Air Freight to Middle East: How Foreign Traders Can Get the Real Low Price from Freight Forwarders
With 20 years of experience as a freight forwarder, I’m going to tell foreign traders some hard truths. Freight forwarders give different replies to different inquiries. Once you understand the truth behind this, you can follow these tips and get the real low price.
In fact, freight forwarders receive 10 inquiries every day, and 8 of them are a waste of time. Freight forwarders are very busy. When they get too many inquiries, they can spot invalid customers at a glance and save their energy for real clients.
Type 1: Inquiries with No Basic Information
Some foreign trade customers ask directly: How much is air freight from Shenzhen to Middle East? This is the most common inquiry. There is no product name, no weight, and no time requirement. Freight forwarders won’t take such inquiries seriously, because you’re just treating them as a quoting machine.
I’ve even met more extreme cases: some people ask for the price and say it’s for a friend. These inquiries will most likely be used to bargain with other forwarders later. So freight forwarders won’t make a serious quote. Foreign traders should never inquire like this—it’s just a waste of time.
When facing such customers, freight forwarders will ask for basic information: product name, ready date, weight, etc. If you can’t provide these details and just say “I only want a price first”, it will definitely waste both sides’ time, and the forwarder won’t treat you seriously.
Type 2: Big Talk Inquiries
Some customers start with big promises: I have 100 tons of cargo for air freight to Middle East every month, give me your lowest price. New freight forwarders may get very excited about such large shipments, right? But experienced ones have learned their lessons and won’t take it too seriously—they just laugh it off.
I once had a customer who claimed 100 shipments per month for air freight to Middle East, but only shipped 3 times in half a year! Remember, real big clients care more about specific core details: transit time, customs clearance ability at the destination, flight schedule, delivery time, etc. Foreign traders with real large shipments focus on delivery date, not just asking for a low price directly.
Type 3: Price Comparison Robots
These customers only ask about price and ignore details. They send a long list of inquiries at once. If you reply carefully, it wastes your time and the deal still won’t close. They don’t really want to ship goods—they may just want to learn about the market and compare prices.
Keep in mind: freight forwarders have sharp eyes. They know real customers will discuss details with them, while fake ones only talk about price.
If you can talk further about details like trucking, airport pallet build-up, customs declaration, destination delivery and so on, 80% chance it’s a real order. Then freight forwarders will treat you seriously and follow up properly.
So next time you inquire about air freight to Middle East, pay attention to the points above. The more details you discuss, the more attention the forwarder will pay. They will think you are an experienced trader with real cargo, and dare not quote a high price. You will most likely get the best low price on the whole route.
We are DL Logistics, one of the top 5 providers for air freight to Middle East. We have booked 20 weekly pallet positions with two major airlines. We enjoy priority customs clearance at UAE airports, with priority pickup at warehouses. Our local logistics team answers calls at 2 a.m., with morning deliveries arriving at noon and noon deliveries arriving in the afternoon. We are truly one of the top 5 in air freight to Middle East. Choose DL for air freight to Middle East—all users say it’s smooth and reliable.