
FOB vs. Landed Cost: What Garden Centers and Pottery Retailers Need to Know
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What Is FOB in Wholesale Pottery?
FOB vs. Landed Cost: Why It Matters
Final Tips for Garden Centers & Retailers
If you’re a garden center, landscape supply store, or pottery retailer, you know how important it is to keep margins strong while offering unique, high-quality products. Shipping internationally can seem daunting, but if you understand the process and what you’re paying for, it makes it much simpler to import pottery.
Let’s break down two essential concepts: FOB pricing and Landed Cost—and why they matter whether you’re importing ceramics from Vietnam, Mexico, or anywhere else.
What Are Incoterms?
When you're dealing with international shipping, you’ll see pricing terms like Ex Works, FOB, CIF, and DDP. These are Incoterms—international rules defining who is responsible for what along the supply chain set by the International Chamber of Commerce [1].
Here’s a side-by-side comparison using pottery buyers as an example:
Cost Element |
Ex-Works |
FOB (HCM Port) |
CIF |
DDP |
Pottery price at factory |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
Transport to port |
❌ Not included |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
Freight (port to port) |
❌ Not included |
❌ Not included |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
Transport to warehouse |
❌ Not included |
❌ Not included |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
Insurance |
❌ Not included |
❌ Not included |
✅ Included |
✅ Included |
Import duty/taxes |
❌ Not included |
❌ Not included |
❌ Not included |
✅ Included |
What This Means for You
- Ex Works (EXW): Lowest price, what the factory charges out their doors.
- FOB (Free On Board): You cover costs from the port forward. This is what most wholesalers use for shipping, while customers pay the remaining to their freight forwarder/customs broker.
- CIF (Cost + Insurance + Freight): The seller covers shipping and insurance, but not customs or delivery to your door.
- DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): One all-inclusive price, and the seller handles everything
What Is FOB in Wholesale Pottery?
FOB (Free On Board) is one of the most common Incoterms. When a pottery supplier quotes you an FOB price, it usually means:
- The price includes manufacturing and delivery to the port of origin.
- You take over responsibility (and risk) once the pottery is loaded on the ship.
What it doesn’t include:
Shipping costs, import taxes, customs clearance, insurance, or delivery to your warehouse, and exam and related fees, if applicable. These are paid to your freight forwarder/customs broker.
What Is Landed Cost?
Landed Cost is the true cost of getting your pottery from the supplier’s hands to your store shelves. It includes:
✅ Product cost (FOB price)
✅ Ocean freight + fuel surcharges
✅ Import duties, taxes, and port fees
✅ Exam and related fees, if applicable
✅ Insurance
✅ Trucking from the port to your warehouse
⚠️ If you’re pricing products based on FOB, not landed cost, you might be undercharging—and losing profit.
FOB vs. Landed Cost: Why It Matters
Reason |
Why It Matters |
Accurate Pricing |
Landed cost helps you price your pots for healthy margins. |
Inventory Planning |
Knowing your landed cost helps you make informed purchasing decisions and avoid cash flow surprises. |
Comparing Suppliers |
Some suppliers may quote you FOB, others may give you landed pricing. Without knowing the difference, you're not comparing apples to apples. |
Logistics Planning |
If you only plan around FOB pricing, you may not account for delays, added costs, or coordination needed after the shipment leaves the origin port. |
Final Tips for Garden Centers & Retailers
- ✅ Always ask suppliers to clarify which Incoterm their quote is based on.
- ✅ Request a landed cost estimate or use a freight forwarder to help calculate it.
- ✅ Don’t rely solely on low FOB pricing—calculate total costs to stay profitable.
- ✅ Reach out to TT Pottery for an estimated breakdown cost to ship a container to your store
Ready to Import Smarter?
At TT Pottery, we help garden centers and retailers import beautiful, durable wholesale pottery with full cost transparency. Whether you’re new to importing or scaling up, we’ll help you calculate your landed cost and get pottery from the factory floor to your sales floor—efficiently and affordably.
📩 To start your journey towards importing pottery from Vietnam, or any other inquiries, reach out to john@ttpottery.com today!
Sources
[1] International Chamber of Commerce. ICC. (n.d.-a). https://iccwbo.org/