Nanbin Shipping Options: EXW, FOB, DDP Explained
We quote five terms. Which one is right for you depends less on preference than on two things: how much your order weighs, and whether you already have a freight forwarder.
| Term | In a nutshell | Who arranges freight |
|---|---|---|
| EXW (Ex Works) | Ready at our factory door; everything after is yours | You |
| FOB (Free On Board, Shenzhen) | We deliver to Shenzhen port and load; ocean freight is yours | We handle domestic, you handle ocean |
| CFR (Cost and Freight) | FOB plus the ocean freight to your port | We do, up to your port |
| CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) | CFR plus marine insurance | We do, up to your port |
| DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) | We deliver to your warehouse door, duties paid | We handle everything |
The short version: you have a forwarder and want cost control → EXW, FOB or CFR. First order, or unfamiliar with customs clearance → DDP.
EXW (Ex Works)
Our price covers product cost and packaging only. Everything past the factory gate is arranged and paid by you.
Included: product cost · inner and outer packaging · loading onto your nominated truck
Not included: domestic trucking to port · export customs clearance · ocean or air freight · insurance · destination clearance and duties
Best for: buyers with a long-term forwarder and competitive rates · buyers familiar with destination customs · buyers consolidating from several factories
EXW doesn’t mean we’re less involved. We prepare your goods on schedule and our team is on site during loading.
One caution, because it’s the most common way first-time importers lose money: an EXW quote looks cheapest and often isn’t. Once factory pickup, export declaration and origin charges are added back, the gap against FOB narrows or reverses. EXW also puts the China-side handover in the hands of whoever is furthest from it.
FOB (Free On Board, Shenzhen Port)
Our price covers product, packaging, domestic trucking to Shenzhen port, and export clearance. Once the goods are aboard your nominated vessel, subsequent costs are yours.
Included: product and packaging · domestic trucking to Shenzhen port · export customs clearance · port charges up to loading
Not included: ocean freight · insurance · destination clearance and duties · destination drayage
Best for: buyers with a forwarder who’d rather not manage the domestic leg · buyers who want to negotiate ocean freight directly · full container shipments
FOB Shenzhen is our most common arrangement alongside CFR. Your forwarder books the vessel, we deliver to port, and responsibility splits cleanly.
CFR (Cost and Freight)
Everything in FOB, plus the ocean freight to the port you name. Risk still passes to you when the goods are loaded, but the freight is on our invoice rather than yours.
Included: everything under FOB · ocean freight to your named destination port
Not included: insurance · destination clearance and duties · delivery from port to your warehouse
Best for: buyers who want one number for goods and freight but still want to clear customs themselves · buyers without a competitive ocean rate of their own
CFR is quoted as often as FOB with our regular buyers. It removes the freight-booking step without handing us your customs clearance.
CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight)
CFR with marine insurance added. Everything else, including clearance and duty at your end, works the same way.
Best for: buyers who want cargo covered without arranging their own policy, typically on higher-value shipments
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)
We handle everything from our factory to your warehouse address: transport, clearance at both ends, and duties.
Included: product and packaging · domestic trucking · export clearance · ocean or air freight · insurance · destination clearance and duties · last-mile delivery
Best for: first orders with a Chinese factory · buyers without an established forwarder · orders where one landed number matters more than the lowest number
DDP costs more than the alternatives, because we’re carrying more responsibility and risk. What you get back is a single price with no separate invoices from a forwarder, a customs broker and a courier.
Weight decides your options before the term does
This is the part most guides skip, and it’s the one that saves buyers the most money.
Traditional ocean freight has a floor of 100 kg. Below that, ocean is not available at any price, and your realistic channels are courier or air freight. Which means the term discussion mostly evaporates: on a courier shipment there’s no vessel to be free on board of, and the shipment functions as door-to-door whether or not the invoice says DDP.
Above 100 kg, ocean opens up, cost per kilo drops sharply, and the term you agree on starts to determine real money.
Shapewear is light, so this threshold arrives later than buyers expect. A few hundred pieces is roughly where it lands, though it varies with style and packing density. If you want to understand how the freight itself is priced on either side of that line, we’ve written it up separately in EXW, FOB or DDP: shipping terms for shapewear orders below a full container.
Which term suits your order size
Under 100 kg — samples and small first orders
| Term | Assessment |
|---|---|
| DDP | Flat door-to-door rate. The service premium is small in absolute terms at this size. Recommended |
| EXW | Cheapest only if you have your own FedEx, UPS or DHL business account and clear customs yourself |
| FOB / CFR / CIF | Not applicable in practice — there’s no ocean leg to hand over |
At this size the term is close to a formality. What actually changes your freight bill is carton size, which is why we drop to a smaller box, or cut a standard one down, when an order doesn’t fill one.
Around 100 to 500 kg — a few hundred pieces up
This is where most of our regular buyers sit, and where the choice starts paying for itself.
| Term | Assessment |
|---|---|
| CFR | One number covering goods and freight to your port, you clear customs. Recommended if you can clear at your end |
| FOB | Best if you have a forwarder with rates better than ours. Recommended if you do |
| DDP | Still reasonable here, and the simplest, but you’re paying a premium that starts to be visible |
Crossing 100 kg is the single biggest change in your freight cost per piece. Ocean rates are a fraction of courier rates, and the saving arrives at the same time your unit price improves with volume. Consolidating four small orders into one shipment usually costs less than the four shipments did.
Full container loads
| Term | Assessment |
|---|---|
| FOB | Domestic cost per unit becomes negligible at scale and you negotiate ocean freight directly. Recommended |
| EXW | Saves a little more if you have a strong long-term forwarder |
| DDP | The service premium compounds. Not recommended at this size |
Quick reference
| Under 100 kg | A few hundred kg | Full container | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best value | DDP, or EXW with your own courier account | CFR or FOB | FOB |
| Easiest | DDP | DDP | FOB |
| Most common with our buyers | DDP door-to-door | FOB or CFR Shenzhen | FOB Shenzhen |
| Avoid | EXW without a courier account | — | DDP |
FAQ
How much more is FOB than EXW? It depends on distance to Shenzhen port and cargo volume, and the per-unit difference is usually small on larger orders. We’ll quote both at inquiry so you can compare directly.
What’s the difference between CFR and DDP? Under CFR we pay the ocean freight to your port and stop there; you clear customs and pay duty. Under DDP we carry it through clearance, duty and final delivery. CFR is cheaper; DDP is simpler.
How are DDP duties calculated? On the destination country’s HS code classification and declared value. Our DDP quote includes estimated duties, and if actual customs charges differ, the difference is settled at cost.
Do you support air freight? Yes, under any of these terms. FOB air means we deliver to Shenzhen airport and you book the air leg; DDP air means we deliver to your door. Air runs several times the cost of sea and suits small urgent orders.
I want to use my own forwarder on FOB. How does that work? Tell us at order placement and provide your forwarder’s contact and shipping instruction. We notify them 3 to 5 days before cargo is ready, they arrange a truck to our factory, we load, clear customs and deliver to port.
Can DDP deliver to my company warehouse? Yes. Give us the warehouse address at order placement. The US, UK, Europe and Australia are standard; for remote addresses tell us upfront so we can confirm last-mile options.
How long before my order ships? In-stock styles dispatch within 3 days of order confirmation. Bulk production runs about 25 days. Transit time is on top of that and depends on channel and destination.
Which countries do you ship to? The United States, United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa are all regular destinations for us.
Have a specific route in mind? Send us your delivery address and order quantity and we’ll quote EXW, FOB, CFR and DDP side by side so you can compare landed cost.
Last updated: August 2026 · 7 min read
