Sure, you know that the vast majority of furniture for sale in Australia is manufactured off-shore, but when does it make sense to import it yourself, and what are the risks?
In an ideal world, every project would have a budget handsome enough to afford purchasing furnishings designed and made locally, but it's been a while since Australia was considered a manufacturing nation and more often than not the cost of filling your tenancy with local furnishings is not viable.
These days, buying imported furniture from local importers is relatively low risk. The larger suppliers have been around for a while and obviously understand the value of a good reputation. They go to a lot of effort to source and warrant their products, and will often keep large quantities in stock.
Depending on the size of your project, your start-up costs can be further reduced by importing furnishings yourself, but proceed with caution… Offshore procurement is not a straight forward process and you can be caught with unforeseen taxes, increased lead times, quality issues and problems integrating components into the fit-out.
If it all sounds a bit much or you're pressed for time; keep it local or engage a professional.
For those of you keen to hear some insider tips, read on. I'll be covering the following:
• Selection, Design and Manufacture
• Purchasing
• Shipping and Customs
• Receiving
• Warranty
Selection, Design and Manufacture
Whether you're selecting from a catalogue or having your own designs manufactured, clarity is going to be key.
There's likely to be some language barriers, so make sure your requirements are clearly communicated.
Engage an experienced designer to document custom joinery and furnishings really well. If you aren’t happy to get whatever the manufacturer feels like giving, detail the bejesus out of it. Keep in mind that construction methods, joining techniques, materials, finishes, units of measurement and what is considered as acceptable to be seen will vary between borders - don't assume any detail as obvious.
Nominate seat heights, foot rail heights, overall widths of chairs, and the distance between table legs so the chairs can fit within. Nominate timber finishes and the type of paint used for high wear components. Get in early and send swatches to the supplier so they can match finishes. Ask your supplier to send physical samples for your final approval.
Cultural differences may see the supplier agree to everything you ask for, regardless of their capacity. Make sure you understand their capability and inspect their previous work if possible.
Often the company you are dealing with is sourcing the products, and isn't directly responsible for manufacture. Ensure that they've used their manufacturer before and check if they have supplied furniture to establishments nearby - it'd be well worth the drive to scope their wares.
Remember, keep communication clear and be respectful.
There are enough jerks in the world - don't be adding to that pile.
Purchasing
You're going to be parting with large sums of cash, which is not a great feeling - especially if you're not sure where it's going.
Generally the terms are 50% up front, and 50% at the time of shipping. Best practice is to spend the extra time and money to inspect the items personally - if you don't know what you're looking at, send someone who does.
Hot tip: transfer a couple of dollars to the supplier’s account before you make the down payment and once it has cleared, do not change the details.
I have personally been involved in a project where my client transferred the down payment to the supplier, only to realise that hackers had intercepted the email exchange at the suppliers end and changed the receiver's bank details.
All money was recovered, but it was far from a good day at the office.
Keep clear communication with your supplier, call directly to confirm account details and lessen the risk by using a reputable foreign exchange - they'll charge a fee, but they're generally cheaper than the banks.
Shipping and Customs
It's got to get here, and it's coming on a ship. Shipping can take a few weeks, and the lead time can be further affected by local and international holidays, bad weather and busy ports. Keep some cash aside for shipping, customs, import duties and taxes.
Insure the goods while in transit - It’s not expensive. Your coverage should kick in as the goods leave the warehouse and continue until it arrives at the final location and include transport by sea, air, road, rail and registered post. Coverage options depend on your broker, but the basic inclusions are accidental damage, loss and returned goods (if the ship heads back to the departure port etc). Read your policy, and then get a mate to read your policy.
Make sure you're aware of what the supplier is providing - you don't want to be left with a container sitting at port in China waiting for you to organise logistics.
After it's landed at port in Australia, a clearance and logistics company will need to arrange Australian customs to clear the contents for release from quarantine.
Pay special attention when importing timber components. Timber will need to be treated against pests, you'll need to prove it hasn't been illegally logged and certain species aren't allowed in the country at all.
Receiving
It's coming in a container, so… you'll be needing some elbow space.
Your shipment will generally be in a 40' container or two, so you need to plan ahead.
Make sure to arrange the drop location well ahead of time, and consider how the truck will access the site. Tell the transport company which way you want to the doors facing and whether the container will be unloaded from the rear or sides of the truck
Your best bet is to get the container unloaded and cleaned out in a day so you aren't charged excess holding fees by the transport company.
If you are expecting your shopfitter / builder to unpack, assemble and arrange your imported products, make sure they are aware of this before they price and schedule the build.
Defects and Warranty
It's not quite as simple as getting a sales rep to drop by with a replacement for a chair that was faulty or broken in transit.
You don't really want to be relying on a replacement warranty as lead times and cost of shipping are going to be hefty.
Buy a few extras to cover random breakages and talk to you supplier about what they will cover.
Angle for a refund on damaged or faulty goods and keep in mind that the cost to replace or repair in Australia is going to be higher.
Much higher.
If you are bargaining for cheaper products than what was originally quoted, expect that you run the risk of the supplier sourcing items from a cheaper manufacturer. You get what you pay for, everywhere.
I'm not trying to paint a poor picture of offshore manufacturers and suppliers - Everyone in business is going about their day, trying to make a buck. But like anywhere, some folks aren't as honest as others - add in some communication difficulties and a few thousand kilometres and things can get a little hairy.
Navigate the links below for more blog posts related to design and construction, or email me if you're old school and prefer the personal touch.