Via Trading | Blog

All goods are sold “AS IS” and all Sales are final. There is no guarantee or warranty, express or implied and without limitations, of merchandise fitness or marketability.

No Exchanges, Refunds or Credits.

Having said that, we do our best to manifest as accurately as possible our pallets, or explain as accurately as possible what, to the best of our knowledge and beliefs is included in each load/pallet. If for example you purchased an electronics load, and you received clothing, then of course we will fully compensate you for this.

If for any reason, you are unsatisfied with a purchase from us, contact us within 48 hours of receiving your order and we will do our best to make you satisfied.

This is not a 100% accurate and “straight-forward” business, and we do our best to be as descriptive as possible with the information available to us, however, we would be lying if we said mistakes don’t happen – they do – so please get in touch with us if you are in any doubt about anything, before or after you receive your order.

Please keep in mind that we are in this for the long haul, and maintaining a high number of loyal customers is our goal – if you cannot make money with our products then you will not re-order from us. Our objective is to make our loads as profitable as possible to you so that you may keep coming back for more.

Most orders, unless otherwise specified, are shipped within 24 to 48 hours of payment. Most orders will reach their destination within 1 to 5 working days of being picked up from our warehouse.

We email you a tracking number as soon as your items leave our warehouse so you can follow their progress until they reach you.

Yes, we do!

Shipping Methods

The exact shipping method used depends on the type of goods, the quantity and weight of the goods and the destination of the order.

Case packed orders are typically shipped with the United States Postal Service or an international air freight carrier like Schenker.

Pallets are typically shipped by sea and occasionally by air, provided the value of the merchandise is high enough to make this cost-effective.

Container orders are shipped OCL by ocean liner.

We can also ship international orders to USA-based freight forwarders if you consolidate your goods in the USA prior to shipping them overseas.

International Shipments

There are certain important things to note that apply to all international shipments, irrespective of how the exact shipping method:

• Most international shipping quotes DO NOT include any customs, import fees or sales tax (GST or VAT)

• In the majority of cases, it is the consignee’s responsibility to pay customs and taxes upon receipt or customs clearance of the merchandise.

• Many countries may have restrictions on what types of goods can be imported and some goods may be completely restricted from importation.

• Many countries also have brand protection and agency rights in place, which prohibit the importation of certain brands into the country, other than from the authorized importer.

CLICK HERE to submit a shipping quote request.

Shipping Times

Most orders, unless otherwise specified, are shipped within 24 to 48 hours of payment. Most international orders shipped by air freight or the Postal Service will reach their destination in 6-10 business days.

Ocean freight (full container loads or partial loads) may take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks depending on the destination.

You will receive a tracking number by email when your order leaves our warehouse so you can follow the shipment until it reaches you. Please allow 24 hours before tracking the shipment as it often takes the carriers some time to enter it into their system.

Shipping Costs

International shipping costs vary quite a bit depending on the weight of the merchandise shipped and its destination. Please do submit a shipping quote request if you wish to obtain a quote. The following figures are general ballparks and while they may apply to certain locations and certain items, they are provided as guidelines only.

Generally speaking, the cost to ship one case ranges from $125 – $195 and varies according to weight and contents of the case. Shipping subsequent cases is typically between 50% and 100% of the price of shipping the original case. For example if the first case costs $150 to ship, depending on the location, the second case may cost anywhere from $75-$150 to ship.

Pallets are typically less cost-effective to ship by air. Prices can range from $800-$1200 per individual pallet which we find to be prohibitive in most cases unless the value of the goods is rather high. In such cases, we can either pack pallet items into boxes and ship them by the case, or we can ship them by sea freight. Sea freight charges can run from $300-$700 per pallet, depending on the destination.

Container Loads are typically the most cost-effective way to ship larger amounts of merchandise overseas. Ocean freight can cost between $3,000-$6,500 for a full container, depending on the size (20′, 40′, 45′) and the destination.

Please note: We export dozens of orders on a weekly basis. In the very large majority of cases (over 98%) – orders are shipped and clear customs with no problems.
Any shipping quotes or product quotes provided are only for shipping costs and for the merchandise sold – they DO NOT include any additional customs charges & tariffs or sales taxes which you may or may not incur.
Due to the nature of our business, in most cases we are unable to provide detailed manifests and country of origins of the items we offer. In the majority of cases that does not cause any problems at customs – However we need to inform our customers that in very rare occasions clearing customs with such goods can be problematic & that Via Trading does not and cannot control that aspect of the sale.
All shipping quotes are provided with minimal insurance. If you would like to purchase additional insurance, please let your account manager know before the order is finalized.

Shipping cost depend on the following:

(i) What type of pallet/listing you are purchasing

(ii) How many pallets/listing you are purchasing

(iii) Where we are delivering i.e. to a business or a residential address and whether you need a lift-gate or not (see question below for more info on lift-gate)

Typically speaking lift-gate charges are more or less fixed at $35 and delivery to a residence is fixed at $45. Customers who do not have a business where we can deliver the pallet to can save the residential charge by opting to pick-up the pallets at their nearest terminal. Some listings e.g. watches, costume jewelry, clothing etc. can be shipped by UPS making the type of location we are delivering to irrelevant.

Generally speaking, the cost to ship one pallet ranges from $90 – $200 and varies according to weight and contents of the pallet. Shipping subsequent pallets is considerably cheaper – especially if shipping to a residence. Truckload shipping is calculated based on mileage and usually ranges between $1.00/mile to $2.00/mile with a minimum charge of $350.

More information about shipping costs here.

We welcome people to come in and visit our premises and inspect all the merchandise. You are free to visually select your pallet before you purchase it.

You may come visit us at anytime during our working hours– no appointments are necessary. If you are coming to purchase a particular listing you may call ahead just to ensure that we have it physically in stock on that particular day.

In the long term and looking at several purchases most people in this industry would agree that the payoffs and money returns are generally very good and that the long-term risk is generally minimal.

However when looking at any single purchase – YES – there is a definite risk in purchasing such types of items – and all items are sold AS-IS regardless of anyone’s best intentions to advertise each load as accurately as possible.

All persons contemplating purchasing such items must be aware and prepared of the risk. Like most businesses in life – the higher the risks – the Higher the potential returns.

Depending on the Pallet, the type of products and on the department store this percentage varies a lot.

For example, typically speaking – a clothes load has very little defective items. Most items would have just been returned to the store and the store would just sell them in bulk very cheap as part of a “Returned” load because they do not wish to repack it, re-tag it, clean it if necessary etc. Underwear and socks loads are usually always brand new since most stores do not allow the return of socks and/or underwear from customers.

Also, some department stores have more elaborate Repair & Service Centers then others. Products from stores which have comprehensive Repair & Service centers tend to have a higher defective rate. Generally speaking electronic items have a higher defective rate – whilst non-electronic items such as toys, cookware, cutlery, accessories, domestics etc. tend to have much lower defective rates (e.g. a set of 50 pcs of cutlery set may be in a return load simply because one of the pcs has broken.)

The generally recognized industry average used when trying to estimate working % is as follows: 65%-75% working, 20% Repairable, remainder scrap/spare parts/throwaway etc. Ofcourse no individual load or pallet will have that exact breakdown, but generally speaking the latter percentages are fairly accurate to describe the average expected condition.

Please note – exact working % of any particular pallet/load is unknown – and all items are always untested.

Depending on the type of Pallet/listing – the average value and piece count is taken by dividing the total piece count and value of the truckload we purchased and then dividing it by the number of pallets. E.g. If we purchase a Hardware Load of say 10 pallets – we know that the total wholesale value of the load is $20,000 and the total piece count in the load is say 3,000pcs – if we divide that by the number of pallets – in this example 10 pallets, then we determine that the average piece count is 300pcs per pallet and the average wholesale value is say $2,000 per pallet.

The piece count is pretty clear cut – but in order for us to express an average Retail value, and then depending on the type of items (e.g. Electronics have a smaller Mark-up from wholesale to Retail and clothes have the largest Mark-up) we would “Mark-Up” the wholesale value as best and accurately as we can in order to express the average Retail Value of the pallet – in this case $2,000 wholesale value would be expressed say as between $3,000 to $4,000 Retail Value.

Please note – this is not an exact science – and also assumes that each pallet in the load has more or less the same value and piece count – which is generally but not always the case.

If you are not a resident of California and are ordering on the internet or by phone (not in person), NO, you do not need to pay sales tax.

More details below.

By law in the state of California, we must charge 9.75% sales tax when selling to California residents who do not have a resale license/reseller’s permit.

There are no exceptions to this rule.

If you are a CA resident and you do not have a resale permit, you can obtain one quickly, easily and for free from the California State Board of Equalization at http://www.boe.ca.gov. You can also see our information page on how to obtain one.

We also have blank applications available on site to facilitate the process for you. Just fill it out and mail it to the address on the form and you will obtain your permit within a few days.

Customers who are NOT residents of California do and who purchase online or via phone, email or fax, do not need to pay sales tax or to fill out any paperwork.

If you come purchase in person and are a resident of California, please bring your resale permit and photo ID with you. If you don’t have a permit, you can still purchase but sales tax will apply.

If you are not a resident of California but are still coming to purchase in person, please bring a copy of your business license. You will need to fill out an “Out of State” form stating that you are taking the goods out of state for resale, and we will need to attach a copy of your out of state business license to that form.

Customers from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah or Texas who come to purchase in person will need to bring in a copy of their state’s reseller’s permit in order to be exempt from sales tax. They will also need to complete the “Border States Uniform Sale for Resale Certificate” in order to be exempt from sales tax. This form will be provided in our office at the time of purchase.