Importing furnishings from China

woodpen

Hi all,
I am currently waiting for planning permission but am thinking ahead about furnishing the house (1600sqft) next year. I am wondering if anyone has gone to china or any other country to furnish their house. I am mainly thinking of sinks, toilets, shower heads, pots, pans, curtains, curtain rails, handles etc filling half a container and shipping to Ireland. Any electrical goods will be purchased in Ireland. I have a native friend there who speaks Chinese.

I have researched a container and its 60 euro per cbm (10 cbm by 60= 600euro) and a flight is 600euro (1200euro already off the savings but may still worth it).

Has anyone tried this before or any horror stories regarding buying Chinese goods i.e. can stuff go missing in transit from the store to the docks?

Does anyone know what the story is with insurance, customs, import duty & VAT on both sides and costs (when it’s not for resale)?

Cheers:)

jor el

Import duty and VAT will be a killer. Factor in about 30% extra for these. Add to that no warranty, and possible reduced quality products (you get a lot of poor quality products from China), and the cost of shipping/flights, and it's not going to be worth the hassle.

Don't forget that all though it costs €600 to ship the container to Ireland, how much will it cost to ship the products from the port to your house? This will not be included in that price.

If it was worth doing, everyone would be doing it already.

Have a look into furniture shops in Northern Ireland or Britain. Probably a lot easier and cheaper to ship. Also try doing a deal with local suppliers. They're a lot more open to discounts these days.

woodpen

I guess I was getting carried away myself! I was just wondering if any one has every done it before! I knew IKEA were cheap but I didn't realise how cheap!! Might even head up North when the time comes if the exchange rate is right!

Cheers