Sea / Ocean Shipping Fee Information

(I) Sea Shipping Rates for Normal or General Goods

Sea shipping parcels are measured by using volumetric or dimensional weight as cubic meter (L x W x H in meter) rather than actual weight of the parcel.  Dimensional weight is measured by the parcel package size, not by size of the item in the parcel.   

At Taobao2SG.com, you can submit your sea shipping order as soon as your total sea shipping parcels accumulate to at least 0.1 CBM.  Unlike other freight forwarders, we will not require customers to accumulate freight to 1 cubic meter for requesting a shipping order. 

Sea shipping parcels will take approximately 12-14 days to reach Singapore after being shipped out from our Guangzhou warehouse.

All sea shipping parcels are subject to 7% of GST in SGD.  The amount of GST for each parcel is based on the declared value of a parcel. The value of a parcel is declared by the owner of the goods (i.e., the customer himself or herself) via the User Center in our website.

The total fee payable for each shipping order is thus equal to the sum of shipping fee and the 7% GST. (Total Fee = Shipping Fee + 7% GST).  The shipping fee itself is not subject to the GST.

Please be advised that all GSTs are based on self-declared parcels values by customers themselves.  We pay Singapore Customs the required GST that we collect from customers while we clear the SG Customs procedure on behalf of our customers. The GST will be paid to Singapore Custom, not to Taobao2SG.  Customers are responsible for whatever values they declare while using our forwarding services.

For example, customer Mr. Tan has a sea shipping parcel which requires a shipping fee of S$13。Mr. Tan declared the parcel as having a value equivalent to S$100。Then the GST payable for the parcel is S$100 x 7%= S$7。Mr. Tan needs to pay (1) sea shipping fee S$13 and (2）GST S$7。 That is, a total fee of S$13+S$7=S$20. 

The shipping fees for normal goods via sea shipping are summarized as follows:

Latest Update: 18 June 2024

-- The fees summarized in the above table are applicable for normal parcels only and not applicable to sensitive parcels.  Here are some examples of normal goods via sea shipping: clothes, shoes, bags, furniture, sports equipment, toys and hardware that do not contain a battery or magnet, and bicycles without assisted batteries.  If you plan to ship sensitive goods, please refer to the next section regarding the shipping rates for sensitive goods.
-- Taobao2SG will not charge our customers an additional fee for packing and consolidation. There is no limit for number of parcels to be consolidated into a single shipping order. 
-- Shipping fee for normal parcel via sea shipping is based on measurement of cubic meter.  However, for extremely heavy goods such as construction materials (e.g., tiles, steel, and stone), heavy machines and equipments (e.g., gym iron and dumbbells), the parcel will be measured by using the alternative rule:  "500 kg = 1cbm" rather than the dimensional weight of the parcel.

Latest Update: 18 June 2024

If you plan to import a small quantity of sensitive goods for your personal own use only (that is, non-commercial purposes such as not for re-sale in Singapore), then we can waive the surcharge of sensitive goods and calculate your shipping fee based on normal shipping rates.  

What are sensitive goods?  Here are some examples:  branded and counterfeit goods (e.g., Nike, Adidas, and all luxury brands), stuffed toys, any goods in liquid (e.g., printer ink) or powder (e.g., printer toner) forms, personal medications, CDs and DVDs, publication materials (books and magazines), any goods that contains batteries (e.g., digital fitness smartwatches), electrical appliances, processed food that does not contain any meat, non-alcoholic beverages, adult sex toys, and cosmetics (in liquid or powder).  If you are not sure whether your parcel is normal or sensitive, please contact our staff via WhatsApp at 88130282.

We will not ship any goods that are classified as prohibited by Singapore Customs (e.g., endangered species of wildlife and their by-product, chewing gum, firecracker, chewing tobacco, e-cigarette, and controlled drugs, pistol, or revolver).
Customers who wish to import sensitive goods which are classified as controlled goods (e.g., processed food that contains meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, infant food, plants, radio communication equipment, and pharmaceuticals) must obtain an import permit or an import licence from proper regulatory authorities.  Importing controlled goods into Singapore without an import permit granted by a proper authority (or authorities) is serious offence to Singapore laws. 

(IV) Services that require additional fees