China
USA trade laneEvery Amazon and e-commerce seller sourcing in China faces the same chain: factory, ocean or air freight, US customs, prep, and delivery into FBA or a 3PL. With the de minimis exemption gone, the parcel-import shortcut is dead — bulk import with domestic fulfillment is now the only structure that works at scale, and the sellers who run it professionally hold a landed-cost advantage over everyone still improvising.
AGF runs the seller pipeline end to end: consolidation at origin (our Foshan office sits amid the supplier belt), compliant customs entries in your name, and delivery to FBA, AWD, or your 3PL — with the paperwork done in a way that survives an audit.
How Amazon FBA & E-commerce Inventory Ships from China to USA
The core decision is mode mix: ocean FCL/LCL for baseline inventory (3–4 weeks door to door), air for launches and stockout saves (under a week). Most scaled sellers run both simultaneously — the strategy from our air-vs-ocean guide applied to marketplace cadence.
Amazon's receiving rules shape the freight: carton weight and label standards, appointment scheduling, and FBA's preference for palletized, compliant deliveries. Failed appointments and rejected cartons are self-inflicted costs — prep and labeling happen before the container closes or at our warehouse, not in a parking lot.
- Ocean baseline + air top-ups — the standard scaled-seller mix
- FNSKU labeling and carton compliance at origin or at our LA warehouse
- Direct-to-FBA appointments or 3PL transload — both supported
- Multi-supplier consolidation into single entries cuts per-shipment overhead
What Drives the Cost
- Mode mix and how well it matches your sell-through rate
- Section 301 exposure of your product category
- Prep/labeling location (origin labor vs US warehouse)
- FBA placement and appointment logistics
- Storage buffer between import batches
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Our licensed customs brokers verify every code before you commit to an order.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Product-specific | Your catalog's classifications | E-commerce catalogs span the tariff schedule — we build a per-SKU HTS database at onboarding so every entry is consistent and defensible. |
Regulations and Compliance
Importer of record — it must be you
The 'DDP shipping' offered by many China-side forwarders often means an entry filed under someone else's bond with undervalued invoices. When CBP audits, the seller wears the liability. Being your own importer of record with honest declared values costs slightly more per entry and infinitely less in existential risk.
Product compliance by category
Marketplace and federal rules follow the product: CPSIA for children's items, FCC for electronics, FDA for food-contact goods. Amazon increasingly demands the certificates at listing level — build compliance into sourcing.
Post-de-minimis reality
With the $800 exemption suspended, low-value direct-to-consumer parcels from China face formal entry economics. Bulk import plus domestic fulfillment is now structurally cheaper — the sooner a seller's supply chain reflects that, the better their margin.
Door-to-Door Import Service
Factory pickup and consolidation in China, honest customs entries under your bond, and delivery into FBA/AWD with compliant labeling and scheduled appointments — or into your 3PL for multi-channel fulfillment.
Sellers get landed-cost reporting per SKU per shipment: freight, duty, and fees allocated so your true margins are visible in a spreadsheet, not a feeling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is cheap 'DDP shipping' from China worth it?
How long does China to FBA take?
Can you handle FNSKU labeling and Amazon prep?
What happened to shipping small parcels directly from China?
Amazon FBA & E-commerce Inventory is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.