Your first container: the complete checklist

A first container is not difficult, but it has about forty small decisions in it, and the ones that hurt are the ones nobody knew they were making. Experienced importers are not smarter; they simply have the list in their heads.

Here is the list, in order.

Before you fly

Decide the target volume in cubic metres and the budget, and build the buying list against both. A 40ft high cube realistically holds 65–68 CBM of furniture.

Check the entry requirements for your passport and book flights and a hotel near the market rather than in central Guangzhou.

Set up payment apps and a SIM or eSIM before departure, and tell your bank the dates.

Find out what your destination market regulates: fire standards, labelling, timber documentation, electrical certification. Write it as a one-page brief you can hand to a factory.

Get a customs broker lined up at home and ask for the commodity codes and duty rates for what you plan to buy. Do this before you buy, not after.

In the market

Spend the first half-day looking without negotiating, to calibrate prices.

For every item you shortlist, collect: packed dimensions and pieces per carton, unit price and the incoterm, minimum order quantity, lead time, and a photograph with the supplier's name and stand number.

Ask the construction questions: frame material, foam density, board type and emission grade, hardware brand, finish system, timber species and origin.

Distinguish factories from traders — ask to see the plant. It is the fastest way to understand who controls your quality.

Keep a running CBM total on your phone against your target.

Before you pay the deposit

Get a signed pro-forma invoice with goods, quantities, unit prices, materials, packing, incoterm, port, lead time and payment terms.

Get a written specification per item and a signed sample or colour panel where finish matters.

Confirm the company name and bank account match, and check the business licence.

Write in the clause that matters: balance payable against acceptance of a pre-shipment inspection report.

Confirm packaging, labelling and any regulatory marks in the same document, with artwork attached.

Agree who arranges export clearance and what origin charges are included.

During production

Ask for photographs at three points: materials cut, units assembled, and packed. It costs the factory nothing and it catches problems while they are cheap.

Book the inspection and the freight in the same week — inspection two to three days before the container loads, freight booked four weeks ahead, six around Chinese New Year.

Confirm the document pack the factory will provide: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, fumigation or ISPM 15 statement, test reports, and any regulatory certificates.

Before it ships

Read the inspection report properly and act on it before paying the balance. This is the only leverage moment you get.

Check the packing list against your loading plan and confirm total CBM and weight.

Arrange marine insurance on all-risks terms, warehouse to warehouse, for CIF plus 10%.

Check the draft bill of lading for consignee, notify party, description and port — errors here cost amendment fees and delays.

On arrival

Photograph the seal number before opening, then the open doors with the load intact.

Note any damage on the delivery receipt before signing.

Check quantities against the packing list as you unload, and photograph any damaged item where it lies.

Notify insurer and carrier in writing within three days if anything is wrong, and keep the packaging until surveyed.

Then do the one thing most importers skip: write down what you would change next time, while it is fresh. That page is worth more than anything else on this list, because the second container is where the money is actually made.