Incoterms for Book Shipping: FOB, CIF, and DDP Explained
2026-01-05 Β· Qicai Press Blog
Incoterms are the standardized trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce that define who pays for what β and who carries the risk β at each stage of an international shipment. This guide explains the four terms you are most likely to see on a book printing quote from China: EXW, FOB, CIF and DDP.
What Incoterms Actually Do
When you buy a container of books from a Chinese printer, the shipment passes through many hands: the factory floor, a truck to the port, export customs, the ocean vessel, import customs, and a final truck to your warehouse. At every step someone pays the cost, and someone bears the risk if cargo is damaged or lost.
Incoterms (International Commercial Terms) are rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that allocate those costs and risks between seller and buyer. The current version, Incoterms 2020, defines 11 terms. Each three-letter term answers three questions:
- Costs: Who pays for trucking, export clearance, ocean freight, insurance, import duties and final delivery?
- Risk: At what exact point does responsibility for loss or damage pass from the seller to you?
- Formalities: Who handles export customs in China and import customs at destination?
The term on your quotation matters as much as the price. A cheap EXW price can cost more than a higher CIF price once you add freight, insurance and fees. Always compare quotes on the same Incoterm and the same named place.
EXW β Ex Works
Under EXW, the printer's job ends at the factory gate. The seller makes the books available at their premises, and everything after that is yours.
- Freight booking: You (or your forwarder) book the truck, the container and the vessel.
- Insurance: Entirely your responsibility β none is included.
- Export customs in China: Technically the buyer's obligation β a real problem, since foreign buyers generally cannot file Chinese export declarations themselves. Your forwarder's local agent handles it in practice, but the risk stays with you.
- Import customs and duties: Yours.
- Risk transfers: At the printer's premises, when the goods are placed at your disposal.
EXW suits experienced importers with their own logistics partners in China. For a first-time buyer it is usually a poor choice: maximum risk, maximum paperwork. The ICC itself generally recommends FCA (Free Carrier) instead, because under FCA the seller loads the truck and clears export customs.
FOB β Free On Board
FOB (named port of shipment, e.g. "FOB Shenzhen") is the most common term in the China book-printing trade. It applies to sea freight only.
- Freight booking: The seller trucks the container to the port and loads it on board the vessel you have nominated. You book and pay the ocean freight.
- Insurance: Not included β arrange your own marine cargo insurance if you want it.
- Export customs in China: Handled and paid by the seller.
- Import customs and duties: Yours.
- Risk transfers: When the goods are on board the vessel at the Chinese port.
FOB splits the work where each side is strongest: the printer handles everything inside China, and you control the ocean leg β carrier, schedule and insurance level. Add freight, insurance, destination charges and duties to the FOB price to get your true landed cost.
CIF β Cost, Insurance and Freight
Under CIF (named destination port, e.g. "CIF Lagos" or "CIF Jebel Ali"), the seller pays ocean freight and an insurance policy to your destination port. It is a sea freight only term.
- Freight booking: The seller books and pays freight to the named destination port.
- Insurance: The seller must buy marine cargo insurance β but only at the minimum level. Under Incoterms 2020, CIF requires cover equivalent to Institute Cargo Clauses (C), for at least 110% of the contract value. Clauses (C) is basic named-perils cover; it excludes many common risks such as rain damage, theft and rough handling. For broader "all risks" protection (Clauses A), agree it with the seller or buy supplementary insurance yourself.
- Export customs: Seller's responsibility. Import customs, duties and delivery from the port: yours.
- Risk transfers: This surprises many first-time buyers β risk still passes when the goods are loaded on board at the Chinese port, exactly like FOB. If the container is lost at sea, the claim goes through the insurance policy, not back to the printer.
CIF is convenient and is the standard choice for many buyers in Africa and the Middle East without a forwarder in China. Two cautions: destination port charges (terminal handling, documentation, customs fees) are yours, and the insurance is minimal β consider upgrading the cover for a high-value order.
DDP β Delivered Duty Paid
DDP (named place, e.g. "DDP Nairobi warehouse") is the maximum-obligation term for the seller. The printer β usually through a door-to-door logistics partner β delivers the books to your address with everything paid.
- Freight booking: Seller arranges the whole chain, door to door.
- Insurance: Not formally required, but the seller bears the risk for the entire journey, so insuring is in their interest.
- Export customs: Seller. Import customs and duties: also the seller β this is what makes DDP special, and in many countries it requires a local importing entity or agent, which not every supplier can arrange.
- Risk transfers: Only when the goods arrive at the named destination, ready for unloading.
DDP is by far the simplest option: one price, books at your door, no customs broker to hire. The trade-off is cost β the seller builds freight, duties, taxes, local delivery and a margin for uncertainty into the quote, so DDP is usually the most expensive way to buy. Also confirm whether the price includes import VAT/GST and who is the importer of record; getting this wrong can leave books stuck in customs.
Practical Recommendations for First-Time Importers
- Default to FOB or CIF. Choose FOB if you have a freight forwarder and want control over freight cost and insurance. Choose CIF if you prefer the printer to handle the ocean leg while you manage customs and pickup at your destination port.
- Use DDP if you want zero logistics work β a first self-published title or a church book project β but expect a premium, and confirm exactly which taxes and fees are included.
- Avoid EXW as a newcomer. The low price is tempting, but you take on export clearance, origin risk and freight coordination in a foreign country.
- Remember CIF insurance is minimal. It covers major casualties, not everyday damage. For valuable print runs, upgrade to all-risks cover or buy your own policy β cargo insurance typically costs a small fraction of the shipment value and varies by route and cover level.
- Name the place precisely. "FOB Guangzhou" or "CIF Durban, Incoterms 2020" β a named port plus the version removes most disputes before they start.
- Calculate landed cost, not factory price. Add freight, insurance, port charges, broker fees, duties and local delivery before comparing suppliers.
At our factory we regularly ship under all four terms β FOB and CIF containers to Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia most of all β and we can quote more than one term so you can compare the real difference.