As promised I'm starting a new thread for the soon-to-be-in-my-possession SkyFire SVM-0. For those who have followed the thread in the subforum here, you know that it has been a long haul to get to this point. But I hope this mill will open new opportunities for me - capabilities that are out of the realm of my benchtop CNC router...

Anyways, as promised I want to discuss a few points about the import process. It's more involved than getting a package though EMS. This is to the US; may be different in other countries.

What you should get from your vendor -
  • An itemized invoice
  • A Bill of Lading
  • Packing list


Hopefully your vendor (Defeng here) will provide you with some info to get the ball rolling, like the container number, estimated vessel departure/arrival dates, vessel name, voyage number, master bill of lading number, AMS house bill of lading number.... Also the info of the consolidator and container stuffing warehouse. And the HBL/SCAC code.

All containers arriving by ship are subject to inspection by Customs and Border Patrol. and you'll have to fill out ISF 10+2 form (Importer Security Filing) PRIOR to the merchandise boarding the ship!!!! My eyes glazed over looking at the form, so I seeked the assistance of a customs broker. Thankfully, they are able to fill this out using the information in the previous paragraph.

For the customs broker, you'll have to sign a power of attorney form that allows them to file on your behalf. There is another form aside from the 10+2 that is filed that has more information from you (like SS# and other personal information). They'll also want the documents I listed above, as well as a copy of your photo ID. The fee is actually pretty reasonable, but this is the start only. Then the wating game begins.

When the package is close to port, you should receive an arrival notice. This is then sent to your customs broker. The nice thing here is your customs broker will do all the arrangements with the ocean company, from paying the ocean freight and customs fee, as well as truck and warehouse your shipment. This all comes at a fee, of course, along with the bond premium, estimated duty, ISF fee, ISF single transaction bond, and other fees. You pay the ISF fee and single transaction bond first, before your package leaves port. All the other goodies are paid at pick-up (or delivery).

Well, this is pretty much it. It's actually less daunting, since your customs broker handles everything and you just send a photo ID, the shipping info supplied by your vendor, and the "cabbage."

For those who asked, my customs broker was WB Skinner, in Lodi, NJ. Michael Skinner was extremely helpful with the whole process.