Sourcing on Alibaba is the easy half. The other half is getting what you bought from a factory in Guangdong to your address in the United States — and that half is where most of the money and most of the surprises are.
“Door to door” sounds like one thing and covers at least four arrangements. A supplier may offer it, a booking platform may offer it, and a forwarder will offer it — and the quotes need not include the same items.
This guide covers what to check before you accept any of them. It is written for imports into the USA, so the duty detail is US-specific.
We are not affiliated with Alibaba Group. Alibaba is referenced only to describe a sourcing scenario common among our clients.
What “Door to Door” Actually Covers
Door to door describes a service, not a fixed legal scope. The Incoterm on your order is what assigns responsibility. Break any quote into five legs and ask which are included:
| Leg | What happens | Often missing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Origin pickup | Factory to the export port | Billed extra outside the local area |
| 2. Export clearance | Chinese export declaration | Usually included; confirm anyway |
| 3. Main freight | Ocean or air to the US gateway | Usually included |
| 4. US customs entry | Entry filing, duty, bond, ISF | Commonly excluded — this is the gap |
| 5. Final delivery | Port to your address | Excluded when billed “to port” |
What to do: before accepting any door to door price, get four answers in writing: who files the US entry, who pays the duty, whose bond is used, and who files ISF? If the answer is “you,” the quote is not all-inclusive.
The Incoterm on Your Order Decides Everything
| Incoterm | Supplier handles | You handle | Typical for |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Goods available at the factory | Everything, including loading and export clearance | Rarely a good default |
| FOB | Delivery to origin port, export clearance | Main freight, US entry, duty, delivery | The most common supplier quote |
| CIF | Freight and insurance to the US port | US entry, duty, port charges, delivery | Common, often confused with door to door |
| DAP | Delivery to your named place | US entry and duty | Occasionally offered |
| DDP | Delivery plus US entry and duty | Nothing, in theory | What buyers usually want |
Two points that save money:
A supplier’s “shipping included” price is usually FOB or CIF. The ocean leg is covered and the US side is not. Buyers who read it as final meet the second invoice when the container arrives.
DDP moves the importer of record role, which cuts both ways. Under DDP the seller, or a party appointed by the seller, is normally the importer of record. That reduces your administrative work and your visibility into how the goods were classified and valued — and the IOR carries the legal responsibility. Confirm in writing who the importer of record will be. See DDP shipping from China to the USA.
The Five Items Most Often Missing From a Quote
- US customs bond. Required to clear commercial goods: either a continuous bond you hold, or a single-entry bond per shipment.
- ISF filing. Required for ocean shipments and due before the cargo loads at origin — a hard cut-off that depends on data your supplier must send in time.
- Duty and trade-measure tariffs. Charged on the goods value, not the freight.
- Destination charges. Terminal handling, chassis, drayage, appointment or liftgate fees. These decide whether the shipment was profitable, and they are not in the freight line.
- Examination costs. If CBP inspects, the cost is real, and nobody can promise it will not happen.
What to do: ask for a line-item quote rather than a single number. A forwarder who will not break it down is telling you something.
Duty Is Often Larger Than the Freight Line
For Chinese-origin goods, duty is a stack: the HTS classification sets the base rate, origin triggers trade measures, and the declared value is what all of it is charged against.
For many consumer products the trade measures are the larger part. The stack also changes. The emergency-powers tariffs in place through 2025 ended in February 2026, and a Section 301 duty on Chinese-origin goods took effect on 24 July 2026 on top of the existing China Section 301 duties. Section 232 coverage broadened for metals and their derivatives.
That is why the duty figure in any quote has a shelf life. See US customs clearance for imports from China.
What to do: get the ten-digit HTS code from your supplier before you order, have your broker confirm it, and price your resale against duty rather than against freight.
Matching the Shipping Method to Your Order Size
| Order size | Usual method | What drives the choice |
|---|---|---|
| A few cartons, under ~100 kg | Air express or air freight | Speed; cost per kg is high but the total is small |
| Roughly 1–12 CBM | LCL (less than container load) | You pay for volume used, but wait for consolidation and pay destination charges per shipment |
| Roughly 15 CBM and up | FCL (full container load) | Per-unit freight drops sharply; you control loading |
| Time-critical, high value density | Air freight | When the cost of waiting exceeds the air premium |
One change worth planning around: the US low-value exemption for parcels has been repealed, so the arithmetic that once made small direct shipments duty-free no longer applies.
For how the cost layers fit together, see how much it costs to ship from China to the USA.
How to Get Quotes You Can Actually Compare
Two freight quotes that differ by a few hundred dollars are usually not comparable. Send every forwarder the same eight data points:
- Supplier address, and whether the factory can load a container
- Product description, material and intended use — this drives classification
- HTS code, if the supplier has one
- Carton count, dimensions, total gross weight and total CBM
- Whether the goods are stackable or oversized, or contain batteries, liquid, powder or magnets
- Declared goods value
- Your delivery address, and whether it has a loading dock
- The Incoterm you are buying on, and whether you already hold a customs bond and an EIN
With those, quotes become comparable. Without them, you are comparing assumptions.
Mistakes Buyers Make on Their First Shipment
Treating the supplier’s shipping price as the landed cost. It usually covers to the port, not to your door.
Not asking who the importer of record is. The IOR is legally responsible for classification, valuation and duty. Not knowing who it is means not knowing who is liable.
Forgetting the customs bond. A shipment can arrive with nothing to clear it against, which becomes storage and demurrage.
Missing the ISF deadline. The data has to come from your supplier, before loading.
Ordering before checking product compliance. FCC, FDA, CPSC and USDA apply by product, and a supplier declaration is not a US regulatory clearance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a platform logistics booking enough to get goods to my door?
It can cover part of the journey. What matters is which legs that specific booking includes — particularly whether US customs entry, duty, bond and ISF are in scope. Read the inclusions, not the service name.
Can my supplier arrange door to door shipping?
Some can; some resell it. Either way, confirm who files the US entry, who pays duty, and whose bond is used. The risk is assuming it is all-inclusive without checking.
Should I buy on DDP?
It is a standard Incoterm and common for US imports. It reduces your administrative work but moves the importer of record role, which affects your visibility into classification and valuation. Confirm the IOR in writing first.
How much duty will I pay?
It depends on the ten-digit HTS code, the origin and the declared value, plus any trade measures that apply to that code. There is no useful answer by order size. Get the code and have your broker confirm the rate before you price your resale.
Can I use my own forwarder instead of the supplier’s?
Yes, and it is usually better once you know the process, because you hold the freight relationship and see the itemised costs. The route to that is buying on FOB rather than a delivered price.
Key Takeaways
Door to door describes a service, not a fixed scope. The five legs are origin pickup, export clearance, main freight, US customs entry and final delivery — and US entry is the one most often left out.
The Incoterm on your order decides who does what. FOB and CIF quotes normally stop at the port; DDP moves entry and duty to the seller, but also moves the importer of record role.
Before accepting any quote, get four answers in writing: who files the US entry, who pays duty, whose bond is used, and who files ISF. Then compare quotes on the same eight data points, not the top-line number.
If you want the door-to-door leg arranged in one place, our door to door delivery service sets out what we coordinate and what stays with the importer of record.