Case 1
How to find a reliable freight forwarder? How to sound professional when talking to them?
If you have products and need a freight forwarder for air freight to middle east, and you just ask directly: "How much to send to air freight to UAE?" At this point, the forwarder will think you are not professional, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, and they might charge you more.
There are many bad forwarders out there. You ask for a direct flight for air freight to UAE, but they send your goods via Bangkok instead. Even worse, some dishonest forwarders might mix sensitive goods with your general cargo. Here are a few tips to help you avoid being cheated by forwarders.
When you ship, tell them if you are shipping to a overseas warehouse or to FBA. This is important. Many FBA shipments are consolidated onto pallets, and forwarders may give you a better price.
Second, tell the forwarder the specific address, the product material, whether it contains liquid, batteries, powder (sensitive goods) or is general cargo, and whether there is any anti-dumping regulation in the destination country. If none of these apply, there usually won't be extra charges.
Next, the route. You need to know which airline they use: EK, CA, CZ, TK, etc. Different airlines have different transit times and services, and of course different prices. Most importantly, find out if it's a direct flight to UAE or a connecting flight. Direct flight might cost $25 per kg, connecting flight $18 per kg. Some bad forwarders will put you on a connecting flight, then tell you customs is inspecting your goods in the destination country, delaying you for days while they quietly count your money.
You should also look for a few reputable forwarders in the market. Use the professional points I just mentioned – product, anti-dumping, material, extra charges, address – to talk with them. In recent years, many forwarders have gone bust. After comparing, because you sound professional, if the conversation goes well, some forwarders might even offer you credit terms. The longer you work with them, the better the credit terms they give.
Take our DL International Logistics as an example. We have firm blocks on 20 pallet positions per week from two major airlines. We are one of the top 5 in air freight to middle east – what you would call "a fairly well-known forwarder." But saying that might not impress you, because even a small forwarder with just 3 or 5 people in a village can shout louder with their ads. You can't really tell just from advertising – anyone can say nice things.
Let me give you a real example. What can you do? Simple: go visit their office in person. If you can't go, do a video tour. Many forwarders will find excuses to refuse: "I'm on a business trip," "I'm at a trade show," etc.
That's because their rented 200-square-foot office doesn't match the big claims in their ads. We have nearly 100 employees, and we fully own the entire 8th floor, Block B, Rongde Times Square, Longgang District – a Grade A office building. That's real proof of our strength. Many of our clients thought we were a shell company at first, but after visiting, they felt completely at ease.[learn more]
Case 2
Earn an Extra 40,000 RMB by Shipping 5 Tons of Air Freight to Middle East
Earn an extra 40,000 RMB by shipping 5 tons of air freight to Middle East. Do you know how they do it? Some customers tell freight forwarders that they want direct air shipping to door. However, some unethical forwarders switch it to connecting flights instead. Shipments from Shenzhen connect via Singapore to Dubai, then go through customs at the destination port and deliver to door.
When customers ask why their air freight hasn’t arrived in five or six days, these forwarders claim the goods are being inspected at the destination port.
They make fake inspection documents at the destination port and send them to customers, saying the inspection will cause another four or five days’ delay. Counting working days, the total time including shipping and fake inspection is almost the same as connecting flights via Singapore, leaving customers with no complaints. Direct flights cost 26 RMB per kg, while connecting flights cost 18 RMB per kg. For 5 tons of cargo, that’s a profit of 40,000 RMB.
When shipping cross-border air freight to Middle East, there are 4 common tricks used by freight forwarders. 90% of new sellers have fallen for these scams.
1. Bait and switch
Freight forwarders attract you with extremely low air freight rates. The market price for general cargo is 25 RMB, but they quote 18 RMB. They actually replace direct flights with connecting flights and blame flight delays when questioned.
2. Unauthorized mixed sensitive cargo
They accept general cargo at low prices, but secretly mix in electronic cigarettes, battery-powered or magnetic goods without permission. If your cargo is inspected, you may lose both your goods and payment.
3. Broken promises
They promise direct flights for your cargo, but mix direct and connecting flights together. When questioned, they claim a scanning error and say they will be more careful next time.
4. Unsafe mixed loading
They combine dangerous goods and consolidated cargo with only general cargo on the surface. Once inspected, shipments are delayed or the forwarder disappears.
Therefore, there are ways to find a reliable air freight to Middle East forwarder. Don’t only compare prices at the beginning. The air freight to Middle East market is already very mature, and operating costs among forwarders are similar. So price quotes usually do not differ by more than 5%. If someone offers 20-30% lower prices, there must be a catch.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t compare prices at all. Small differences still exist. Different forwarders have different channels and resources. Choosing the right one can still save you 5% on logistics costs.
How do you choose the right one? In the logistics industry, especially international logistics, you need to look at overall strength. Choose speed at the same price, choose reputation at the same speed, and check their warehouse if reputations are similar.
Small shell companies with only 3 or 4 people always talk about asset-light operations. They rent warehouses or even have no warehouses at all. They can handle small orders but fail completely with high-end clients. To excel at air freight to Middle East, a forwarder must have its own warehouse.
DL has a 20,000-square-meter foreign trade warehouse in Yantian, 6 stories high. Foreign clients often visit and speak highly of it.[learn more]
Case 3
What to Do if FOB Designated Freight Forwarder Charges Too Much?
Everyone knows that using a designated freight forwarder for FOB terms is expensive. Why? Because costs are shifted from the destination port to us. So what can we do when fees are too high? Do you just pay whatever the forwarder asks? You might worry they won’t release telex release if you don’t pay. But do we really have no choice?
Recently, Hassan shipped a batch of cargo to the Middle East. It was not a large shipment, only about 1 cubic meter, actually just 0.85 CBM. When the designated forwarder sent the fee list, Hassan was speechless. The charge was 1200 yuan. For less than 1 CBM of goods, they asked for 1200 yuan, and kept urging him to confirm quickly. It was already late when the forwarder sent the list, and the vessel would arrive at the port in about ten days.
Then Hassan directly emailed the forwarder, saying he could not accept the fees as they were ridiculously high. Right after that, he called them and said they charged the highest and most unreasonable fees he had ever seen. The two sides were in a deadlock for three or four days. Later, the forwarder contacted him voluntarily, saying other suppliers had already confirmed their fees and only his was left, since the container was shared by several companies. Finally, they negotiated the price down to 900 yuan. Hassan paid reluctantly, feeling he had been overcharged.
Therefore, whether you are sending goods by air freight to middle east or by sea, freight forwarders vary in quality. Most are small forwarders with only three to five people, who will overcharge whenever they get the chance.
In the past, people usually found forwarders through friends’ recommendations. But sometimes logistics conditions are strict in customers’ countries, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and other countries in the Middle East. So we often search the country’s name plus “freight forwarder” on platforms, and many local forwarders will show up.
However, this is just a way to find forwarders. The communication process is very important. You need to tell the real from the fake, filter out shell companies and small unreliable forwarders, and find reliable and large-scale ones. You can directly feel their strength and professionalism during communication.
You can simply say you want to visit their company. If they hesitate and make excuses, they must be small forwarders. Usually they just rent a small office of around 20 square meters in an office building with only three or four staff members.
Those who confidently agree are usually reliable large forwarders. Take our company DL as an example. We now have nearly 100 employees and own the entire 8th floor of Block B, Rongde Times Square, Longgang District, Shenzhen. Our dedicated foreign trade warehouse in Yantian covers 20,000 square meters with 6 floors, and is managed in a standardized way. Foreign clients always praise us after visiting. We are among the top 5 companies for air freight to middle east. You can rest assured choosing forwarders like us, as we will never overcharge.【learn more】
|
