Sea for almost every machine. Air is priced on weight and a machine is heavy; the premium is frequently a large fraction of the machine price rather than a modest surcharge.

You do, on arrival, unless you have specifically bought on a delivered-duty-paid basis. We quote it up front so it is not a surprise.

Can tooling ship with the machine?

Yes, and it should. Cutters, collets and spares are small and dense and add almost nothing to a machine consignment, but they cost a full shipment each if sent separately.

Is the crate reusable?

Keep it if you have room. Machines get resold and moved, and a machine without its transit crate is a machine that arrives damaged.

desktop CNC machines, tooling and upgrade parts / Buying guide

What a CNC machine costs delivered

A machine tool is dense, heavy and awkward, which makes its landed cost behave differently from almost everything else bought from China. Volume barely matters; weight and handling do.

These are the lines, in the order they appear.

In this guide

The lines

Machine price, as quoted by the supplier, usually ex-works.
Tooling, spares and upgrades bought at the same time — almost always cheaper together than separately.
Export crating. A machine tool needs a proper crate with the gantry locked and the spindle braced; this is not the line to economise on.
Inland haulage to the port or airport.
Freight — sea for most machines, air where the schedule forces it, charged on actual weight rather than volume.
Destination charges, customs clearance and any import handling.
Duty at your tariff classification, plus VAT or sales tax where applicable.
Final delivery, and whether the vehicle can reach your door and get the crate off.

Why weight rather than volume

Most goods on this estate are light and bulky, so freight is charged on volumetric weight. A CNC machine is the opposite: a 6040-class machine crates at roughly 60–90kg in well under half a cubic metre, so it prices on actual weight.

The practical consequence is that sea freight is usually the sensible route, and that air freight quotes on a machine are high enough to change the buying decision rather than just the schedule.

Classification, and getting it right first

Machine tools sit in Chapter 84 of the tariff, and the specific heading changes the duty rate. Getting it right at entry is straightforward; correcting it afterwards is not.

We settle the classification with you before the goods move and put it on the paperwork, rather than leaving the broker to guess from a commercial invoice that says "CNC machine".

The last fifty metres

A crated machine arrives on a pallet on a lorry. If your workshop has no dock, no forklift and a step at the door, that is a problem to solve before delivery day rather than on it.

Tail-lift delivery and a pallet truck cover most cases. Anything over about 150kg going up a step wants planning.

Questions & answers

Common questions

Sea or air?: Sea for almost every machine. Air is priced on weight and a machine is heavy; the premium is frequently a large fraction of the machine price rather than a modest surcharge.
Who pays the duty?: You do, on arrival, unless you have specifically bought on a delivered-duty-paid basis. We quote it up front so it is not a surprise.
Can tooling ship with the machine?: Yes, and it should. Cutters, collets and spares are small and dense and add almost nothing to a machine consignment, but they cost a full shipment each if sent separately.
Is the crate reusable?: Keep it if you have room. Machines get resold and moved, and a machine without its transit crate is a machine that arrives damaged.

Your next step

Have a link you want checked?

Send a 1688 or Taobao product link and you get back the specification in English, the supplier check, and the landed cost to your country before you commit to anything.

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