FOB Tianjin Explained: Shipping Paint by Numbers from China

Written by the export and logistics team at Art Painting by Numbers, Tianjin · Updated October 2026 · 12 min read

FOB Tianjin means we deliver the goods, cleared for export, alongside the vessel you nominate at the port of Tianjin Xingang — and from that moment the cost, risk and paperwork of the main carriage are yours. It is our default Incoterm, and for most buyers it is the right one, because it puts you in control of freight pricing without asking you to manage Chinese export formalities you cannot handle from abroad.

Incoterms are the most misunderstood part of an international quotation. Two suppliers can quote the same dollar figure and mean completely different things by it. This article sets out who does what under each term, and then works through the specific logistics of paint by numbers — a product that is light, bulky and easy to ship badly.

Why Tianjin matters for a buyer

Tianjin is one of northern China's largest container ports and the principal seaport serving Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Our factory is roughly an hour's drive from Tianjin Xingang, which has three practical consequences:

• Inland haulage is short and cheap. Trucking from a Guangdong factory to Shenzhen or Yantian is often longer and more congested than our run to Xingang. On a light, bulky product the inland leg is a real share of total cost.
• Cut-off pressure is lower. A one-hour inland leg means a production delay is less likely to miss a vessel, which matters when you are working against a seasonal deadline.
• Air and rail alternatives exist. Tianjin Binhai International airport handles air freight, and Tianjin is a departure point on the China–Europe rail corridor, which gives EU buyers an 18–25 day option between sea and air.

Incoterms compared

Term	We handle	You handle	Risk passes	Use when
EXW Tianjin	Make goods available at the factory	Everything from our door: inland haulage, export clearance, freight, insurance, import	At our factory	You have a strong forwarder in China and want maximum control
FOB Tianjin	Inland haulage, export clearance, port charges, delivery alongside the vessel	Main carriage, insurance, import clearance, duty, onward delivery	On board at Tianjin Xingang	Default. Best balance of control and simplicity
CFR / CIF	All of FOB plus ocean freight (CIF adds insurance)	Import clearance, duty, onward delivery	On board at Tianjin	You want one price to your port and no freight sourcing
DDP	Everything, to your door or FBA warehouse, duty and tax paid	Nothing but unloading	At your named place	You want zero logistics work and accept a higher price

A common error is comparing a FOB price against a CIF price as though they were equivalent. A $1.42 FOB quote and a $1.80 CIF quote may be the identical deal — the difference is simply ocean freight. Always ask which term a number is quoted on before comparing suppliers.

Paint by numbers ships on volume, not weight

This single fact changes almost every shipping decision. A 40 × 50 cm kit weighs around 380 g but occupies roughly 3,500 cm³ packed flat. Its density is about 108 kg per cubic metre — far below the 1,000 kg/m³ that carriers treat as the break-even between weight-based and volume-based pricing. So you pay for space, and every centimetre of packaging thickness costs you money.

Freight is therefore charged on the greater of actual weight or volumetric weight. For air and express, volumetric weight is normally calculated as length × width × height in centimetres divided by 5,000 (some carriers use 6,000). A 54 × 44 × 28 cm export carton has a volumetric weight of about 13.3 kg against an actual gross weight of 15.5 kg for 40 kits — here the real weight wins, but for lighter kits the reverse is common and surprises buyers.

Practical consequences

• Rolled canvas beats framed, by a wide margin. A framed 40 × 50 cm kit occupies roughly four times the volume of a rolled one, which can quadruple the freight per unit. Frame locally, or ship framed only for premium lines where the retail price absorbs it.
• Box thickness is a freight cost. A rigid gift box with a foam insert may look excellent and cost $0.20 per cubic centimetre of freight you did not plan for. Measure the finished packed carton, not the product.
• Pack tight, but do not crush. Under-filled cartons ship air. Over-compressed cartons damage frames and crack paint pots. The right answer is a correctly sized carton with a folded card or moulded pulp insert that immobilises the components.
• Consolidate categories. We produce diamond painting, felt painting and punch-needle kits on adjacent lines. Combining them into one shipment spreads fixed freight across more units.

Carton and container figures

Kit	Carton size	Sets per carton	Carton volume	Gross weight	Sets per 20ft	Sets per 40ft HQ
20 × 30 cm rolled	34 × 24 × 22 cm	60	0.018 m³	11.5 kg	≈ 46,800	≈ 99,000
30 × 40 cm rolled	44 × 34 × 26 cm	40	0.039 m³	12.0 kg	≈ 19,200	≈ 40,800
40 × 50 cm rolled	54 × 44 × 28 cm	40	0.067 m³	15.5 kg	≈ 14,000	≈ 29,600
40 × 50 cm framed	56 × 46 × 44 cm	20	0.113 m³	16.5 kg	≈ 3,800	≈ 8,000

A 20ft container holds about 28 m³ of usable space and a 40ft HQ about 68 m³, but stowage is never perfect. Treat these as planning estimates and confirm exact counts against your chosen designs before booking.

The framed figure is the one to notice: 3,800 sets in a 20ft container against 14,000 for rolled. Framing nearly quadruples your freight per unit, which is why framed kits are usually a premium line rather than a core one.

Shipping methods and transit times

Method	Transit	Cost for 1,000 sets of 40 × 50 cm rolled	Cost per kit	Best for
International express (DHL, FedEx, UPS)	4–8 days	$3,800 – $5,200	$3.80 – $5.20	Samples, urgent restocks, orders under 150 kg
Air freight	6–12 days	$1,900 – $2,600	$1.90 – $2.60	Seasonal deadlines, mid-size orders
Sea LCL consolidation	25–40 days	$280 – $420	$0.28 – $0.42	1–5 m³, planned buying
Sea FCL 20ft	25–45 days	Quoted per sailing	Falls sharply with volume	Full container loads
China–Europe rail	18–25 days	Quoted per sailing	Between sea and air	EU buyers avoiding air rates

Sea LCL costs roughly one seventh of express per unit. That gap is why planning matters more than negotiating: the difference between ordering Q4 stock in July and ordering it in October is often several dollars per kit, which is more than most buyers save on product price in a year.

Duty, tax and de minimis

Import duty depends on your country's tariff classification for printed canvas art and craft kits, and on any preferential origin arrangement in force. Rules and thresholds change frequently, so verify the current position with your customs broker before you commit. General shape as we write:

• United States — duty varies by classification and by the trade measures in force at the time of entry. The de minimis treatment of low-value parcels has been tightened significantly in recent years, which materially affects single-parcel dropshipping economics. Confirm the current position with your broker before you price a dropshipping offer.
• United Kingdom — VAT is collected on import for consignments above the low-value threshold; parcels below it are generally handled by the carrier under a simplified scheme.
• European Union — the €150 duty exemption applies to many craft goods, but import VAT is due on all commercial imports and is collected through IOSS for parcels or at the border for freight.
• Australia, Canada, Japan — low-value thresholds exist but are lower than many buyers assume, and GST or consumption tax applies.

Two rules we will not break: we declare goods accurately, and we will not under-declare value or misdescribe contents at a buyer's request. Under-declaration is customs fraud in the destination country, it exposes you to seizure, penalties and marketplace suspension, and it puts our export licence at risk. If duty is a problem, the solutions are classification review, origin preferential treatment, freight method or order structure — all legitimate and several of them effective.

Documents you will need

• Commercial invoice — seller, buyer, description, quantity, unit and total value, Incoterm, currency, country of origin
• Packing list — carton count, dimensions, gross and net weight per carton, contents by item code
• Bill of lading (sea) or air waybill (air) — the transport document and, for a negotiable B/L, the document of title
• Certificate of origin — general, or a preferential form where an arrangement applies
• Test reports — EN71-3, ASTM F963, CPSIA, REACH, where your market or retailer requires them
• Fumigation or wood packaging certificate — only if your shipment uses wooden crates or pallets; our standard export cartons do not
• Insurance certificate — under CIF we arrange it; under FOB and CFR it is your responsibility, and it is worth buying

We supply all documents within our control on the day of shipment, in PDF, and originals by courier where your bank or broker requires them.

Frequently asked questions

What does FOB Tianjin include exactly?

Product cost, our inland haulage from the factory to Tianjin Xingang, Chinese export customs clearance, export documentation, port handling charges and loading alongside or on board the vessel you nominate. It excludes ocean or air freight, marine insurance, import clearance, duty and tax, and onward delivery in your country.

Should I use FOB or DDP?

FOB if you have or can appoint a freight forwarder, because you will see the true freight cost and can shop it. DDP if you want one landed price and no logistics work — it costs more, but for a first order or a small business without a forwarder, the simplicity is often worth it. We quote both.

Can you ship direct to an Amazon FBA warehouse?

Yes, DDP to your nominated FBA warehouse, with FNSKU labels applied at kitting stage, poly-bags with suffocation warnings where required, and cartons built to Amazon's size and weight limits so they are received without issue. Send your listing plan and we will confirm carton dimensions against current FBA requirements.

How long does sea freight from Tianjin take?

Typically 25–35 days to a US west coast port, 32–45 days to US east coast, 30–40 days to major northern European ports, 20–30 days to Australia's east coast, and 18–25 days by rail to Europe. These are port-to-port; add time for inland haulage at both ends and for import clearance.

Is insurance worth buying?

Yes, on any sea shipment. Marine cargo insurance for craft goods typically costs 0.3–0.6% of the insured value. Against a $1,500 order that is under $10, and it covers water damage, carton crushing, theft and general average contributions — all of which are the buyer's risk once goods are on board under FOB.

What happens if the vessel is delayed or the goods are damaged in transit?

Under FOB, risk passes to you once goods are on board, so transit delay and damage are for your account and your insurer. We will support you with documents, photographs taken at loading, and liaison with the carrier or forwarder — but the claim is yours. This is the trade-off for controlling your own freight, and it is why insurance matters.

Related reading

• Q4 planning: lead times for paint by numbers wholesale orders
• Paint by numbers MOQ explained
• How to vet a paint by numbers supplier in China
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