Shipping home decor from China to the USA: cost and delivery time
Prices from our live rate card, updated
A carton of ceramic vases (10 kg) costs $205.96 to ship from China to a US address by air, door to door, in 6 to 12 working days, with US customs and import duty included in that price. A bronze sculpture of 15 kg is $230.76.
Decor is often light but bulky, so carton size matters more than weight: 2 cartons of Christmas decorations weighing 12 kg bill as 50 kg and cost $546.43 by air consolidation, plus duty at import. Anything that lights up ships on our electronics channel at a higher rate.
What it costs to ship home decor from China
Prices from our China warehouse to a US address, with duty included where the row says so. Billed weight is the actual weight or the carton volume (length x width x height in cm, divided by 6,000), whichever is higher. Sea prices are shown from 100 kg; below that, ask for a sea quote.
| Shipment | Billed weight | Air |
|---|---|---|
| Ceramic vases, 1 carton10 kg, 50 x 40 x 40 cm | 13.3 kg | $205.966 to 12 working days, duty included |
| Christmas decorations, 2 cartons12 kg, 2 x 60 x 50 x 50 cm | 50 kg | $546.4310 to 14 days, plus US duty at import |
| LED mirrors, 2 cartons10 kg, 2 x 70 x 10 x 60 cm · electronics channel | 14 kg | $313.116 to 12 working days, duty included |
Real home decor requests, priced today
Shipments people recently asked us to price, with names removed, re-run through today's rates. Where no carton size was given, the price uses actual weight, so bulky cartons would cost more.
| Shipment | Billed weight | Air |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze sculpture from Hebei15 kg | 15 kg | $230.766 to 12 working days, duty included |
| Statue from Dongguan45 kg | 45 kg | $530.3610 to 14 days, plus US duty at import |
| Mannequins from Guangzhou41 kg | 41 kg | $517.5010 to 14 days, plus US duty at import |
How long it takes
Air, door to door
6 to 12 working days
from the day it leaves our China warehouse, up to about 35 kg, duty included
Air consolidation
10 to 14 days
from about 50 kg, duty paid at import
Sea, door to door
30 to 40 days
priced from 100 kg, duty included
Add the time your supplier needs to get the cartons to our China warehouse by domestic courier. That leg is your supplier's and is not in our price. Full shipping time breakdown ›
What changes the price for home decor
Volume, not weight, for light and bulky pieces
You pay for the actual weight or the carton volume, whichever is higher. Christmas ornaments, artificial wreaths, lanterns and mannequins are mostly air in a box, so they bill on volume: 12 kg of Christmas decorations bills as 50 kg.
Metal and stone pieces bill on weight
A bronze, iron or resin sculpture packs dense, so the billed weight is close to the actual weight. That makes heavy decor cheaper per kg than bulky decor: the 15 kg bronze sculpture works out to $15.38 per kg.
Lights, LEDs and batteries
LED mirrors, light-up signs and battery-powered Christmas decorations count as electronics, even when the battery is removed, because of the circuit inside. They ride our electronics channel at a higher per-kg rate: 2 cartons of LED mirrors are $313.11, or $22.37 per kg.
Duty in the price up to about 35 kg
On our door-to-door air service (up to about 35 kg of general goods) the US duty is already inside the price you see. From roughly 50 kg, air consolidation is usually cheaper, as it was for the 45 kg statue, where the freight price excludes duty and duty is paid at import. The offer always says which one you have.
US rules for importing home decor
Most decorative items need a formal US customs entry with an HS code that depends on the material: ceramics, glass, base metal, resin and wood each classify differently and carry different duty rates. We classify the goods and file the entry. How HS codes work.
Metal decor can be caught by extra tariff programs on steel, aluminum and copper articles, and many Chinese goods carry Section 301 tariffs on top of the normal duty, so an accurate description of the material matters. Section 301 explained.
- Country of origin: each item, or its retail packaging, should be marked "Made in China". Origin marking rules.
- Solid wood: carved wooden decor and wooden frames can need extra declarations and treated packaging, so a person confirms the channel before we give a firm price.
- Lighted items: LED and plug-in decor sold in the US is expected to meet electrical safety and FCC rules, and anything with a lithium battery is checked by a person before a firm offer.
- Candles and scented items: tell us, since wax, fragrance oils and liquids are handled differently from general goods.
Packing decor so it arrives in one piece
- Double-box ceramics, glass and mirrors: an inner box with foam or bubble wrap, then an outer carton with at least 5 cm of padding on every side.
- Mark fragile cartons clearly, but do not count on the label. We do not carry or sell cargo insurance; see cargo insurance if the pieces are valuable.
- Nest light items: stack ornaments inside each other and flatten wreath frames where possible, because every empty centimeter is billed.
- Ship mannequins disassembled with torso, limbs and bases packed together to cut the carton size.
- Our warehouse measures cartons as they arrive and that measured size is what bills, so ask the supplier to use the smallest carton that still protects the goods.
Get your exact price
Tell us what you are shipping, the weight and carton size. The instant offer uses the same rates as the tables above.
Common questions
How much does it cost to ship a statue from China to the USA?
It depends on weight and crate size. A 15 kg bronze sculpture is $230.76 by air, door to door with duty included. A 45 kg statue is $530.36 by air consolidation, with duty paid at import on top.
Why are Christmas decorations so expensive to ship?
Because they are bulky for their weight, and freight bills on volume when volume is higher. 12 kg of decorations in 2 cartons bills as 50 kg. Packing tighter, or buying flat-packed or nested designs, is the biggest saving.
Can you ship mirrors and glass decor?
Yes, if they are packed properly: double-boxed with padding on every side. Plain mirrors ship as general goods; LED or lighted mirrors go on the electronics channel at a higher rate. We do not carry or sell cargo insurance, so read our cargo insurance guide if the glass is valuable.
Is sea freight an option for decor?
From 100 kg of billed weight, yes, with 30 to 40 days transit and duty included. For bulky decor it is often the cheapest way to move a seasonal restock, so plan Christmas stock early.
When do I pay?
After your cartons arrive at our China warehouse and are counted, weighed and measured. The invoice uses those numbers, you pay by ACH from any US bank account with no fee, and nothing is due at delivery.