How do you keep freight costs down on samples compared with bulk shipments?
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- Issue Time
- Oct 29,2026
A:Samples go by express as a single small parcel; bulk moves by sea or air on consolidated volume. The cheapest way to keep sample freight down is to send one representative unit at actual size rather than several, and to keep the parcel under the courier dimensional weight break.
Express 3–7 daysSamples, first choice
Air 5–10 daysFrom about 100 kg
Sea 20–40 daysPriced by volume
Which mode for which stage
- Sample by express — 3–7 days, billed on dimensional weight; combine several sample requests into one parcel.
- Bulk by air — 5–10 days, cost-effective from roughly 100 kg or when a launch date cannot wait for sea.
- Bulk by sea — 20–40 days, priced by volume, so pack flat to cut cubic meters rather than weight.
- Avoid — shipping an assembled floor stand as a sample when the knock-down version takes a third of the volume.
Freight is charged on volume, not value
On a display program, a 10% cut in packed volume usually saves more than a 10% discount on unit price. Ask for packed carton dimensions before you compare freight quotes from two suppliers.
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