None of this lands on you if you buy through us
Everything on this page describes what you carry when Ocean Transport USA is not in the middle — the bond, the entry, the classification, the duty, the risk of the goods themselves. On an order through us, we are the importer of record and every one of those is ours.
We explain it in full anyway, because you should know exactly what you are handing over and what it would have cost you to keep. What that means in practice ↓
Four names that sound like the same job
A sourcing agent, a trading company, a customs broker and an importer of record all stand somewhere between you and a factory in Asia, and a first-time buyer usually meets all four in the same week. They are not four versions of one service. They differ on the only questions that matter when something goes wrong: who owns the goods, who owes the duty, who you pay, and who you can hold to it.
The four roles, side by side
| Role | What they actually do | Who owns the goods | Who is liable to CBP | How they are paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcing agent | Finds factories, gets quotes, negotiates, sometimes arranges inspection. Acts for you. | You, from the moment you pay the factory. | You — you are the importer of record on the entry. | A commission on the order, or a fee. |
| Trading company | Buys from factories and resells to you, usually in China, often presenting as the factory. | Passes to you at origin under whatever Incoterm you agreed. | Still you on the US entry. | A margin inside the unit price. |
| Customs broker | Files the entry with CBP as your agent under a power of attorney; classifies, calculates, submits. | You. | You. Paying the broker for the duty does not move the debt (19 CFR § 141.1(b)(1)). | An entry fee, plus per-line charges. |
| US importer that resells (us) | Buys the goods, is the importer of record, posts the bond, pays the duty, delivers, and sells you the delivered goods. | The importer, until the goods reach your door. | The importer. | One delivered price per unit, on a commercial invoice. |
Whoever moves the cargo is a fifth role, and holds none of the above: transport is a service bought by whichever party owns the goods at the time.
Importer of record vs customs broker
This is the pair most often confused, and the confusion is expensive. A customs broker is a licensed professional who prepares and files the entry on your behalf. The word that matters is behalf: the entry is in your name, the classification is your declaration, and the duty is your personal debt to the United States. If the broker misclassifies, CBP comes to you. If you pay the broker and the broker fails to pay CBP, you still owe it. The broker’s liability is professional; yours is the debt.
A broker is the right hire when you have decided to be the importer. A broker is not a way of not being one. Who the importer of record is sets out exactly what the position carries.
Importer of record vs sourcing agent
A sourcing agent solves the problem before the goods exist: which factory, at what price, to what specification. A good one is worth every point of commission on a product that needs finding. But the agent is on your side of the transaction, not in it — you pay the factory, you own the goods, you are the importer, and if the factory ships the wrong thing the agent’s exposure is the commission and yours is the order. Agents who also “handle shipping” are arranging transport for goods that are already yours; that does not change who is on the entry.
Some agents do offer to import under their own name. When they do, the questions on the importer-of-record guide apply to them: whose bond, whose entry, and what happens when CBP disputes the value.
Trading company vs manufacturer
A trading company buys from factories and sells to you, and a great many marketplace listings that say “factory” are trading companies. That is not fraud and it is sometimes better — a trader can consolidate several factories’ goods into one order and speak your language — but you should know which you are dealing with, because a trader cannot fix a defect at the line and cannot tell you what a factory will not tell them. The business licence is the quickest check: its registered scope of business shows whether the company is licensed to manufacture or only to trade. How to check if a company in China is real walks through reading one.
Either way, title passes to you at origin, and you are the importer of record when the goods reach the United States.
Which one do you actually need?
If you move real volume and the same products repeatedly, be your own importer of record: a continuous bond, a broker you keep, a classification settled once and reused, and an agent at origin if the product needs finding. That is how established importers work and it is the cheapest way to do it at scale.
If this is a first order, a one-off, a product you are still testing, or a quantity where a $50,000 bond and a broker relationship are disproportionate, the honest answer is that none of the first three roles solves your problem. They all leave you as the importer. The fourth does not: you buy delivered goods from a US company, at one price, and no part of the entry, the bond or the duty is in your name. Why buy through us includes the cases where that is the wrong choice too.
The version with one company in it
We find or check the factory, buy the goods, import them under our own name, and sell them to you delivered. There is no agent’s commission, no broker’s entry fee and no bond premium on your invoice, because those are our costs inside our price — and there is no entry with your name on it.
Questions people ask
Is a customs broker the same as an importer of record?
No. A customs broker files the entry as your agent under a power of attorney; the importer of record is the party named on the entry and liable to CBP for the duty. Hiring a broker does not make the broker the importer or move the debt off you (19 CFR § 141.1(b)(1)).
Do I need a sourcing agent and a customs broker?
If you are importing under your own name, a sourcing agent finds and negotiates the goods and a customs broker files the entry — two different jobs, and neither removes your liability as importer of record. If you buy delivered goods from a US importer that resells, you need neither, because the importer does both under its own name.
What is the difference between a trading company and a manufacturer?
A manufacturer makes the goods; a trading company buys them from factories and resells them, often presenting as the factory. The registered scope of business on the Chinese business licence is the quickest check of which one you are dealing with.
What is a US importer that resells?
A US company that buys goods from overseas suppliers, imports them as importer of record under its own name, and sells them to US buyers as delivered goods at one price. That is what Ocean Transport USA does — the buyer never becomes the importer.
Checked 19 U.S.C. 1484, 19 CFR 141.1 and 19 CFR Part 111 (customs brokers) verified on . Due for review by .
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