The unit price on a quotation is the number everyone compares, and often the least useful one. By the time goods are in your warehouse, ready to sell, the landed cost can be far above the factory price. Businesses that price their products from the quotation alone often discover their margin was never there.

This article is general information. Duty rates, VAT and registration rules depend on the product and the country; check them for your specific case.

Before production

Samples the samples themselves, plus express shipping. Several rounds are normal.
Tooling and moulds for custom products, a one-off cost that can exceed the value of a first order. Clarify in writing who owns the moulds.
Minimum order quantity the MOQ sets how much cash you tie up, and how much stock you carry if sales are slower than planned.
Testing and certification lab tests and documentation needed for the EU market, if the supplier doesn't already have valid reports for your exact model.

Getting the goods to Europe

Incoterms decide what the price includes. An EXW price covers the goods at the factory gate. FOB covers them loaded on the ship in China. Everything after that point is yours to pay.
Freight sea, rail or air, priced by volume or weight. Rates change considerably over a year.
Insurance for the goods in transit.
Inspections pre-shipment inspection and loading supervision.

Entering the EU

Customs duty calculated on the customs value, which in the EU is generally the price of the goods plus transport and insurance up to the EU border. Rates depend on the product's tariff classification, and can be zero.
Anti-dumping or countervailing duties extra duties on specific products from China. They can exceed the price of the goods, so check your product before ordering.
Import VAT charged on the customs value plus duty and transport to the destination. VAT-registered businesses can usually reclaim it, but you pay it first, which affects cash flow.
Customs broker and port charges clearance fees, terminal handling, document fees.

An illustrative calculation

This shows how the layers stack up. The duty rate is an example only; Poland's standard VAT rate of 23% is used.

Item Amount
Goods, FOB China €10,000.00
Sea freight and insurance to EU port €1,500.00
Customs value €11,500.00
Customs duty at an example rate of 3.7% €425.50
Transport from port to warehouse €300.00
VAT base €12,225.50
Import VAT at 23% €2,811.87

Before broker fees, inspection or any other cost, the cash you need is already about €15,000 for €10,000 of goods. Most of the VAT comes back later; the rest doesn't.

After arrival

Inland transport to your warehouse.
Registrations for producer responsibility selling electronics, batteries or packaging in an EU country usually requires registration and fees under national schemes for electrical waste, batteries and packaging. As the importer, this responsibility often falls on you, in each country where you sell.
Labelling or repackaging if the goods arrive without compliant labels or local-language instructions.
Storage and the cost of capital tied up in stock.

The costs that don't appear on any quote

Currency and payment fees exchange margins and bank charges on each transfer.
Defects and returns even a batch that passes inspection contains some defective units.
Delays late production or shipping can mean missed seasons, and stock sold at a discount.
A failed shipment goods stopped at the border or withdrawn from sale for missing documentation. Storage, rework or destruction costs, and the full value of the goods at risk.

How to use this

Build a landed-cost calculation for every product before you commit, and price from that number rather than the quotation. The cheapest supplier is often not the cheapest option once the costs of failure are included.