrive at your doorstep...it may be expensive but the flip side can be worse if and only if something goes wrong...but the danger is this risk of irresponsible clearing charges from DHL..
or am I missing anything in my line of reasoning?

The best idea is to stop directly dealing with DHL,UPS,FEDEX or what so ever. Unless if what you are bringing is not for profit making if not dealing with currier service directly is not a good idea.

I'm not here for recommendation but to contribute.. Dealing with reliable freight forwarding coy are the best option and such freight forwarder most have a standby clearing agent to clear your goods and re-deliver to your door step. And in that case , MyUS is not a good idea as they have no standby agent to clear your goods for you if the need arise..

Freight forwarding coy with standby clearing agent help matters alot.. Can you imagine package that custom will charge let say 20k as custom duty but an clearing agent will get it done at let say N750..suprise? But that's true..

Take your time and search for reliable third party shipper and enjoy importation..

A good freight forwarder charge you include custom charges unless if you decide not to include custom charges..

Though the third party shipper also make use of the Dhl,UPS OR FEDEX but also remember they have a coded business or partneship relationship with each other.

Always patronize those that offer the higher your goods weight the lower your shipping rate...

My 2kobo

dav8id: The best idea is to stop directly dealing with DHL,UPS,FEDEX or what so ever. Unless if what you are bringing is not for profit making if not dealing with currier service directly is not a good idea.

I'm not here for recommendation but to contribute.. Dealing with reliable freight forwarding coy are the best option and such freight forwarder most have a standby clearing agent to clear your goods and re-deliver to your door step. And in that case , MyUS is not a good idea as they have no standby agent to clear your goods for you if the need arise..

Freight forwarding coy with standby clearing agent help matters alot.. Can you imagine package that custom will charge let say 20k as custom duty but an clearing agent will get it done at let say N750..suprise? But that's true..

Take your time and search for reliable third party shipper and enjoy importation..

A good freight forwarder charge you include custom charges unless if you decide not to include custom charges..

Though the third party shipper also make use of the Dhl,UPS OR FEDEX but also remember they have a coded business or partneship relationship with each other.

Always patronize those that offer the higher your goods weight the lower your shipping rate...

My 2kobo

But how do you deal with loosing escrow protection after dropshipment..i.e....how do you ensure you are getting precisely what you are paying for...secondly ( this also applies to DHL anyway...their terms state they are only liable to a tune of $25 [imagine] for lost shipments) how do you insure your goods in transit comprehensively ( if you are in business, you must cover all possibilities...no stories....you funds must not be lost for any reason)..... anyone?

IseOluwa777:

But how do you deal with loosing escrow protection after dropshipment..i.e....how do you ensure you are getting precisely what you are paying for...secondly ( this also applies to DHL anyway...their terms state they are only liable to a tune of $25 [imagine] for lost shipments) how do you insure your goods in transit comprehensively ( if you are in business, you must cover all possibilities...no stories....you funds must not be lost for any reason)..... anyone?

a good reliable freight forwarder give you an option of insurance cover on your goods ,unless if you say no. Though there is some particular goods that has an automatic insurance cover that you most have to pay for it though the amount is always less..
Escrow issue...this should not be a problem coz i remember i mention that you need to deal with good freigh forwarder coy. A good freight forwarder not only shipp your goods but also act as your contact over there and for that reason every goods shipped to them ,most have to be inspect by them to be sure of what kind of package are they recieving and also the condition...though its very hard to discover such reliable and deliver third party but with good research one can figure them.

That's why i also said importation business is not for everyone,coz it involve alot of steps..

dav8id: a good reliable freight forwarder give you an option of insurance cover on your goods ,unless if you say no. Though there is some particular goods that has an automatic insurance cover that you most have to pay for it though the amount is always less..
Escrow issue...this should not be a problem coz i remember i mention that you need to deal with good freigh forwarder coy. A good freight forwarder not only shipp your goods but also act as your contact over there and for that reason every goods shipped to them ,most have to be inspect by them to be sure of what kind of package are they recieving and also the condition...though its very hard to discover such reliable and deliver third party but with good research one can figure them.

That's why i also said importation business is not for everyone,coz it involve alot of steps..

So basically that means your success would be hinged squarely on the trustworthyness and reliabilty of the freight forwarder....one needs to weigh it very carefully...or one day one improperly inspected shipment could undo the importer....i guess it all depends on your level of risk aversion....for me, security of goods and funds at all stages of the import process is paramount...i prefer to pay a little extra to secure this..( but not as high as we hear these courier companies are taking it to)..well, I may be forced to stick with them until I can find a safe, honest and reliable freight forwarder (China based)...

Freight forwarders in the house please make your pitch

Thats truth. Importation business carry risk but importing from china involve less risk,even the custom guys dont really care much about goods importing from china than that from USA,UK,CANADA ETC...its not adviceble for someone to parttern hes last cash into importation instead, be a distributor of an importer when your pocket mature enough then you start..

IseOluwa777:

So basically that means your success would be hinged squarely on the trustworthyness and reliabilty of the freight forwarder....one needs to weigh it very carefully...or one day one improperly inspected shipment could undo the importer....i guess it all depends on your level of risk aversion....for me, security of goods and funds at all stages of the import process is paramount...i prefer to pay a little extra to secure this..( but not as high as we hear these courier companies are taking it to)..well, I may be forced to stick with them until I can find a safe, honest and reliable freight forwarder (China based)...

Freight forwarders in the house please make your pitch

@dav8id, that's an eye-opener u put up there. I understand u earlier said u dont want to recommend any. Sure it wont hurt if u drop d name of just one(*winks) third party frieght forwarder.
Many thanks for ur co-operation

So whats the best advice for anyone importing from china. is it adviceable to use a third party company for shipping goods to nigeria.

gmcb: @dav8id, that's an eye-opener u put up there. I understand u earlier said u dont want to recommend any. Sure it wont hurt if u drop d name of just one(*winks) third party frieght forwarder.
Many thanks for ur co-operation

He won't. He is an extremely secretive fellow. From the tone of his writting it is clear he doesn't want to give (just a name) of such coys. I guess unless you pay him.

Anyway, I have been using chrisvicmall.com for many months now. They are the only ones I use for my things from China. There is a general import thread where you can get most of that info.