Board Game Shipping Cost: Rates, Terms

Board game shipping cost from China to your door runs from about 2 to 4 USD per game by weight, duty and VAT included, or about 2 to 3 USD per game by volume once the order fills a few cubic metres. Three things set it: the weight or the volume of the games, the zone they go to, and the method (express, air, sea in a shared or a full container). This guide gives the two ways freight is priced and which to pick, the typical rates by zone, a worked example, and the extras: cartons, pallets, storage and papers. The numbers are averages from our shipping calculator; a quote carries the live rate. For a shipping quote on your run, contact us.

Two Ways Freight Is Priced: by Kilogram or by Cubic Metre

Freight is priced either by the kilogram or by the cubic metre (CBM), and the choice is yours. By the kilogram there is almost no fixed cost (about 100 USD per shipment), so it suits small runs: a container leaves for the US and for Europe every week whether your games are on it or not. By the cubic metre there is a fixed cost of 1,400 to 2,100 USD for the booking and the customs clearance, then a lower price per cubic metre, so it suits larger or heavier runs. The rule of thumb: a heavy game ships cheaper by volume, a light game cheaper by weight, and a run under a few cubic metres ships by the kilogram.

The volume of an order is its CBM shipping figure; our guide to shipping terms shows how to calculate it. Carriers that charge by weight compare the real weight with the volumetric weight (L × W × H in centimetres ÷ 5,000) and charge the heavier, which for a board game is almost always the real weight. Typical game weights are in our guide to board game weight.

Typical Rates by the Kilogram, to the Door

These are our averages for sea freight to the door, with duty and VAT (or GST) included, plus about 100 USD fixed per shipment. The shipping from China cost by kilogram is the simplest number to plan with. The transit time for each zone is in our guide to air freight vs sea freight.

Typical Rates by the Cubic Metre

The sea freight cost from China by volume has a fixed part and a part per cubic metre. To the door, duty and VAT included unless noted:

A Worked Example

Take 1,000 games of 1.8 kg in a 25 × 25 × 5 cm box, going to the US West Coast. By the kilogram: 1,000 × 1.8 kg × 2.70 USD plus 100 USD is about 4,960 USD, or 4.96 USD per game, in about 30 days. By the cubic metre: each game is 25 × 25 × 5 × 1.35 ÷ 1,000,000 = 0.0042 CBM, so 4.2 CBM in all; 4.2 × 190 USD plus 1,400 USD is about 2,200 USD to California, or 2.20 USD per game, in about 55 days. The same 1,000 games to the EU: about 6,580 USD by the kilogram or about 2,470 USD by the cubic metre. For 300 games the fixed cost turns it round: about 1,560 USD by the kilogram against about 1,640 USD by the cubic metre, and faster. That is how much it costs to ship board games: by the kilogram for small runs and speed, by the cubic metre for everything else.

Air Freight and Express Rates

Air freight costs about 4 to 8 USD per kg, depending on the time of year. An express courier is quoted per parcel and suits samples; remote zones such as Alaska only ship this way, at about 10 USD per kg. Our guide to air freight vs sea freight sets every method side by side, with its transit time.

All Rates Are DDP

All the rates above are DDP (delivered duty paid): to your door, with customs cleared and duty and VAT paid. The shipping estimate on a quote holds within 20 percent if the games ship within 35 days of confirming the quote; beyond that the cost is split. What DDP and the other terms mean is in our guide to shipping terms.

Extras: Cartons, Pallets, Storage and Papers

1. Reinforced cartons. About 0.70 USD per carton; loose cartons get free edge protectors.
2. Pallets and crates. A pallet is about 20 USD, for LCL and FCL only; a wooden crate for fragile goods up to about 500 USD.
3. Storage in China. The first month is free; then about 90 USD per cubic metre for the first quarter, 180 per quarter for the next three quarters, 200 per quarter after a year. Useful when a run is made in one go and shipped in parts.
4. Certificate of origin (Form E). About 50 USD, for the countries that ask for it.

Fulfilment Costs

The board game fulfillment cost has two parts: the freight to the destination warehouse (the rates above) and a price per parcel from there to each backer's door. Our guide to Kickstarter fulfillment gives the per-parcel prices and compares fulfilling straight from China with regional warehouses. If you are searching for a 3PL for board games (a third-party logistics warehouse), that is this service, sized for a campaign rather than a store.

The Bottom Line on Board Game Shipping Cost

Plan on 2 to 4 USD per game to the door by weight for a small run and about half that by volume for a large one, and ask for the shipping line on the quote so the landed cost is one number. The lighter and smaller the game, the smaller that number: the weight section of component efficiency shows where the grams go. For a shipping quote with your quantities and your destination, contact us.