Import cost calculator
Enter your order details and we tell you exactly what our service would cost, broken down. You supply the freight figure, because its rate depends on your carrier and your route.
Short answer
How is the cost of a China sourcing agent calculated?
The cost of a China sourcing agent is made up of three independent parts: a commission on the value of the goods, which at MeliPrep runs from 8% down to 5% across monthly volume tiers, with a flat fee of USD 150 below USD 2,000; the services you take, such as the pre-shipment AQL inspection at USD 299 per inspector-day or SKU labelling at USD 0.12 per unit; and international freight, which is billed at cost at the carrier's rate with no markup added. This calculator estimates the first two parts from the published prices and lets you add your own freight quote.
Calculate your order
The figures are calculated in your browser. Nothing is sent to any server.
| Item | USD |
|---|---|
| Sourcing commission 7% — USD 5,000 to 25,000 band | — |
| Pre-shipment AQL inspection USD 299 per inspector-day | — |
| SKU labelling USD 0.12 per unit | — |
| MeliPrep service total | — |
| Freight (your quote, at cost) | — |
| Total landed cost | — |
An estimate based on the prices published on our pricing page. It does not include samples, mandatory destination certifications, storage beyond 30 days or import duties. The final quote is issued in writing before the first order.
Frequently asked questions about cost calculation
Does this calculator include international freight?
No, and that is deliberate. Freight rates change every week and depend on the carrier, the route, the weight and the actual volume of your packaging, so any fixed figure we published here would be wrong within a month. What the calculator does include is what we control and publish: our tiered commission, the AQL inspection and the labelling. Enter your own freight quote in the relevant field and you get the total landed cost.
Why does the commission change with volume?
Because the work has a fixed part and a variable part. Verifying a supplier, negotiating and placing an order costs roughly the same whatever the value of the goods, so on small orders the percentage has to be higher to cover that fixed cost. As your recurring volume grows, the fixed part is spread over a larger base and the percentage can come down.
What happens if my order is under USD 2,000?
A flat fee of USD 150 per order applies instead of a percentage. 8% of USD 1,000 would be USD 80, well below the real cost of verifying the supplier, negotiating, receiving the goods, checking them and preparing them. We would rather charge an honest flat fee than a percentage that would force us to cut the work.
Can I use the calculator if I buy through another agent?
Yes. Inspection, factory verification, consolidation and labelling can all be bought separately, without the order going through us. Tick only the services you want and set the commission to zero. A client with their own suppliers in China is a perfectly legitimate customer.
Would you rather we worked it out for you?
Send us the product, the volume and the destination and we will send back the full quote in writing, with the freight priced on the day we issue it.
We reply within 24 business hours. See how the process works