Shipping furniture from Beijing to Los Angeles by sea

Client Information: Mr. Wu
Shipping Route: Beijing to Los Angeles;
Service Date: 2018.11.14;
Case Summary: Mr. Wu from Beijing emigrated to Los Angeles, USA, and shipped furniture by sea

Mr. Wu from Beijing needed to transport his furniture and belongings to his new home in Los Angeles, USA. He found Seapoe Relo through a referral from a Chinese friend in the US. After several exchanges, our staff, based on the total volume of the furniture and items Mr. Wu intended to ship, recommended full container load (FCL) shipping as a more convenient option. In addition, we advised him to avoid carrying prohibited items, as the US customs inspection rate is quite high. Mr. Wu chose the door-to-door dual customs clearance service, so he only needed to prepare the relevant documents, and our company would handle everything from door-to-door packing, customs declaration, customs clearance, to delivery, saving Mr. Wu travel time.

According to Mr. Wu's travel schedule, our packing team went to Mr. Wu's home in Beijing to pack the furniture and other items to be transported. Since there were many items to ship, Seapoe's packing team used different packing solutions for each piece of furniture and item to ensure the safety of the items throughout the entire transportation process, giving the client peace of mind and confidence.



Notes on Shipping Household Goods to Los Angeles

1. US entry policy for personal belongings is relatively lenient: new immigrants and green card holders with less than 2 years of residency status; furniture and personal items owned for more than 12 months may qualify for duty-free entry.

2. Due to extremely strict anti-terrorism measures, the US customs inspection rate is relatively high; the inspection rate for regular goods is 10%, while for personal belongings it is around 90%; customs clearance in the US takes about 10 days, so please plan your travel schedule accordingly.

3. US inspection fees have always been outside the standard quotation and are a mandatory cost; typically the inspection fee ranges from USD 120-200.

4. Textiles in the US have limited selection and are expensive; therefore, curtains, tablecloths and similar items are better purchased in China. In addition, furniture is also recommended to be bought in China and brought over, because US furniture is predominantly fabric-based, with leather sofas priced around USD 5,000; wooden furniture, due to resource and cultural differences, is mostly oak, and Chinese-style furniture is sold at much higher prices than in China.