QUICK ANSWER The way to start importing into the US is to make the buying decisions first: a product whose agency requirements you know, a supplier who can prove what they ship, and a test-sized order. Run the first shipment on FOB terms, budget against the landed cost rather than the freight quote, and treat the two deadlines as the real risk: ISF before loading, and port free time after arrival. The paperwork sequence itself has nine steps, and you do not have to run all of them yourself.
Figuring out how to start importing is mostly figuring out what to decide before any container exists, because the expensive mistakes are already made by the time a container exists. This guide walks the first-shipment decisions in the order they come up, with the full 9-step process linked where the mechanics live.
Decide these three things before you order
Three decisions made before the deposit leaves your account determine most of what the first import costs and how much sleep it takes.
The product and the agency behind it
Some products enter the US on a customs entry alone. Others answer to a federal agency first: food and cosmetics to the FDA, children's products to the CPSC, electronics with radios to the FCC, wood and plant products to the USDA. Find the agency before you commit to the product, because agency requirements shape everything upstream: what the supplier must be registered for, which certificates ship with the goods, and whether a sample order is even legal to sell. The vertical guides on importing food and importing electronics show what those reviews look like in practice.
How big the first order should be
Big enough to test real demand, small enough that a written-off shipment is a lesson rather than a crisis. In freight terms that usually means less than a container: LCL shipping prices by the cubic meter, so a 3-cbm test order pays for 3 cbm, while a full container bills the same whether you fill it or not. The FCL vs LCL comparison has the crossover math; most first orders sit comfortably on the LCL side of it.
Whether the supplier can prove what they ship
Before the order, ask the supplier for the documents your shipment will need: commercial invoice format, packing list, any agency registrations for your product category. A supplier who sends clean, consistent paperwork on request is a different risk class from one who goes quiet. The documents get collected and checked for completeness again before sailing, but the first request is your cheapest due diligence: it costs an email and reveals more than a factory tour brochure.
Budget the landed cost, not the freight quote
The freight quote is one line of what the shipment costs you. The first-shipment budget has seven, and they come due at different moments:
The first-shipment budget and when each line comes due
| Budget line | What it covers | When it is due |
|---|---|---|
| Goods | The supplier's invoice | Deposit at order, balance before shipping |
| Origin charges | Pickup, export handling, origin terminal (on FOB terms these sit inside the supplier's price) | Around vessel departure |
| Ocean freight | The port-to-port move | On booking terms |
| Duty and tariffs | HTS rate, plus Section 301 of 7.5% to 25% on many China-origin goods | At customs entry, before you have sold anything |
| Destination charges | US terminal and handling fees | At arrival |
| Drayage and delivery | Port pickup and the final leg | At delivery |
| Buffer | Free-time misses, exam fees, storage | Whenever timing slips |
Run the numbers through the landed cost breakdown to get a per-unit figure before you order. If the per-unit math only works at full container volume, that is an argument for a smaller product, not a bigger first order.
KEY TAKEAWAY Duty is due at entry, not when the goods sell. The cash plan has to survive the four to eight weeks between paying the supplier's balance and banking the first revenue, with the duty bill landing in the middle.
Agree supplier terms that keep you in control
The Incoterm on the purchase order decides who books the freight, who pays which charges, and who finds out about problems first. For a first import into the US, FOB is the sensible default: the supplier gets the container loaded on board at their port, export cleared, and everything from the vessel onward is booked by you or whoever you appoint. The FOB vs EXW comparison explains why EXW, which sounds cheapest, hands you origin-country problems you cannot see from abroad. And when a supplier offers DDP, freight and customs included, read what DDP actually transfers before agreeing; included rarely means what it sounds like.
The purchase order itself is a customs document in waiting. Give it a product description a tariff schedule could work with, the agreed Incoterm, a cargo-ready date, and the list of documents the supplier owes you with the shipment. Every field you write now is a dispute you skip later.
Your first shipment, compressed
With the decisions above made, the shipment itself runs on a fairly fixed rhythm:
A first ocean import, week by week
| Phase | Typical timing | Whose move it is |
|---|---|---|
| Booking and cargo readiness | Week 0 | You confirm, the freight gets booked |
| Origin pickup and export | Week 1 to 2 | Handled at origin, documents finalized |
| ISF filing | At least 24 hours before loading | Filed for you, from supplier data |
| Ocean transit | 13 to 21 days to the West Coast, 28 to 35 to the East Coast | The carrier's |
| Customs entry | Filed as the vessel approaches | Filed on your behalf |
| Release, pickup, delivery | Days after arrival, inside free time | Drayage, booked ahead of arrival |
The mechanics behind each row, admissibility, bond, classification, fees, live in the step-by-step import process guide. What matters on a first shipment is the rhythm: two clusters of activity at the ends, weeks of waiting in the middle, and two deadlines that do not move.
The mistakes first importers actually make
The same four mistakes account for most first-shipment pain, and all four are cheap to avoid once named.
Trusting the supplier's shipping quote
A suspiciously low all-in quote from the supplier usually means the destination side is missing. The freight gets paid twice in that scenario: once in the product price, and again at the US port when the charges nobody quoted arrive with the container. Control of the destination side is worth more than a discount at origin.
Copying the supplier's HS code
The supplier's 6-digit HS code is a starting point, not a classification. The US duty rate hangs on the full 10-digit HTS code, and the difference between the two is where first-time importers overpay or underpay without knowing it. Underpaying is the worse outcome; the correction arrives with interest.
Ignoring the ISF because the supplier handles shipping
The Importer Security Filing is due to CBP at least 24 hours before the container loads, it is built from data the supplier holds, and the penalty is $5,000 per violation against the importer, not the supplier. On a first shipment nobody has done it before, which is exactly why the ISF deadline needs an owner by name before booking.
Letting free time run out at the port
After release, the terminal gives a few free days before demurrage starts at $150 to $500 per container per day. First-timers regularly lose the buffer to a slow handoff: customs cleared on Tuesday, trucker booked the following Monday. Book the drayage before the vessel arrives; by the release email the free days are already counting.
Start with one service leg: customs, drayage, or freight
Starting to import does not mean outsourcing everything on day one. Most importers hand over the piece that scares them most, usually customs, sometimes just the port pickup, and keep the rest of their setup as it is; the ones who like how the first leg went add more. If you are deciding what that first leg should be, what an import freight forwarder covers maps the menu, and how to choose one gives the checks that sort real operators from resellers.
How Platton runs a first import
Platton is built around imports into the US, and first shipments are a specific discipline: more explaining, tighter checklists, no assumed knowledge.
A test order sized right
LCL and buyers consolidation let a first order ship at trial volume from China, Vietnam, India, or Europe without paying for empty container space, with the crossover to FCL calculated for you when volumes grow.
Documents checked before the ship sails
The supplier's paperwork is gone through line by line before departure, so a missing field surfaces as an email at origin instead of an exam at the terminal.
The deadlines watched for you
ISF data is chased from the supplier at booking, the entry goes in ahead of arrival, and drayage is scheduled before the vessel docks, with a 93% same-day port pickup rate keeping first containers out of demurrage.
Get a first-shipment quote with every budget line above priced, goods to warehouse door: request a quote.
Common questions from first-time importers
How much money do you need to start importing?
Plan the goods cost plus roughly 30% to 60% on top for freight, duty, and fees, with the exact overhead driven by the duty rate and the origin. A modest LCL test order can land a first product for a few thousand dollars all-in; the more common shortfall is cash timing, since duty and destination charges come due weeks before the first sale. Budget to the landed cost per unit and the surprise disappears.
Do you need an LLC to import into the US?
No. An individual can be the importer of record under a social security number, and CBP does not require a company. In practice most importers form an entity anyway, for liability separation and because an EIN simplifies the customs paperwork trail. The legal form matters less than the setup being consistent: one name and number across the bond, the ISF, and the entry.
What is the cheapest way to import small quantities?
For anything above parcel size, LCL ocean freight is usually the floor: you pay per cubic meter, share the container, and accept a week or so of extra transit for consolidation at both ends. Below roughly one cubic meter, express courier often wins despite the higher rate per kilo. Since de minimis was suspended in 2025, small does not mean duty-free anymore, so the comparison is freight cost only; the duty rate is the same either way.
How long does a first import shipment take?
Order to warehouse, a typical first ocean import from Asia runs eight to twelve weeks: two to four weeks of production and booking lead time, 13 to 21 days on the water to the West Coast or 28 to 35 to the East Coast, and up to a week for release and delivery. Air freight compresses the middle to days at several times the cost. First shipments run slower than the lane average because every party is doing everything for the first time.
Can you import without a supplier visit?
Yes, most first-time importers never visit. The visit gets replaced by paper: business registrations, product certificates for your category, consistent documents on request, a paid sample order, and a video call from the production floor. None of these are proof on their own; together they filter out most bad suppliers before money moves. The remaining risk is what test orders are for.
What should be in your first purchase order?
A product description precise enough to classify, the agreed Incoterm with a named port, the unit price and quantity, a cargo-ready date, packaging and labeling requirements, and the list of documents the supplier must deliver with the shipment. If the order needs agency paperwork, an FDA registration, a children's product certificate, name it in the PO. A purchase order written this way settles arguments before they start.
Related guides for new importers
How to import goods into the US in 9 steps: the full process this guide compresses, with every fee and deadline.
What is an import freight forwarder?: what the role covers when you hand over a leg.
How to choose a freight forwarder: the checks before you hand anyone your first shipment.
DDP shipping and its risks: what the supplier's all-inclusive offer actually transfers.
How to import from China to the USA: the lane most first imports run on.
Landed cost: full breakdown: the per-unit math behind the budget table above.
