Why Alibaba's shipping is too expensive to Switzerland?

[princetrox]

Hello,

I wanted to start an e-commerce store, and I already know the niche/products, etc. But now I see the shipping from Alibaba to Switzerland is over the top. It's so much more than Germany or even the USA. It's frustrating because I can't profit from shipping costs like this. And the funny thing is that Switzerland is the neighbor of Germany, so why so much more?

Can someone help me?

 

[smurph]

Why do your products need to be warehoused in and distributed from Switzerland?

Get your initial samples and QC forward orders sent to yourself in Switzerland, and reach out to a 3PL warehouse in Southern Germany (Freiburg?) - you can visit and build a relationship. Have your goods shipped there, then distribute them around the EU from there.

Might be some legalities to work through, but I’d use that geography to your benefit.

 

[princetrox]

Why do your products need to be warehoused in and distributed from Switzerland?

Get your initial samples and QC forward orders sent to yourself in Switzerland, and reach out to a 3PL warehouse in Southern Germany (Freiburg?) - you can visit and build a relationship. Have your goods shipped there, then distribute them around the EU from there.

Might be some legalities to work through, but I’d use that geography to your benefit.

The problem is that I am just starting, and for my money, I thought it was best to send it to me and then ship it to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

 

[smurph]

The problem is that I am just starting, and for my money, I thought it was best to send it to me and then ship it to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

It would help if you considered using a 3PL service. You can ship to their warehouse (i.e., in China) to distribute internationally.

 

[manciple]

Switzerland is an EEA country, so there shouldn't be any reason you can't send it elsewhere inside the EEA and Schengen customs and free trade zone if need be. However, finding a professional freight forwarder in China that knows this shit forwards and backward and carefully reviewing the B2B VAT rules you will need to follow will be a good idea so you don't get an ass kicking from the tax agencies.

 

[princetrox]

Switzerland is an EEA country, so there shouldn't be any reason you can't send it elsewhere inside the EEA and Schengen customs and free trade zone if need be. However, finding a professional freight forwarder in China that knows this shit forwards and backward and carefully reviewing the B2B VAT rules you will need to follow will be a good idea so you don't get an ass kicking from the tax agencies.

Thanks! Do you think it's cheaper this way?

 

[manciple]

Thanks! Do you think it's cheaper this way?

You must start getting creative with the freight procedures when shipping large quantities. Try collecting some info from some free courses and use it to make a business plan and financial projections. As well as figuring out different options for freight and perhaps 3PL.

 

[hosterbros]

Because it mainly depends on currency exchange rates which I think are high in Switzerland. Also, it varies from product to product it's size and dimensions.